NOW what am I gonna do??!!
Whitetail Deer
#2 (ala Dr. Evil’s sidekick)
#2 (ala Dr. Evil’s sidekick)
The way this crazy year has been going, I didn’t know what to expect for the upcoming whitetail season, here at home in Iowa. I started running trail cameras in early July. At first, I didn’t get much of anything to excite me too much, but in early August things changed for the better, and in a big way! I started getting pics of more and more nice bucks on camera. I ended up getting pics and videos of more really nice bucks, than I’ve ever gotten, by far!
DISCLAIMER: For you guys that hate it when we name the deer, stand sites, etc....move along to another thread, please.
Invite a nice, clean living, God fearing, younger guy to help you out!
PM me ;0)
He got a little bigger
He got a little bigger
“Highbrow”
“Highbrow”
“P Trap”
“P Trap”
Mulie Bob
Mulie Bob
TJ Hooker
TJ Hooker
Where is the one you killed? Have him on camera?
The Browning buck
The Browning buck
Some nice old bucks. Definitely some specific deer to target and challenge you!
“175”
“175”
I’m gettin there, John ;-)
Can't wait! I don't like you anymore, by the way :)
Unfortunately, 175” got hit on the highway. Plus, we had to rename him “165”!
Here ya go, John. I never did come up with a name for him.
Scoot and I were wondering if you were maybe thinking about heading to Kodiak again this November?
“Frankie 4brows”
“Frankie 4brows”
This guy was at the top of my list. I wish I knew how to post videos on here. I got a bunch of really nice trail cam vids, plus a few from the stand.
Funny you should mention that, Nick! I texted Zack today, to see if he had any cancellations....He said only if I could get there by tonight! ;-)
Troy, yur killin me! Know what northern Mn is like?? About as sad as the Gophers defense!!!
Might as well get this outta the way
Might as well get this outta the way
My work load was just a little bit lighter than in previous years, so I got caught up about 2 weeks earlier than normal, and have been getting to hunt a little bit more in mid October than I usually do. The morning hunts in on the bedding flats, were very slow, with little activity. We have zero acorns this year, so I don’t know if that’s the reason, or the dreaded “October lull”. The evening hunts were a bit better, and I saw a few decent bucks, but no shooters, till about 10 days ago.
What part of Iowa? Heading down Sunday with my dad and uncle to zone 4
Buddy congrats congrats congrats!!! Amazing is all I can say without ruining your doe harvest stories! ;-)
As I found him
As I found him
I sat one of my best stands that evening, and saw a pile of does and not a single buck. Then, about 45 minutes before sunset, the bucks started showing up. Probably 7-8 of them in all, but they were all 1 1/2—2 1/2 yr olds. Finally, a young buck popped up out of the ravine about 30 yds away, followed by another. About a minute later another buck came out in the same spot as the other 2. I immediately recognized him as the nice 10 point from my trail cams. I figured he was in the mid 160s and I was definitely gonna try and kill him if given a shot.
He walked parallel to me and wouldn’t stop! I finally got him to stop at 40 yds quartering away. I shot and hit him a bit further back than I wanted. He didn’t know for sure what happened, and ran to the far end of the bean field before finally stopping. He stood there for several minutes before bedding down. I watched him until it was too dark to see him any longer, then I slipped out as quietly as I could. He stayed bedded the entire time, and I could tell he was very sick. I agonized over what to do, and finally decided to leave him overnight, hoping the coyotes didn’t find him. (I read the other thread about leaving them overnight vs chancing it and going after them, so I don’t want to rehash the pros and cons of my decision)
I came back the following morning at daybreak and slipped up to the edge of the field. I could see that he was laying right where I had last seen him, plus, the yotes hadn’t found him. He was cold and stiff when I found him, so I don’t think he lived more than a few hours. Upon gutting him, I found that my arrow had hit guts, liver and had caught the very back of one lung.
Pretty sunrise
Pretty sunrise
Bowsite is sure glitchy tonight :-(
Buddy,, congrats again!!! Sweet photos! I’m telling you that clover strip is the ticket, whoever did that had a good superintendant!!! ;-)
It dropped into the low 30s overnight, so the meat was still good, thankfully. A little smelly gutting him, but not unbearable.
