Post your 2019 success photos
Contributors to this thread:Indiana
From: KDC
10-Sep-19
Post your success from this year. Congratulations to all the lucky hunters
From: KDC
10-Sep-19
First Kansas bird
First Kansas bird
Kansas bird #2
Kansas bird #2
Alaska success
Alaska success
From: patience2spare
11-Sep-19
Great start, Kevin! Love the black bear pic! Shares some details of your Alaska adventure when you have time - would like to hear about it. Pete
From: INbowdude
13-Sep-19
9/10 Wyoming. Got lucky.
From: MambaHNTR
14-Sep-19
WOW! Congrats INbowdude! Very beautiful and perfect bull!
From: patience2spare
14-Sep-19
YES Mike!!!!!!!! Great bull! Super happy for you! Can't wait to hear the details. Pete
From: pav
15-Sep-19
That's GREAT Mike! Congrats!!!
Of course, you know we need more details!!!!!
From: bas
15-Sep-19
Congrats Mike! Paul, your pics? Word on the block is that you had some success of your own.
From: INbowdude
15-Sep-19
Drying out my boots with a hair dryer. Pizza box reflects the heat to the backside of the boot and dries it out faster.
Drying out my boots with a hair dryer. Pizza box reflects the heat to the backside of the boot and dries it out faster.
Okay a quick story. 12 years of preference points and it was time to cash in. Redoak and 5575 posted some great pics and I just had to go. 25 hour drive. Day 1 and I have a 170" bull broadside at 23 yards, pass because the guide says he's too small. Day 2 and 3 we have several close encounters but no shots. Bulls are bugling but not rutting. We are hunting a few hours in the mornings and evenings. Mid-days we rested and kept from pressuring the elk. Private ranch and I was the only hunter. Day 4 the morning was slow but the evening was amazing. I drew on 4 different bulls. One bull I was sitting on my butt and had to keep scooting around to try to get a shot, a second one and I had 1 little limb that blocked my shot. The third one just spun as I drew and faced away. The final bull came from the open face of the mountain and walked right to me at 8 yards, I couldn't draw and when I did, I misjudged the distance. Finally on the 5th evening, it came together. Elk were all around us but too far out to the north and south. We were facing west and finally had 3 bulls coming down the mountain. A cow and calf came from the north and was followed by my bull. When he put his head down to beat up some brush, I let the arrow loose. 50 yard, uphill and broadside. Bull ran off and crested a low rise. 30 seconds later, I saw a bull running to the south. It stopped and I saw the antlers drop in the bush. What a rush! We field dressed the bull that evening and packed it out the next morning. Rained each day sometimes both morning and night. Great time and great guide.
PAV, so what's your story and where's your pics?
From: pav
16-Sep-19
So happy for you Mike! That's a GREAT bull! Sounds like you were really into the elk. Sure makes for an exciting hunt. Congrats again!!!!
From: pav
16-Sep-19
Afternoon of August 22nd, literally the last 10-15 minutes of the hunt. Spot and stalk on the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula on a boat based hunt out of Homer, Alaska. Passed multiple shot opportunities all week before this guy showed up.
From: pav
16-Sep-19
Morning of September 7th, day seven of the hunt. Management mule deer buck (2X3) taken in the Henry Mountains of Utah. Unseasonably hot and dry weather made this hunt more challenging than anticipated.
From: INbowdude
16-Sep-19
Well done Paul! Dang nice management mulie! Good looking bear too.
From: bas
16-Sep-19
Congrats again guys on the successful hunts ! Those are some awesome stories and memories.
From: patience2spare
17-Sep-19
Nice work Paul! Sounds like you got every last little bit out of both hunts and a couple really nice animals as well. That bear looks like a really good one! Congrats! Pete
From: sticksender
17-Sep-19
Congrats Kevin, Mike & Paul. You guys did really great, but I’m not surprised at all!Will try to add a quick little something to the thread once I’m done riding airplanes ;-)
From: pav
17-Sep-19
Oh boy....sounds like a Bighorn Sheep story on the horizon! Greg, you do realize most airlines offer Wi-Fi these days....and we are worth it! LOL
From: Mnhunter1980
17-Sep-19
I accidentally clicked on Indiana while scrolling through the states and saw your success thread. Very impressive! Congrats! Some great trips and btw the pizza box is a great idea. :)
From: INbowdude
17-Sep-19
Greg, Sounds like there is a story to be told for sure! Maybe a pic or two?
