What a hunt!
Massachusetts
I am still shaking as i write this. I am so fired up right now. 2:45pm today, I'm driving in Zone 9. I look over and there is a monster 10 pointer running across someones front yard. I immediately pull over and grab my phone. I sneak along the rode and duck into the woodline along that persons front yard. I see his tracks and start following them, scanning the woods slowly. Sure enough, there he is up on the ridge. I watch him feed for maybe 2 mins, wind is good, cover is good, he's relaxed. Cant get a pic of his antlers although everytime he moves his head my jaw drops further. just a huge frame. I figure at this point i got nothing to lose. I start sneaking down through the woodline. I end up getting 30 yards from this deer and i can finally see his whole rack. I could have shot him 10 times with the bow (assuming i wasnt shaking too much haha). Just Unbelievable. I watched him for over 5 mins feeding. I could not believe that he had that much antler this early in the year. He's a perfect 10, wide, tall, big body. Gotta be 140" already with 2 more months to grow!!! In this picture you cant see the tops of his tines as they are cut off by the leaves. His G2's were probably close to 12". Only average size brow tines though.
How much more antler can he put on in the next 2 months? Is thinking a couple inches in width and a couple more inches in tine length a reasonable assumption? This deer could hit 160" im thinking. If he doesnt grow another inch hes still a monster so who even cares. Just makes you think though.
I've been wanting to hunt this spot for 3 years but havent gotten around to it, especially living in NH now. Its public but very hard to access. Its going to be straight swamp hunting to get anywhere legal from a road or a house too which is fine. Im more worried about finding a spot to park. Id prefer that though as hopefully noone else is hunting him. I am going to do everything i can to find an access point now and i am pretty sure i know where he sleeps and where he roams. I actually know the area fairly well. I will kill this deer this year. My whole summer just changed. I am going into full deer mode. Time to get in there and come up with a plan. I am so fired up.
Check out the tine length in this one...
Amazing , And it will only keep growing. Get yourself a few comfortable stands and cut a path or whatever is necessary. Great opportunity, good luck.
That is a great buck! Good luck.
That is a great buck for sure but just remember those pics are of low quality and a buck in velvet always looks a lot bigger. Good luck and show us a pic with hard antlers and your smile!
Great buck!!!! Go get em!!!
wow.. that's a stud.. I hope you can connect on him this season!
Nice, its hard to get a good pic on a cell phone. I Nearly hit a stop sign this morning trying to get turned around and take a pic. FOUR nice bucks together, the pics I got did them no justice thou.
Yeah it took like 20 pictures to get 1 decent one and I was on full zoom. Fortunately I first saw him at 20 yards off my bumper and then watched him at 30 yards for about 5 mins and got a very good look at him in person.
I hate to be the richard here, but you know on October 1st at first light he is going to change his routine and frustrate the crap out of you!
Jokes aside, that is an awesome deer. You will have a heck of a challenge going against a deer that has survived this long. But you can do it! I have no huge wall hangers, so take my comments with a grain of salt, but I feel the more you bother him now, the more likely he will ghost on you sooner. With the early season this year, if you can give him time to relax after this encounter, he might not be expecting you earlier than usual. So do what you have to do quickly, quietly, and ideally just before or during a rainy day. Then stay out until it's time. Good luck, I'll be watching how it goes for sure and can't wait to see you holding that rack!
Good luck bigwoods, I love the excitement. Thanks for sharing it.
longbeard you are correct. I have some cool pics of a buck in velvet and then again in November. Velvet makes them look like they have a lot more mass. However the frame (tine length and beam-to-beam width) don't really look any bigger because of velvet. Only adds maybe 1/2"
mrw, no early start in zone 9. But I agree with keeping the invasions to a minimum and only then during a rain.
Yes I am fully aware of this. I've spent enough years pushing deer out of spots before the season hit and learn enough hard lessons. I will spend one full day scouting this area in July and that will be it until I hunt it. I do not expect this deer to be in this same spot after the middle of September but he can only move to 2 other pieces of woods near by which I do know how to get into. As the crow flies, each of these 3 areas are about 1-1.5 miles apart. So I am fairly confident that he will be in one of these 3 areas come mid-October. And if he does get pressured, I know exactly where he is headed. Getting close to him during daylight is a whole other story though. Don't get me wrong, Im making this sound WAY easier than it is. but if I find the "right" spot in each of these 3 areas, I at least have a slim chance, on days with the "right" conditions. The chess match begins.
Good luck BWB, get that BBDeer!!
Good luck Bigwoods. Can’t wait to see a picture of him and you together
Wow, wide spread on his head gear! Good luck this fall!