Feel bad for you having little to do now. Poor guy. Congrats and enjoy your success.
Congrats, thanks for the recap.
Usually don’t get to take pics with the pretty foliage in the background.
Very nice. Beautiful buck.
Love the colors in the background
Love the colors in the background
He ended up tallying a bit better than I had guessed
He ended up tallying a bit better than I had guessed
Well done T-Roy!! What a season!
One of my wife’s pics of Frankie
One of my wife’s pics of Frankie
As a resident landowner in Iowa, in addition to a statewide either sex archery tag, I’m allowed a second either sex tag, that is valid for the property that I own. I put my landowner/tenant tag on this buck and decided that my statewide tag was designated for Frankie 4brows or bust.
I got a couple of recent trail cam videos of him, so I felt I had a decent idea of the general area of his haunts. The first evening hunt, there was not a sighting of Frankie, but ended up having another buck that I had gotten trailcam videos of during the summer, within 30 yards of my tree, for 10 minutes. I’d rather not post a pic of him on here, but, IMO, this buck is probably a 4 yr old deer at the oldest, and if he makes it through the season unscathed, has the potential to blow up into an absolute freak! He’s by far, the biggest buck I’ve ever passed on, and I sure hope he makes it through to next season and hangs around.
The next evening, my wife texted me and said she just took a pile of pictures of Frankie standing on the trail 40 yards south of the house! Figures! I’m in a stand a half mile away!
Very cool coloration on him
Very cool coloration on him
One of the best spots on the entire farm is right up the hill behind my house. It is a huge bedding flat, and when the rut is kicking in, can sometimes look like a Kindergarten Easter egg hunt, with deer cruising all over the place. I’ve got a stand in a good spot for a morning hunt, when the wind is out of the NE, which they called for the next morning.
The next morning, I slipped up into that stand well before daybreak, anticipating what this morning’s hunt would bring. An hour into the hunt, I spotted a buck working his way towards me. It was another buck that I had trailcam pics of, that I had nicknamed “2 timer”. He’s a typical 11 pointer with two extra tines that come off on the the inside of his left main beam. He worked his way right past me and worked a scrape 15 yards in front of me for several minutes, (which I got some neat footage of) before finally cruising off farther onto the flat. He is a really nice buck, but my heart was set on trying to get a crack at Frankie.
Another hour passed before I spotted a group of 4 does headed straight towards me. They ended up right out in front of me and milled around for quite awhile, before heading south, along a lane. They stopped and were suddenly on full alert, staring hard to the south. Their flags went up and they took off back to the east, and my first thought was, coyotes. Sure enough, I spotted a pair of them, trotting down the trail, leading right past my location. I got my bow up and ready, and as the lead dog trotted into a shooting lane, I softly squeaked, stopping the front dog long enough to send an arrow on its way. The arrow hit it’s mark and the yote burned off to the east, but only made it about 75 yards before piling up. His chicken$hit buddy bailed on him and took off for parts unknown!
Beautiful buck, good on you killing that coyote. Forrest
It had been about 45 minutes since the coyote episode, when I spotted a couple of bucks, along with a doe, through the trees, about 70 yds out. I got the binos on them, and sure enough, one of them was Frankie! The smaller buck was kind of trailing the doe, but it didn’t seem like she was in estrus. They made their way past Frankie, and he took a few steps towards the other buck, posturing. The smaller buck shyed away from him, but kind of circled around and got back in behind the doe again. Frankie just stood there for several minutes, before starting to walk straight away from me. I tried several grunts to get his attention, along with a snort/wheeze, but I don’t think he heard me for sure. He kept walking, so I grabbed my rattling bag (my rattling horns are still hanging in the tree where I shot my first buck!) I lightly rattled and that stopped him. He looked back my direction, turned, and took a few steps my direction before stopping. After a moment, he turned and started to go the wrong way again, so I snort/wheezed at him while he was looking away. He again turned and took several steps towards me, before stopping again. He wanted to come, but just wasn’t buying the fact that there was no deer standing in the vicinity of where the noise was coming from. Finally, he started circling my position. I was right at the edge of a deep ravine, and he stopped when he got to the edge. By this time, he was 50 yds away, southwest of me, standing behind heavy brush. He finally decided that he wasn’t buying it, and walked away. What a morning!
