Well I guess I’ll be the guy to kick things off. Since 2015 I have watched a group of 4 bucks grow mostly through trail cam photos. Being a guide and having little to no time to hunt I was never able to seal the deal. From the past years opening week and mid October were the best time of year to hunt these 4. Opening day here in Manitoba was Monday August 27 I set up for an evening hunt on a funnel between bedding and feeding area. However this year I had not had any cams out and was going in blind banking on the fact that the bucks made it through last season. I hung my lone wolf and 10 minutes later a group of 8 bucks and a doe came past at 80 yards. 3 of the bucks were the dudes I had history with. Super pumped to see them but wondering where the fourth was, it wasn’t long until I heard a deer approaching my setup out stepped a 120 class at 37 yards and following him was buck number 4. I drew stopped him at 33 yards and drilled him for a 50 yard recovery. He was down in sight and in seconds!
Hunted along a sunflower field tonight, a spot I had never sat at before. This sleek buck strolled by and gave me a 22 yard shot. 50 yards later he went down.
I ran up to NJ to hunt with Bowsiter njbuck for a long weekend last week. I managed to do some damage to the doe population and shoot a nice urban buck in the process. It sure was a different kind of hunting than I'm used to, but I had a blast doing it.
Shot this young doe last Saturday on my farm in south-central Missouri. It was my birthday so I figured that was a pretty good present! I even caught it on video. This link should take you to a short clip of the shot. Darren
Shot a doe Saturday evening September 29 from my ground blind. My three kids helped me set it up on the edge of a corn field two days before and my 4 year old son was with me for the first sit. This was my first deer from a ground blind. Frontal shot at 15 yards. 65 yard recovery.
I filled my tag in a first hour , first day hunt of season. Passed 6 does and a 10 points buck. 30 deers around on my eyes sight. I didn’t want to passed this buck because I have limits time to hunt this year. Shot him at 41 yards, he ran less than 50 yards.
Last Saturday morning at 8 am, this dandy PA 8 pt, was walking out of my life, until I grunted him back in. At 30 yards, I let loose my Rage Trypan tipped Beman ICS Classic, found it's mark, and the rest is history! Got to break in my new to me PSE BowMadness 34. Congratulations to all who were successful so far, and good luck to the rest of you!!
Long Island New York. October cold front had them up and moving during daylight. Sven yard shot. Arrow passed through his opposite leg. Great day, saw lots of deer ncluding a bigger buck tearing up scrapes.
Thanks Will. Used an elk hunter trick. Frontal shot. First ever. I won't hesitate to use it again in the right situation. He went maybe 40 yards and I have never seen a blood trail like that before. They are absolutely lethal. Never would have had the confidence to try it without all the time spent looking at the elk threads.
My wife shot it on her first sit behind the house. 25ish yards. Hit the top of the heart with a slick trick. It went about 50 yds. It was just cruising through. I have this deer on camera throughout the summer and fall. He’s around 140” gross maybe mid 40s. She on a roll. A mid 130s 144, 150 ish and a 184” last few years.
My son Max got his first bow kill yesterday afternoon. 18 yard shot, double lunged, ran 80 yards and fell in sight! Bear Apprentice bow and a Vortex boadhead.
Had a hot doe come through with four bucks on her. Tried to stop a nice 4x4 twice without success. Next time she came by this buck was chasing her. Bleated as loud as I could and he put on the brakes at 15 yards. Great hunt!
My PA buck tag is now filled. Was a fun hunt by using a buck decoy to draw him in for a shot. I passed on a smaller 8pt before getting a shot at this guy. 30yds using a QAD Exodus 125 through the heart.
Shot this Indiana buck yesterday. Got lucky when he decided to go cruising in the early afternoon. Heart shot with a VPA Terminator at 20 yards, and he traveled about 30 yards before tipping over. Those are probably his rubs you see in the background. I had a few trail cam pics of this buck, but this was my first live encounter with him.
