He's driving me crazy
Alabama
It all started two years ago with a nice respectable 125 8 pt. keeping himself just out of bow range no matter which tree I picked to sit in. I would have shot him in a heart beat. After all this is Alabama Public Hunting Land. "Several encounters" but he never gave me a shot. Fast forward to the next year. He is definitely bigger with a little more mass now! I'd say 135. I saw him only twice the whole season. One of those times was at 18 yards broadside, walking steady. I drawed back and did a soft grunt to make him stop for the shot and he blew out of there as if it had scared him to death.
This year I have seen him twice so far and both times he was out of bow range. Even bigger this year. I'd say 150. This morning he was cruising by casually and I grunted at him in hopes of turning him my direction. I use my mouth to grunt and I have called in so many deer using my mouth that I couldn't begin to guess how many. But every time I grunt at this buck he acts as if it scares the crap out of him. This area has one other buck that is even bigger than he is. I think that he has had his butt kicked by this other buck or he is just one of those really timid bucks that don't like other deer. I ran across this before with mature bucks and hunting one of these personality traits has got to be the hardest stinking deer I have ever tried to kill. One thing I won't do again with this buck is grunt. No noise at all. Just ambush!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyone else have a similar story???????????????????
I hunted one once for about 3 years on and off, never did see him. He used the same scrape line year after year and left rubs on trees not saplings:-)
I've only seen one buck more than once, that I know of.
I heard and saw a 6-pointer snort-wheeze at a spike that was between him and a doe back before I ever heard about the snort-wheeze. (then I shot him)
I've called bucks from bedding areas by imitating the sound I heard, but I've only scared bucks that were within sight when I tried it to make them come to me.
This is the only decent footage I have of him.
Whump sez; well that was pretty cool! I have a doe decoy I made from burlap and I painted it with an air brush, it looks pretty real, I almost took a shot at it from a tree stand one day--no joke [lol] You tie it between two trees so it hangs from across the back. It's an open bag so when you get there you just stuff it with leaves to form the body and close the velcro.If you tie up to small saplings when the wind blows you get movement and the tail moves in the wind. You can borrow that if you want to try it, it looks like a yearling doe. I have had turkeys stop and stare at it for 15 minutes but they don't spook when seeing it. I have never really used it enough to see if it is effective. It looks real though and is light to carry as it stuff inside itself with a shoulder strap so you are not carrying a deer thru the woods and 3d after stuffing.
Thanks for the offer Whump. My son had him close to him a couple of days ago. He was chasing a doe around but he just kept his distance. This morning the doe came by but no buck. Someone else is hunting right on top of where we are and it's making things a little more complicated. After all it is public land. Hard to find a spot anywhere that isn't getting pressured.
Whump sez; ok --just hate to see you suffer [lol]
Anyway--I hunted Oakmulgee NF Thurs and Fri , scouted most of the day thursday, hung a stand that afternoon and stayed up until dark. Friday morning a mature doe came in at 10AM behind me. Apparently I had rubbed against a limb on the way out the day before because she locked up right where I made my turn to go to my stand.
She stood around looking every direction to see if she could see me at least 5 minutes or more.She double checked all the limbs sticking out in the area where she was standing. I had the wind as the string on my bow was curled up like a fish hook so I was hopping she would come on thru but she turned around and walked back out on a different trail than the one she came in on.
It was either a tiny bit of my smell on a limb or the smell from the trail I cut thru the palmetto thicket but what ever it was she locked it down and it was game over. She was standing directly in front of the trial I cut so that may have been what spooked her but she had no intention of moving forward another inch.
OK this is starting to get ridiculous. I have seen him 5 times this season. First at about 100 yards with the binos in a bottom. Second time on a ridge, bedded with a doe at 30 yard and I was trying to get a shot when the doe busted me. The third time he was on a different ridge at 50 yards. The fourth time he was at fifteen yard behind a bunch of crap I couldn't get a shot through. And yes it was on a different ridge. This afternoon I was getting wet and with only 10 minutes of light left I decided to just go home because I haven't seen anything in three days of hunting. So I got down out of my tree and put away my camera to keep it from getting wet. I literally took two steps and I look up and here comes two doe trotting just ten yard past the tree I was in. I'm maybe twelve yards from them. I just laugh and start walking again when I heard a grunt and "YES ITS HIM" right on the same trail trotting after the doe. Unbelievable. He has got to be at least a 150 class. And the luckiest deer alive. I think he and I are getting to know each other.
I have called up many deer using just the wheeze call. Once I had a doe jump out of a dead fall and she almost ran over me!
Had a 3 point just about fight me one day, he kept staring at me, pawing the ground, even after I had shot his girlfriend.(we had a 6 point or better rule)Finally I ran him off.
All right DC, give us an update. Help those of us who haven't been in a few weeks and may not this weekend either. :)
Well, I guess I gave up trying to get the biggun. The rut is over and the only thing I had going for me was the fact that he was moving some in the daytime during the rut.
I did get after another real nice buck and if you promise not to laugh I'll tell you how I got busted.
I had to pee really bad so I got out my bottle and and as soon as I got started I heard footsteps. (Ever try to pee really fast?) Anyway, So I get-r-done and stick the bottle between my knees and grab the bow: and yes he saw that quick movement. We stared a while at each other and when he looked away I turned on the camcorder and the noise spooked him. He snorted, ran a little ways and stopped. Snorted again and again. After awhile my son called me on the Walkie Talkie and said with a snicker in his voice, You Got Busted Again Didn't You?
I WILL have another camcorder next year. One that is noise free.
Besides That, I have just been seeing a few deer here and there but I made a decision not to shoot anything this year unless it was a big one and that is all I have been hunting and it looks like I'm going to get skunked. I may have one or two more hunts left and then I'm going to walk every inch of ground scouting to find out all I can about this buck. Maybe next year.
I think I am going crazy, I even passed up a nine point outside the ears. I watched him for an hour and a half at twenty yards or less. He bedded down out in front of my tree. Maybe I've watched too much T.V.
I just grabbed a fram off the video. Would you pass on this???????????????????????
I wouldn't pass it with a bow but probably would with a gun. I'm using a gopro with doesn't zoom but it has a really large field of view (wide) and you can actually set it up remotely with your cell phone app. Some set the camera up on the ground on the other side of the trail where the camera will pick up the deer and you shooting as well.
Would your cell phone work on it even if you didn't have signal? A friend of mine was saying how great the GPS on his phone worked but when he had no signal it didn't work.
I just bought a Garmin e-trex to use and I like the fact that I can way point a spot and give it notes, to help me remember all the places that I find when scouting. My memory isn't what it use to be and all these places are getting cluttered up in my head. I tried it out the other day to see how accurate it was and it took me straight to the spot. Now all I have to do is remember all the names I give them and what the notes mean??????
Yes, I think it will work without signal. It is just acting as wi-fi between the 2 units. Garmin e-trex will not let you down. I've used them for years. I keep a spreadsheet to cross-reference waypoints and notes.
At 60, I wouldn't pass on him. I have let many, many 4 points go by.
