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So I got the neighbors to agree to watch my doggies for a few days and left on Thanksgiving afternoon. I'll post this story over a couple days so don't get your panties in a wad if an update isn't immediately forthcoming. I'm home now. I hope you enjoy this - it was good for me to be out there.

I arrived in time to drive around and glass the critters. I spotted some herds of does with no buck, then decided to take a short hike in to check out an old overgrown abandoned farmstead back in next to a bluff, with a stubble field above. It's a place they love to stage in, browse around. I immediately spotted this fairly nice buck with a few does so I took a couple photos and backed out.

A friend showed me a photo of a 210+ inch "plains deer" killed during the early rifle season a couple miles from where I am hunting now. The rack looked like a 29" wide whitetail with a couple stickers. Sorta like the Rompola buck, except for sure real.

Tomorrow I'll post day two. Stay tuned - this gets interesting!

Can you please post a pic of your 210"? Thanks, Bob

...Thanks for bringing us along again. I really hope you take a nice one!

I'm tuned in.

ElkNut/Paul

Stay strong.

I’m sure everyone will enjoy it!

I cannot even imagine what your last month has been like.

Thanks for sharing Lou

Good luck, Robb

Can't wait to see the next installment!

I can't really say anything that hasn't been said above, all the comments above reflect the way I feel.

Continued prayers and support! God Bless,

Scar.

Matt

--Mitch

Best of Luck, Jeff

Glad to know you are in circulation. Circulation is always necessary for a healing process to occur.

FRIDAY - November 24 I hiked behind a ridge to a saddle where I could drop into my planned travel funnel, waited until I could see, put on the doe hat, and slipped down to a big fallen cottonwood tree on the edge of a dry creek bottom. (All the creekbottoms are dry out here this time of year).

I figured my target buck and his does were up feeding in the yucca hills so I began rearranging some logs to make a little fort where I would be in the shadows but still able to shoot in both directions.

Buckle up!

I was making good progress when suddenly the whole bunch ran up into the yucca hills where they typically bed, except this time they were running like their asses were on fire. I didn't think it was me, I had the wind right and was staying below the lip. I rose up to get a better view and spotted a human walking down the two track. It was my rancher friend's 74 year old girlfriend out for a morning walk through the river bottom. Arrrrrgh!!!

Figuring my morning hunt was over, I went over to intercept her and say hello. She's very nice and didn't know I would be hunting that area so I couldn't blame her for screwing it up. Should've told them where I would be hunting the night before.

She was very apologetic for walking where I was hunting, and told me she'd just seen a big herd of "antelope" run up into the hills and out of sight. Yep, she sure did.

So that was my morning hunt. I spent the rest of the morning fine-tuning the log blind, went back to camp, took a nap, and mulled over where I should hunt in the evening since those deer were spooked out of their routine and that's more of a morning ambush spot anyway.

ElkNut/Paul

Despite the spooking incident I elected to go back to the log blind. Often they will filter back after a massive spooking incident. However, after sitting for an hour it just didn't feel right. I didn't glass any deer up and feeding anywhere except a couple does way downstream. I know if I'd have discussed this with Gail she would say something like, "You know best, but maybe you should go back where you saw that nice buck last night." She's pretty pragmatic like that.

So I pulled my Montana decoys and hiked out, drove a few miles to the other spot.

The rut is really tapering off but this spot is a place where bucks regularly visit, just in case. I've never killed one there but have passed up smaller bucks almost every time I hunt there.

LOL!

ElkNut/Paul

The inside has a bunch of old tractor tires stacked against the wall to break up my outline. I wear the same black coat and balaclava as with my Double Bull - but in this case it's the new Mossy Oak "Tractor Tire" pattern. :)

A few years ago I removed one of the boards from the side window at my eye level so I can see a little to the south and out the door to the west. I can't see to the north but have a big enough shooting gap out the front door that if something comes by I will have enough time. They usually stop to browse on the remnants of the green lawn that still exist among the weeds.

Back at camp I had my two cold beers and a delicious Marie Callender's Sweet and Sour Chicken dinner, with cherry pie for dessert. It was a satisfying day despite my heavy heart.

It was good to be out on the great prairie, where the endless open terrain helped dilute the heartbreak and soothe the churning in my gut. I didn't eat solid food for the first week after her passing. Now I feel like eating most of the time. That's good progress.

Awesome set up you have there, Lou!

Those old farm houses and barns are amazing "natural" blinds! Have set up in old farm houses and barns several times in Kansas over the years. Seems like the deer really like those places for some reason. Get a little cautious of the Hanta virus in those places and have had some close calls with old rotten floors over basements, though.