From: sticksender
18-Sep-19
No bighorn sheep hunting yet ;-) Trust me, I'm chomping at the bit to go! But will wait and hunt during the bighorn rut, in the time frame of late Oct through early December. The license is valid statewide through 12/31.I had a September Moose hunt set up in the NWT. Got lucky and took a modest sized bull on this hunt. It was about a 40 yard shot and then about a 75-yard recovery. There were 2 other bowhunters in camp and everyone had a lot of action. It was a pre-rut type hunt where the bulls were cruising but not yet with cows. This one had already been fighting and had some freshly-busted tips.
From: sticksender
18-Sep-19
Had a few days left before flying out so instead of just sitting around base camp, I took the opportunity to do some Dall Sheep hunting. During the 3 days we found and stalked a few decent rams but none turned out to be good enough to shoot. Then as luck would have it on the very last night right at dusk a group of 5 rams strolled into the cliffs about 400 yards above our tents. There was a good ram in the bunch (see pic) but since we all had to fly out the next morning, sadly there was no time to even try a stalk on those rams. Oh man, it was killin' me to have to leave 'em be! And they were in the same spot at dawn, just perched up there casually staring down at us...lol! Notice the massive body on the ram at left. We quickly packed out of there in the early morning with some weather moving in, and we ended up just barely making it out in the Twin Otter aircraft before the mountains got socked in. Still it was a great time and a rare chance to do some archery sheep hunting "for free"!
From: INbowdude
18-Sep-19
Greg, Very nice bull. Who was your outfitter? Cool that you got to chase some rams. Congrats!
From: sticksender
18-Sep-19
Thanks Mike. To answer your question on the outfitter, I hunted with Stan Stevens.
From: Zim
18-Sep-19
Just scored on a DIY public land hunt I waited 21 years for - Oregon Mt Emily elk. My points got trashed when they created outfitter welfare tags out of half the NR tags years ago. The quality has slipped a lot in the last 7 years. I was the only nonresident with this tag. But I scored when others could not. Didn’t see one other spike nor big bull taken other than mine. Success rate has dropped 5 straight years for this hunt due to wolves.. Anyway got lucky to score with only 4 days of bugling and 4 total stalks. Won't score high but lots of mass.
From: pav
19-Sep-19
Nice bull Greg! Congrats! With all the sheep hunting plans this fall, I had totally forgotten about the moose hunt. I can imagine leaving those Dalls alone was a tough proposition!
From: pav
19-Sep-19
Good job Ken! Congrats! Twenty-one years is a LONG time to wait...and alot can change, but it looks like you made the most of that tag! Safe travels coming home.
From: Backwoods
20-Sep-19
Wyoming 2019. First antelope.
From: pav
20-Sep-19
Dandy buck Craig! Congrats!!!
From: KDC
20-Sep-19
Awesome animals guys!! Some real memories there.
From: INbowdude
20-Sep-19
Wow, great antelope! Where were you hunting? Guided or DIY?
From: sticksender
21-Sep-19
That's a great one for your first....congrats!
From: Backwoods
22-Sep-19
Thanks guys I was and still am pretty excited over it. We were in the Gillette area. It was a DIY hunt, but my buddies have hunted this area several times before. It was a private ranch of 200K acres. Set up was over a water hole. Took him within first 3 hours of day 1. Had 8 come in before he showed himself. The other shooter in camp tagged out as well as I was dressing mine out. Great hunt and beautiful area. Hope to go back....
From: dizzy_higg
02-Oct-19
Enjoyed sharing a hunt with KDC and PAV and a couple of other gentlemen Kenai Peninsula boat based hunt out of Homer, Alaska
From: bas
02-Oct-19
Congrats Herb! Sounds like it was quite an adventure.
From: INbowdude
02-Oct-19
Excellent trad kill on the bear. Congrats.
