2014 Meat Pole
South Dakota
First mule deer buck and first deer of the 2014 season. Been a long time in taking my first mule deer but I had one goal in mind on this hunt, hunt hard, have fun, and enjoy the experience. 2 days of hunting put me 19 yards above this guy in a cedar patch at 10:00 AM Oct 7th. A very rewarding hunt for myself and a freezer full of fresh meat!
Way to go animal killer! No finer meat in the woods than a spike! I had the backstraps fresh off one last fall and they were fantastic!
Looks to be a little slow to start this year.....
Here's a deer I was able to harvest recently.
Must be a secret spot Skullwerx. Ha!
I have not sat in the tree for over two weeks now. Time to start hitting it hard this weekend.
Hmmmm... posted that from my phone and obviously the pic didn't load.....
Great buck Skull! Great trophy pic too!
Shot this buck Monday morning!
That's a beauty Keith! Congrats!
Missing the SD hunting this year guys. Good deer! To hot in OK right now. Supposed to be over 90 all weekend here. Brother said Rapid may be in the 80's.
Already have this in the "Mule Deer Hunting" thread.
Shot this one on Friday afternoon, October 10. First Mule Deer buck for me, after 4 years of trying. A 12 yard shot...wish I would have had my longbow that day :\
Check the other thread for my buddy's buck.
WindLaker
This is my first post on this site but I'm usually skimming it for advice and tips. I shot this guy this morning at 20 yards on a piece of public ground! The buck fever shakes didn't set in till after the shot haha. Only my second buck with my bow but I've been at it for 9 years now.
My East River Halloween buck. 38yds.
That a way guys! They're starting to go down now! Congrats!
Nice deer guys!! Anyone seeing much for activity yet? I hunted last week in sully county and didnt see much rut activty other than most bucks i glassed up were by themselves. I did manage to find a couple scrapes early in the week on one farm i hunt back home but other than that seems pretty slow.
AK, they are going nuts up in the NE part of the state. Not so much yet in the south and west but that can change in a hurry.
Nice deer guys....Jealous....missing SD. If I only had a few more days of vacation....
That's a dandy! Love the mass on that buck!
Looks like some good deer hitting the ground!
I got this guy mid morning today. What a change of weather a day can bring!
What a stud skull! Awesome buck! I have 4 days off this week to get it done. Hoping the change in weather really has them running! Congrats!
Wow great deer gentlemen.Congrats!Had lots of commotion going on with my lil farm this year and knew the few nice bucks left but was hoping they'd return during the rut.As a result hunted a few days early after primarily 1 deer then stayed with waterfowl,elk,deer elsewhere etc planning on hunting here hard the last 10 days or so pre-rifle.Then the weather arrived.Actually my troubles started the evening before when my dream deer followed a doe to within 18 yds only to have my old favorite Carbon Element explode just as the pin was settling behind the shoulder.Wow,talk about violence.Had an old Jennings blow on me in the late 70s and got a forehead cut,bloody nose and wrenched shoulder and this wasn't quite as bad but still darn glad I had a harness on. Got a back up bow going and then last nite this guy came by chasing 2 does.Got a good hit and he only went 35 yds.No one around at all(even wife in Mpls)so another sorry pic but.... Big body,skinny rack but very happy considering this weather.13 scoreable points.Happy Holidays and good hunting to all.
Nice Bucks fellas! Leftee man we got to get you set up for an automatic timer, great buck. Congratulations guys, sure miss hunting this fall.
Great buck Leftee! Numbers have been surprisingly good up there where I hunt not far from you. Some great bucks this year as well! Congrats!
Thanks but have to say I'm very glad I haven't had to hunt up here the last few days.My favorite week has turned into a hunters nightmare.Today being one of the worst with cold,flurries and unrelenting winds. A very bad start for local wildlife.
I shot this guy last Friday in the Hills. 16 score-able points, green scored 151 6/8.