November 15, recovered November 16 in the morning, dreaded liver shot, crazy long blood trail that was covered by a light snow, bedded probably 30 times, big thanks to Stickflingers for helping trail
Got this boy on 16 November, put a lot of time in this year with not much to show for it. Decided to try behind the house this night and had a bunch of does blowing at me down wind the first hour and I thought the gig was up. I stayed to last light and a single mature doe materialized. I figured a buck should be following but three more does followed, soon I was surrounded by does. Then this guy showed up staying in the thickets. For him, I had one shooting lane where they crossed the beaver bog and it was 45 yds but I had to pin point stop him to get at his vitals. With fading light and him silhouetted, I grunted, stopped him but struggled to find my red 40yd pin against his vitals. Finally made the pin out and released, everything in the fading light felt good. In a flash, I was able to make out the buck mule kick, reverse direction and he fell within 40 yds from the shot. He isn't a high scoring buck but he is the dominant buck around my property, at this point, I was glad to have harvested him. Good job all!
Very old Kansas buck.........will submit the teeth for aging but everything is worn down significantly......was bigger last year with a drop tine and he busted off 3 points already....
Had a great hunt this morning.. 2nd largest bodied buck I've shot over the years. Watched him whoop a young 10pt about 30 seconds before I shot him...havent tagged in 4 years so I decided it was time to quit being so picky and have some fun..congrats to everyone above..
I've watched this buck mature over the last few years and passed on him in 2016 as i felt he was a 4.5 year old with tremendous potential. I hunted him hard last year but had limited days with a SW or W wind and that kept me out of his core; i never saw him on the hoof in 2017 but i did have trailcam pictures confirming him on the farm and that his core was similar to 2016. I had high hopes he would make another big jump in antler development from 2017 (2016 he was 148", 2017 166"); while he did put on some mass and G4's, his right split G2 with kicker was smaller than last year. Regardless, this was my target deer. I have always hunted deer that i have had history of but i have never had the last two years of matching sheds. My "Rut-cation" started on 11/2 and at 2pm on 11/6, during a windy all day sit, he showed up on the east side of what i considered his core area. It was a new stand that i specifically hung to hunt him. He freshened a scrape and 3 rubs at 50-60 yards and i made a slightly forward, double lung shot at 42 yards (my longest archery shot/kill) with a Magnus tipped arrow and he went 30 yards. One of my most incredible histories with a specific deer; one that is almost bitter sweet as i will no longer be looking for his sheds in the spring and trying to encounter him. I believe he is 6.5 and he taped 177 5/8" (gross).
great trophy. i think Winke once did a mount on a pole that had three shoulder mounts. The actual kill, and two others were the sheds, and of course different capes, of the same buck. It was really awesome. Just an idea.
Great deer, Cris! Always an added sense of satisfaction when you target a specific deer and even more so when you have an extended history with him. Congrats.
My first traditional buck... SE Oklahoma. Killed him on November 7th at 7:25 am. 8 yard shot and heard him expire at around 75 yards. Sometimes hard work and dedication is rewarded in spades. Grateful!
Got the one I was after. Lots of long drives and hours on stand. He won't score that great but he is a super cool deer and very memorable hunt. Persistence kills. This one is a special one for me. Congrats to everyone this year, lots of beautiful animals. Fun to see.
Some great deer on this thread, congrats to everybody!
I got this one on November 2nd in WI. I watched him breed a doe 4 times before she led him past me. Myself and the neighbors have several years of trail cam photos of him and I estimate him at 7 years old. I plan to send a tooth in to verify. He field dressed 215 pounds.
Beav - Your boy can really get it done!!! Super excited for all of his success this year!!!! Thanks for sharing the super tag story and please extend a big congratulations from me. Pete
I don’t post pics but had a great year Eastern turkey in Mn Merriams turkey in SD Brown bear in AK Black bear in AK Wolf in AK Aoudad in TX Whitetail in KS