Put that coffee down and type:)
Congratulations!
Hit the dang send button to early
They were calling for several inches of snow in our area overnight and into the next morning. I LOVE hunting in the snow! Of course, they got it wrong, just like every time we had a 100% guaranteed chance of rain, this past summer :-( Sorry...I digress. I woke up to 1/2” of snow on the ground. NNW wind this morning, so I decided to hunt the Whitney stand, which is a pretty good stand for that wind, but there is a potential problem spot, right behind the tree, to the south. In our area, I like to set up right at the edge of the deep ravines that we have here, to lessen the chances of deer getting downwind. This tree sets about 20 yards from the edge of the ravine, and the deer oftentimes skirt that edge, but it’s in a great spot, so it’s worth chancing it. (Plus, I had my NoseJammer with me!).
It was pretty cold this morning, with the temp in the upper teens, but the wind was pretty light, so it wasn’t too bad. The sun still hadn’t broken the horizon, when I spotted movement to the east of my stand. Sure enough, it was Frankie walking south. He was 125 yds away and when he got to the edge of the ravine, he stopped and stood there for a moment, then turned right and headed my direction. He would walk 30-40 steps, then stand and look for a bit, before starting back up. He got to a spot where a trail goes down into the ravine, and stopped again. I was prepared to try and call to him, but only if he headed down that trail. Fortunately, he decided to continue my direction. I have two different shooting lanes that he would come through, should he keep coming. One gives me a 30-35yd shot, and the other, a 15-20 yd shot. Frankie came through the far lane, but was quartering hard to me, so I had no shot there. He kept coming and would soon be in the closer lane. My concern was that he could possibly get my wind. As he neared the lane, I drew back...and he stopped! He was right behind two hickory trees, with a 5”-6” gap between them. I had a shot at his vitals through the gap, but his near leg was back and I didn’t want to chance hitting him in the shoulder or one of the trees. I couldn’t clearly see his head, so I couldn’t tell if he was on full alert, looking my direction, or just assessing the situation. I didn’t want to chance letting down either, so I dropped my bow arm and tucked my elbow into my side, waiting for him to take the 2 steps forward that I needed for a shot. Finally, after a minute or two, he flicked his tail, and took the two steps I needed. At the shot, he wheeled and ran back to the east, along the side hill, and stopped at the crest of a small hogback for a few seconds before going down into the next ravine. I felt the shot looked very good, but there’s always that bit of doubt in one’s mind. It looked like he wavered just a bit, as he went over the edge of the hogback, and I thought I heard him crash, but wasn’t absolutely certain of that either. I stayed in the tree for another 20 minutes and scanned the area where I had last seen him, watching for any sign of him, or movement. Finally, I couldn’t take it any longer and climbed down to check my arrow. It was stuck in the ground and covered in bright red blood! I decided that I would try to slowly slip over to the edge of the ravine and peek over to see if I could spot him first, before trying to blood trail him.
Frankie 4brows sleeps with the fishes! (That’s for you, ki-ke)
When it’s almost November and you’ve shot more bucks than the Vikings have wins you know it’s been a good year :) Congrats again my friend, what an amazing season!
Awesome deer x2, congrats
What a beautiful buck!
What a beautiful buck!
I had called my wife after the shot and told her that I’m pretty sure that I had just killed Frankie, so I snapped a quick pic to let her know that I had, indeed found him. We got the trailer hooked up on the 4 wheeler along with my long spool of rope that we use to pull the deer up and out of the ravines. I punched my tag and we pulled him up to the flat and started taking a few pictures. I still can’t believe that it happened!
I’m outta buck tags, and the rut hasn’t even kicked in!
NOW WHAT AM I GONNA DO??!!
Entry
Entry
Congrats on some great bucks.
Actually wasn’t quite as heavy as I was guessing
Actually wasn’t quite as heavy as I was guessing
Totally awesome T-roy. Congrats!