From: INbowdude
02-Oct-19
I'm weak man! 12 yard shot, 40 yard run. Watched him drop. Button buck that I thought was a doe. I wasn't looking at the head, I was looking at a broadside shot. Had to get him cut up and in the freezer fast, temp was crazy hot. Come on cooler weather!
From: INbowdude
02-Oct-19
From: patience2spare
04-Oct-19
Gonna be some good eats, Mike!!!
From: patience2spare
04-Oct-19
No out of state hunts for me this year so I am definitely enjoying your success photos from other places guys! That black bear hunt in AK looks awesome as well as the moose hunt Greg! Congrats guys! Pete
From: INbowdude
04-Oct-19
Thanks Pete
From: sticksender
05-Oct-19
Mike you didn't waste any time. Credit to you for hunting in that hot weather!
From: INbowdude
05-Oct-19
Thanks Greg, Just a weak man and the deer went broadside. 1.5 hours from home arrival to last piece of meat in the freezer and cleaned up. I just quartered the deer out, will do a finish butchering job over fall break. Good luck to you this season.
From: bas
05-Oct-19
Got the first deer of the year last night. 131 lb doe. 10 yards feeding on acorns. Almost got a shot at a really nice buck too. That is the first deer we have taken off this particular farm in 7 years of hunting it. The farm is super hard to hunt as it consists of mostly ag fields with 3 small blocks of timber. I think we finally cracked the code the last couple years regarding the access into the stands and it paid off. Also, my 9 year old daughter got her first deer ever on youth weekend (with a gun so pic not shown). It has been a great start to the 2019 Indiana deer season for us.
From: patience2spare
05-Oct-19
Congrats on the nice doe. Post up your daughter's pic!!!
From: patience2spare
05-Oct-19
Called this buck in this morning shortly after legal. He had been sparring with another buck. When I snort wheezed they both turned and walked right to me. Such a fun hunt and he gave me a great shot: cut the top of the heart and both lungs.
This pic is deceiving as his left side is smaller and busted which I didn't see in the early morning as I was hunting in some pretty heavy timber. Not my biggest by a long shot, but just when I start to fancy myself a "trophy hunter" an opportunity like this develops and I go all giddy like 30years ago lobbing Easton XX75's! I'm still smiling tonight! Pete
From: patience2spare
05-Oct-19
This one shows him a little more accurately. The first one was the way I saw him as he came down the trail. My wife's reaction: "yum!" She doesn't care if I have any more antlers around the house or garage...
From: pav
06-Oct-19
Congrats on the whitetails guys!
"an opportunity like this develops and I go all giddy like 30years ago lobbing Easton XX75's! "
Good for you Pete! That's exactly what bowhunting should be IMO!
From: INbowdude
06-Oct-19
Way to go Pete! Bas, congrats and yes, post your daughter's deer. We dad's get it.
From: bas
06-Oct-19
Per request: here is my daughters first deer.
Congrats on the buck Pete! Nice shot
From: stick slinger
07-Oct-19
Looking good guys (and girl) Haven’t been on here for a while. Numbers are down quite a bit where I hunt. More challenging I guess. Kids Cross country and birthday parties have kept me in, but hoping to get out there soon.
From: patience2spare
07-Oct-19
Love the pic of your daughter, Brent! Please tell her that my daughter, Grace, said great job! Pete
From: sticksender
08-Oct-19
Congrats on the whitetails all!
From: sticksender
14-Oct-19
I've had to hunt early this year, due to the Colorado sheep hunt coming up the end of this month and running for "as long as necessary" ;-)Got very lucky and tagged out over the weekend on this decent Indiana buck.
From: pav
14-Oct-19
Great buck Greg! Congrats on getting it done before November!
From: INbowdude
14-Oct-19
Heck yeah Greg! Nice buck. Congrats.
From: Nimrod90
14-Oct-19
Nice Buck Sticksender!
From: patience2spare
15-Oct-19
Beautiful deer Greg! Good luck on the next chapter in sheep hunting!
From: KDC
16-Oct-19
Great buck! Congratulations Greg!
From: bas
16-Oct-19
Nice buck! Congrats
From: NY Bowman
17-Oct-19
Congratulations on a great buck Greg. I just couldn't pass up this nice buck with my longbow.