On this trip I was pressed for time, so I concentrated on three smaller chunks within about a five mile section where one dry creek threads down the middle. I know how to hunt this area the best. There are yucca hills and bluffs on each side where the deer hang out, and in the mornings and evenings they sometimes go up into a couple big stubble fields. But usually there's no real "pattern" to their travels. Instead, they will use a certain saddle if they are in an area, maybe pass by some old rusting machinery, or in the case now, drift through this old farmstead. These are the ambush spots I've figured out through years of trial and (mostly) error, where I can call and decoy when conditions are right.

Sometimes it works, and the plan comes together.

You must know what you’re doing to have that many encounters. And it’s good you’re doing it still.

This is already great medicine. Out doing what you live for, by yourself, getting life centered again. Did something similar when my folks passed away. Left the Grief Zone in the middle of everything and went to the mountains hunting. Some of the family was aghast. They were/are clueless. Caught myself saying the same words I must have said a thousand times as I headed out that same old door "I'm going hunting, see ya when I get back...." It was just what I needed. Were a lot of open jaws in the house that morning though....

Good for you, going on the hunt, getting away. Getting focused. And thanks much for deciding to share it here with us.

Now hopefully we get to see a dead deer soon....... =D

Glad you are out and about.

Thanks for sharing your hunt, the picture's and your heart felt therapy.

It just may be......... ;)

Don't....just don't........I can't unsee it...........fork me...

I got up way early and hiked into the Mesothelioma Motel in the dark. There I sat, waiting. After it got light I read some from a Jim Harrison book, "Julip", one of the couple I haven't read yet. I discovered that even though the old house is pretty leak, it stays cold in there. Glad I dressed warmly.

This is boring. Sometimes deer hunting is like that. I share the good with the bad. Stay with me - it gets way better and I'll finish up the thread tonight.

Back in the Asbestos Lodge in the dark. Only does this morning. I started thinking this must be what it's like on those CT live hunts, except I know there are some whopper bucks around here. I did see two squirrels and heard the raccoons rummaging around below me.

Back to camp for the two cold beers and a dinner of Muley Fettucini Alfredo, fresh blueberries in yogurt, and more cherry pie. I had a nice evening visiting with the guy who lets me camp on his land, and he offered me a shot of Johnny Walker Red, which of course I accepted. A couple times. :)

My head and heart are doing better. Being out here is definitely cleansing. I still have the waves but they are becoming less frequent. But I am starting to second-guess my decision to gamble on this farmhouse. I vowed to give it one more day.

More sitting the dark breathing lung-killing dust, smelling the cinnamon rolls, reading, squinting out into the grass for a glimpse of a deer. Nothing this morning but three does passing the old corrals, and a little three point wandering around in the tall grass.

I decided to give it the evening and make my decision then. I sat there until sunset, then beyond, and legal shooting light was drawing to a close. Then out of my peripheral vision I caught a glimpse of a buck passing through the side window, and all I could tell in that quick look was that his antlers were wider than his ears. At that point, it was good enough.

I clipped the release on the string and got ready to shoot. Now, I am muley hunting. There aren't any whitetails out here. I see one occasionally every five years or so, usually a small buck or a couple does. But between the CPW's whitetail eradication efforts and the local ranchers' eager participation in the same, whitetails have nearly been eradicated from this area.

So into the open doorway shooting window strolls a whitetail buck. He stops broadside, starts licking a branch, and pawing the ground. My closest pin for the plains is 25 yards and I had ranged this tree at about 18, so I settled it low in the crease and let 'er fly.

AND I MISSED! I FREAKING MISSED, just nicking his brisket at the edge of the front leg. I'm sure I dropped my bow arm. I'm still not real whippy with this compound thingy anyway. AAARRRRRGGGHHH!

AT 175 yards he ran past the edge of a small clump of trees and disappeared. There is a slight dip there so I watched through the binocs for as long as I could see, but didn't see him again. I expected him to be lying dead there beside the tree clump.

Back at the clump of trees at first light. Not a speck of blood anywhere. I backtracked, forward tracked, looked again for the arrow in the daylight, looked for blood in the first 50 yards. I was beginning to believe I'd missed him totally. Maybe the "whump" was my arrow hitting a tree behind him. But I knew in my heart he was hit somewhere.

I started searching for a dead deer in the direction he ran. For two hours I looked behind every log pile, in depressions, across the creek bottom and up in the hills. No sign, no blood. That sinking feeling hit me. I decided to go back to the scene again and look for the arrow to give me a clue.

Further investigation indicated that he must have run in a huge circle before running out of gas. As near as I can tell, the arrow hit him right where I aimed, but either I misjudged his angle or he shifted at the shot (likely, since he was looking at me) because the arrow traversed his body lengthwise, taking out one lung and the liver before exiting in front of the ham.

There was no blood because the hide closed over the entrance hole and gut plugged the exit hole. I never found the arrow, but strangely, the red weedeater string I use to weight my arrows was lying under him in his death bed.