But.... What's it like shooting something you have named? haha!
Love it Troy! Nice to get the full story on it. Congrats again! Way to make it count. On a year that you had some awesome bucks, here you are with two bucks over 170 gross and November hasn’t hit. I’d say you efficiently capitalized! All the hard work pays off. You’re a big buck slayer, congrats!!!
Way to go bud! What dates are open for the 22’ season? Let me know :)
Ha Brad! My wife was actually a little bit sad that Frankie got killed. She walks our county road with the dog all the time, and she told me about this huge buck that she saw several times over the summer. I downplayed what she kept telling me. (She has a tendency to exaggerate a bit!) I actually set up a trail camera for her, near the house, and finally, she got a couple of videos of him. I never heard the end of that!
Actually, I DO know what I’m gonna do. I’ve still got a couple of doe tags, plus, they just opened up our county this year for bobcats. A bobcat with a bow is way up there on my list. I got this pic as well as a trail cam video of one in a different area. I plan on taking a bunch of videos as well. Now, if we can get Trump re-elected, 2020 won’t be such bad year!
Congrats on an incredible season, man, wow.
Congrats again and thanks for the fun story!
Troy, even though it is 4 degrees this morning in Nebraska you might have inspired me to get out of the Inn and back to the popup camper and hunt WT this afternoon. I know I will. Warmer weather coming. Nicely done and I hope you find something to do with your spare time. my best, paul
Awesome Troy! What a season already! It would take me 4 years in KY to kill that many inches of antler! Congrats man....you deserve it!
What a dang whitetail paradise you live in up there!!! Congrats!!! And I'll add that you must be pretty tough to only wear that leafy suit in those cold temps;)
Well Ill be in IA next week. Hopefully I will have half the success as you did.
Congrats Troy! Awesome bucks, and good luck with the cats and camera
Congrats Troy! Hell of a season even if it was short. Fill those doe tags with some old gray headed nannies.
What a great story, congrats!
Wow what a season! Congrats on a couple of tanks
Normally I would say now you will see a monster buck while doe and cat hunting but I think you already killed him!!!
Congratulations and Good Job!!!
Incredible Season Troy, Wow !
"NOW WHAT AM I GONNA DO"??!!
Kill a pile of coyotes, maybe??
Congratulations! That's a dream season for most of us. Spectacular bucks!
Great bucks and story! Congratulations and thanks for sharing.
So awesome Troy. A season to end all seasons. All before the clock chimes November. Huge congratulations, and it's so nice to see it happen to a guy that works his tail off all year for great whitetail hunting. Couldn't happen to a better man. The pics are incredible. One of the best things is you still have large deer to chase and watch for next year!
Unluckiest year ever to be a bobcat on your farm lol. You can always use November/December to try and figure out cactus jack ;)
Awesome ground man. Congrats!
Congratulations on an AMAZING season!!
Outstanding - only problem now is -- that much antler could cost you a pile of dough in taxidermy bills. LOL
The Iowa preference point system just crashed and burned!
Congrats Troy on the rewards of hard work, planning, patience AND discipline! 98% of us would have been tagged out on the first decent buck that walked by.
Paul@the Fort is still my all time hero, but right now, second place is a tight race between T-roy the Whitetail Wizard and Nick the Caribou Crusher.
Uh, WOW seems like an understatement! Congrats, Troy. You can always head over to NE and get an OTC tag, but we don't grow 'em like that here.
Wow. Dream season for sure. Very happy for you!
Congrats Troy! Are those two racks destined for a trip to Colorado?
Congrats on the bucks and good luck on the bobcat.
Troy, 2020 was definitely your year. What a pair of bucks !
You da man Troy...no you are da man! Congrats buddy, great bucks, and good luck on the cats...one with a bow is a darn good feeling!
Congrats on an awesome season!!
Great job you really know how to get it done consistently time and time again wonderful
Troy, what a pair of outstanding deer. A HUGE congrats to you! its going to be tough to beat this season but it sure will be fun trying. Best of luck with the bobcat.
Awesome stuff T-roy! Congrats on two beauties!