From: sticksender
17-Oct-19
Very, very nice....congrats on that beauty!
From: pav
18-Oct-19
You da man Terry! Nice buck.....congrats!!!
From: INbowdude
18-Oct-19
Wow, that's a nice buck and cool arrows! Congrats.
From: INbowdude
25-Oct-19
And it turned into this!
And it turned into this!
I am a weak man and there are no hogs to hunt around here.
From: sticksender
26-Oct-19
Looks like a plump and delicious one to me!
From: patience2spare
26-Oct-19
Dad shot this young buck yesterday. I love the look on his face in this picture! Im so thankful to still be bowhunting with him! Hope I'm still shooting critters with my bow when I'm 73.
From: JTV
26-Oct-19
205 lbs field dressed, weighed at the processors .... I was deer/hunter #61, the heaviest so far ..
From: INbowdude
27-Oct-19
Pete, Congrats to your dad! Jeff, that is a beast of a buck. Great story about the recovery, you should post it here as well. Thanks Greg. You all are doing great. Keep the pics coming.
From: JTV
27-Oct-19
ok, I will ....
Killed a 205 lb FD 8 pt yesterday on State land (F&W area) (Oct. 25th)... he went down waaaay back in a marsh, took me 6 hours to get him out by myself, he destroyed my deer cart !! .... lol ... ... only went 150 yds, but about a half mile drag/cart to be able to get him loaded up on the SUV hitch carrier, the drag and cart was unbelieveable !! .. hit him at 5:44 CDT, got him loaded at 12:20 AM ...... Wac 'Em 4 blade, sheered off the top of the aorta, sprayed like crazy ... thank goodness I'm healthy and in shape ... very hard to get him out .... my worst drag/extraction ever !! ..... I hunted the AM (4.5 hrs) and then the PM (4.25 hrs) two different locations , I was awake for 25 hrs straight ... I worked 4-12 Thurs. night, only a 1.5 hr lay down prior to getting up and getting ready and hunting, it was 2Am by the time I got him hung in the garage... one heck of a DYI hunt ...
I'm gettin' to old for this crap ... lol ... ... it was worth it ... us dedicated deer hunters are a crazy bunch thats for sure .... now I have to get a new cart ... looking at the Hawk Crawler and a sled of some type for situations like this ... btw, thank goodness for Aleves .. ;0)
here's the story on the hit, sometimes luck comes into play .. there is no thing as a 'give me' shot either ... he came out of the marsh to my north, going to the west, my right to left.. I have a well worked scrape to my north 30 yd'ish away .. he looked like a bull walking to it, huge chest, swollen neck, etc ... he started pawing it, broadside, should be a 'give me' in a perfect world for me, I came to full draw, at the release he turned to face me to work the branch, all in a mili second as I released, the arrow on its way .... I hit him full frontal (great for elk at times) .. the 28" 427 gr Goldtip Velocity XT with a Wac Em 4 blade went in 3/4 way, the Nocturnal nock shining red ... he turned and ran towards north/NE to the marsh past the tree where I killed the 139" 8 pt in 2016 ... I lost site of him in the cattails/tall marsh grass .......... I'm thinking crap, crap crap !! ... since I hunt in a bow only area and you must take your stand in and out every hunt, I took my time taking the stand/sticks down/packing my outerwear, etc. and put it all on my back .... I walked over to the scrape, 5 yds from it there was a HUGE spray of blood ... it was like that for the 150 yds he ran on a well used deer trail thru the marsh/water,etc.... Freddy Krueger would have been proud !! .. he sprayed the tops of the grass and cattails to 6 ft !! .. a blind man could follow this trail .. it was a muddy, wet mess the whole way, blood covered .. I could smell him before I saw him, all musky and such and such a great odor it is too ;0) .. .... my first thought was, crap, how am I going to get him out of here ... to my advantage (?) he went down where the water ends on soft/muddy ground as he left the wetter stuff ... ..... upon dressing him, the BH sheared off the top of the aorta and went between the lungs doing a lot of damage, I found the back half of the arrow/lighted nock while trailing, never did find the front portion, even after searching the innards and such .. then the 'fun' began .... ;0)
From: INbowdude
27-Oct-19
Outstanding story. Congrats again.