ElkNut/Paul

I hope nobody is disappointed that this hunt didn't end with a big muley. Pretend it's a CT live hunt, except with a big dead deer at the end!

But here is how weird this is - Gail loved my big whitetail mounts, and they were the only stuffed animals she named. She had a couple small whitetail sheds on her desk for paper weights. How strange is this that a big old whitetail buck shows up in a spot where there aren't supposed to be any whitetails, stands there to let me atone for my boneheaded miss, then for some reason, I was "led" back to the farmhouse by a different route than I'd originally planned to take.

I don't know, but I'll take it. This one's for Gail, my bride, my love. It's "her" whitetail.

Ha! Ha!

Thanks for taking the time to do the recap Lou. I’m sure you’re busy with everything else after a successful hunt.

Let’s get that beer this weekend

ElkNut/Paul

Keep the faith- wounds heal with time, even though they sometimes leave scars as reminders of the past.

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Serendipity, karma, divine intervention?

Anyone looking at that mount can ponder the question. My bet is against coincidence.

Great buck. Great recap.

Hugs from the kids.

Congrats on a fine buck, and a whitetail at that. Great story Lou, and of course Gail let you know that she was with you every step of the way. Keep on keeping on, and remember that you have brothers all over the place who would gladly share a camp, and a beer with you should you get an urge to travel a bit.

Here's the obligatory prairie sunset photo, taken after the shot while waiting to start the tracking. I could apply all sorts of metaphors to this gorgeous ending to the day, but it can stand alone. The beauty says enough.

Helluva buck, and a great story! Well done, Sir!

Best Wishes, Jeff

As I mentioned my brother was killed in a super cub crash on Nov 3rd. I got my message when this guy showed up on my back deck in broad daylight. He hung around for the longest time, watching me watch him. I figure he found a new way to fly, hunt and that all is well, and right. It helped bring some comfort.

Congrats on a great buck, I feel your grief, hope you find some comfort in the message.

what bow was you using? arrows, broadheads? Interesting you wrap them to add weight ..... I've used tubes in carbons, added front and rear weight as well ... never thread wrapped.

I remember seeing some gorgeous woods thread wrapped them sealed with lacquer once upon a time - you did yours like that ??

I have a question on the hat. Do you ever use it earlier in the season? Before the horniness commences?

Congrats man

Good luck, Robb

--Mitch

Thanks so much for letting us follow your hunt. Congratulations on a great buck!

I can’t imagine the pain experienced from your loss. Sounds like Gail was with you during this hunt which finished with a perfect ending. Good luck as you continue to heal from your loss.

He said, “Even though Duke is no longer with us our relationship with him doesn’t have to end.”

Seems to me you’re following that excellent advice....

That buck will alway hold special meaning and memories. A good start to the new journey that this fork in the road has brought you to. Godspeed.

Thank you for taking us along!

Mark

X2 on the name Jake.

Now that you've pulled a big ol' whitetail out of your...... hat.... they must think you're a Wizard now.... =D

Congrats on the buck! Sure puts a new twist into your hunt. Thanks again for sharing.

Today is not a good day for me. I'm processing the meat from Evander and she would be right beside me trimming and vacuum sealing. And so it goes.

Not sure what happened to it, but it bums me out that it's gone..

Would love to go through some of your previous mule deer hunts out in the prairie as well. May need to see if Pat has them hidden out somewhere...

That was courageous and a befitting end to the beginning of the next chapter in your life. (and I mean that in the most respectful way!!!)

A soulmate NEVER leaves her (his) heart connections.

God speed to you Lou

Well done Sir.

She was with me out there. It's hard to describe but I felt it all along the way. Still feel it now, here in the house. It is a vey strange sensation, maybe because we were so close.

As for the "smile", not sure where that brown tooth came from as I don't have a brown tooth. I look like a homeless guy, or at least somebody from Alabama..

During his Coues lecture, he spoke about Coues crossbreeding with Mule Deer. As you've referenced on the Eastern Plains, the old timers called them "plains deer." The way people often try to determine is by looking at their antlers or tail. However, biologists have determined that the tarsal gland on a hybrid is 4" lower than it would be on a Mule or Whitetail Deer. Pretty interesting.

Thanks, bow assassin. Glad you enjoyed it. For those for whom it matters, "Gail's buck" officially grossed over 150 and netted 146. Respectable, considering how infrequently they occur there, and instead of cultivating trophy antlers and feeding them supplements they are officially under siege.

Hope to see more of your hunt recaps again.

Not only are they well done and fun to read, but there are usually some little nuggets of information on hunting tactics. When guys like you are telling a story, I’m listening. There’s always something to learn in that story.

My buddy was thinking of trying that nose jammer.

I remembered you talking about using it on this thread from 5 years ago.

I thought I remember you writing about using it on other hunts as well.

Do you really like that stuff, Or was that written in sarcasm?