I only know 4 or 5 guys that have the complete package going on and you are one for sure. Tremendous results to being patient. Enjoy the ride.
All I have to say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ANd CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations t-roy!! You may not be able to top this season! Way to hold out for what you wanted! Dang!!!
I'm not real fond of the deer naming personally, but so what. Two nice big-bodied bucks right there. Congrats! Just goes to show, sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time, regardless of what the calendar says.
I'd love to get a cat myself, but haven't drawn in our lottery for a couple years. I was pretty lucky when they first started the lottery, but now I'm striking out. To no surprise, the only time I see them up close is when I don't have a tag.
Are we gonna see Troy’s pic on a can of Nosejammer next year?! ;-)
Amazing bucks! Really incredible to shoot two bucks of that caliber with a bow in one year, congratulations!
2020 will always be remembered as the year Troy killed those 2 giants.
In hindsight....I’m betting NOT, APauls;-)
Spectacular!!! Congrats Troy on two incredible bucks!
All I know is Troy has got the hunting spot and I got the good looks! Hell of season!
Congratulations Troy! You are having a great 2020!!
What a great read and pictures! Congrats all around.
That's awesome. What a great season and a great write up - thanks for doing it. Grats!
I just decided to come back to this thread to tell you I don't feel sorry for you Troy. :)
Seriously....you IA guys are blessed. Many people hunt their whole lives and don't even see a deer that big. That being said...you might have some big ones running around but they don't jump in the back of the truck. Again.... Way to get it done!
Outstanding! Thanks for the story and some great pics!
Fantastic story telling Troy!! Thanks for the pics! Quite a season....OMG what a season...
Ok, enuf blowin smoke at Troy. His wife won't be able to stand him. It's borderline anyway as she's a loyal Gopher fan.
That actually paid off for me today, Chuck. Saved me a trip to the Dr. I just borrowed some of her anti-depressant medication ;-)
Nov 13 is coming, my friend!
That’s awesome, Troy! Glad I stopped by tonight. Congratulations, my friend!
Way to go T-Roy! A dream season for sure! All that work paid off big time! Now you can work on those honey do’s during the rut ! Ha ha ha jk
Congratulations t-roy!! Amazing story, and glad it all came together for you! Worst part about your 2020 season, is trying to top it in 2021! Unbelievable!!!
I Love it!!!!!!!! Awesome all the way around. Congratulations.
Nice story telling and excellent pictures! Congrats!
Great job Troy! Thanks for sharing the pics and stories with us. I am living proof that it's not all Iowa boys that just walk out their back door and shoot booners, so I very much appreciate your scouting/tracking/hunting efforts to get it done on great bucks time after time.
Also, I'm going to try my hand at the bobcat trapping this winter as well. Let me know if you want to compare notes.
Congrats neighbor on 2 great deer! Hope to finally get in a stand this weekend...Go Chief's
Way to go Troy. Great bucks and I love the story of each!
What a season - and all before November. Congrats!
Heck of a season, congrats Troy
Way to go Troy. Great bucks and I love the story of each!
Just catching up here T-roy, Just wow.
Congrats buddy!
Wow, wow, wow!!! Relax and enjoy backstraps is what I’d do!
Congrats on a great season !!
Congrats Troy, absolutely incredible. Ridin a heater like that, i’d be knockin on as many other states doors as possible. Like Alan’s dad said in the hangover, you never walk away from the table when ur on a heater.....;^)
Just awesome. You'll never forget this season
Just getting caught up on some threads and saw this one. Wow! Congrats T-roy!!! Incredible season!!
Wow! Was just made aware of this incredible thread. Couldn't figure out how I missed it until I saw the dates.
Congrats Troy on a phenomenal season....short as it was! Couple beautiful Iowa bucks buddy!
That’s awesome congrats, this can only be done in IOWA, best place in the world for Whitetail hunting
Great read the second time around as well awesome
T-roy and I usually have a goal to shoot the same amount of inches in an animal. Only difference is I'm elk hunting and he's whitetail hunting...
Enjoyed this Troy. Incredible season. Good to catch up.
Absolutely incredible! Congrats!