Got this last night before rifle opener
Northeast SD 11-19-14 at 335 pm to within 26 yards. Went to my stand after plowing snow the past 16 hours with not much sleep. Figured i could just as well stay awake a few more hours before hitting my bed for some sleep. Had this buck and another chasing a single doe and the other buck chased this guy off my direction. Stopped him in an opening and threaded my arrow through his chest and he went 100 yards and was done for. An amazing hunt after a very long season.
Great deer guys,congrats!!!!!
Sweet buck bronco! Your dad would be proud!
I shot this mule deer on November 11th.
Nice! Love the drop. Congrats.
One question ..I'd like opinions on whether east of the river or west of the river would have the best public access and quality. I've hunted the Chamberlain area before but it was overrun with pheasant hunters.. What do ya think? Thanks..Steve
Oops....Sorry for this omission. Every Buck on this site is beautiful!! Congrats to all!!!
I know this is for bow kills but im mighty pround of this hunt and the animal i harvested.
Here he is my first SD Muzzle Loader Mule Deer. Took 6 years to draw this tag...Jake (Skullwerx) and I spotted this guy up in a deep draw with a handful of does. We put the moves on him after an hour hike in battling swirly winds, cold temps, and loud crunchy snow made sneaking in impossible. We managed to get within 120 yards of this beauty of a buck. Jake was behind the camera and I managed to squeeze a perfect shot off dropping this buck in his tracks on all video from start to finish. I'm in complete awe of today's events and this trip has been unforgettable. A huge thanks to Jake for running the camera and following me around. It takes alot for a person to join in on a trip like this and not have a tag. I am completely tagged out in south dakota and am thankful for an epic fall I've had.
Still had a tag to fill in Minnesota and got it done this past week with help from Jake(Skullwerx) again!!
After the warm temps we had the past couple of days in Southwestern Minnesota, I made plans to harvest a mature buck off a couple of farms I hunt. Trail cameras were placed, stands hung for cold late weather feeding patterns, and the wait begun.
Monday we had freezing rain and 50 mph winds with a couple inches of snow. The temps dropped from 50s to highs in the low teens.
Making my way to my stand tuesday afternoon for a 5 hour sit, I knew the deer would be on their feet early after not being able to feed much the day before and the cold would concentrate the deer back together.
Around 4:00 PM this buck showed up after my number 1 target buck made it to within 100 yards of my stand the other day and decided to turn around and walk the other way.
The does he was with continued my direction and stood 15-25 yards away. 9 of them basically eye level with me. I never moved a muscle but one of the young does caught wind of me and took the group back across the field 350 yards away where they entered the field the first time.
20 minutes late this buck showed up. I studied him briefly as he feed around with the does, scent checking a few of them but none of them were responsive. I couldn't get a real good fix on which deer it was knowing it was not Mr. Crabs my #2 target buck I was pursing. Seeing him facing my direction i could tell he was outside his ears and had lots of points.
I pulled out my grunt call, snort wheezed at him and a couple of grunts and he perked up his ears, curled his lip, and came walking in my direction stopping within 25 yards of my stand.
Camera was going, I was at full draw, and settled in for a shot. My arrow hit a little high and as I shot, the deer turned into my shot placing the arrow quartering into him slightly. The buck ran off to 350 yards to where he entered the field and that was the last I seen him.
I decided to purse the blood trail this morning and made the trip back to South Dakota for a long sleepless night. Got back in the morning with Jake Leibke and we were off. We searched for countless hours finding very little blood, 3 beds with a couple drops of blood when the buck stood up, and found out he crossed the road and entered a property I did not have permission for. After 3 hours of waiting to hear back from the land owner I had the ok to purse the buck again.
We entered the property around 2:00 PM and went 100 yards to find my buck not too far into the property. A rush of relief and thankfulness filled me as i placed my hands on this buck. Realizing he is the biggest buck to date I have harvested with a bow.
I owe a lot of time, energy, and some good old fashion good luck for this harvest. I deticated this deer to my grandmother that passed away earlier this week. I feel she had a lot to do with the harvest of this buck and just being their looking over my shoulder as she had done for me as a child growing up getting into mischief.
Very nice deer and stories.Congrats!