From: patience2spare
27-Oct-19
Jeff, congrats on the bruiser and public hunt to boot: well earned before and after the shot! Thanks for sharing the story.
Mike, was that spike your "earn-a-buck?" I thought that I remembered you hunting a reduction zone some by your place. Either way, nice work bringing home some good eats! Pete
From: stick slinger
28-Oct-19
My son was pretty happy with his first buck. It’s nuts we’re bigger than it’s horns. :) Great patience and great shot.
From: sticksender
28-Oct-19
Congratulations to your son on his first. That's a hunt I'll bet the both of you will always remember very well. Great pic too.
From: INbowdude
28-Oct-19
Hey Pete, The spike was not in earn-a-buck area. The landowner wants deer removed so I was accommodating. Tasty little bugger.
From: pav
29-Oct-19
Lots of whitetails success. Congrats to all!
From: NY Bowman
30-Oct-19
Congratulations everyone!
From: patience2spare
01-Nov-19
Terry, somehow I missed your trad buck above... congratulations! Curious if you shoot most of your deer from the ground with your takedown longbow? I have zero traditional experience in the woods but imagine a longbow in the stand could be problematic? Also, is that the same bow I remember you having the rattlesnake limb covers for or a different bow? Take the skins off if weather looks like rain? Thanks for humoring me with all of the questions.
From: bas
02-Nov-19
Shot this 8 pointer last night. Recovered it this morning.
Congrats on all the deer guys! Been too busy with work and hunting to get on here lately.
From: INbowdude
02-Nov-19
Brent, congrats that is a dandy buck. Way to go!
From: JTV
03-Nov-19
Nice/congrats
From: patience2spare
04-Nov-19
Nice deer, Brent! You're a consistent killer even when short on time! Congrats. Pete
From: NY Bowman
05-Nov-19
Pete, I hunt mostly from ladder stands these days but still shimmy trees with my ancient Loggy Bayou. I don't have much trouble shooting my Stalker Coyote 3-piece longbow from the stands. It is Bull Snake skin and it is permanently attached a amazingly durable. I've taken my bow through thickets in Alaska to Texas and they still look new.
From: patience2spare
07-Nov-19
Took a little me-time Sunday evening and snuck out for a quick hunt. I was really pleased when this nice doe came in with about 8minutes of legal light left and she was not with little ones. Shot was close and quartered to so I tucked it up tight to the shoulder. She went about 50 yds and tipped over. Happy to satisfy my "earn-a-buck" requirement!!!
Good luck with the rest of your season! Pete
From: patience2spare
07-Nov-19
Terry, it's a great looking bow - like a deadly work of art! Thanks for the response! Pete
From: INbowdude
10-Nov-19
Tagged out! I've never filled all my deer tags during the archery season. Always took one (or more) with the gun. Best of luck to you all and keep posting!
From: stick slinger
12-Nov-19
Sorry I’m out of practice posting photos. Can’t figure out the edit rotation.
Sorry I’m out of practice posting photos. Can’t figure out the edit rotation.
Sat out in the beautiful snow this morning until this guy came by around 9:30. Glad there was snow because he didn’t bleed much in the 100 yards he went. The kids had a snow day so they helped track and drag.
From: INbowdude
12-Nov-19
Heck yeah, a nice snow buck. And the kids got to help. Congrats.
From: NY Bowman
13-Nov-19
Awesome buck Stick Slinger! Congrats to all above.
From: patience2spare
13-Nov-19
Great buck and great job getting the kids out for the recovery!!! Pete
From: sticksender
15-Nov-19
Congrats to all of you on your success so far! Lots of you are doing great this season.Just returned from Colorado and was very blessed to fill my bighorn ram tag there. Unfortunately I'm a little short on time to post a full-blown story and more pics right now. My daughter gave birth while I was gone and I’m heading down south to visit the new grandson for a couple days. Then have got another out-of-state hunt coming up in a few days to prep for.So in any case, to keep it brief, this license allowed me to hunt in any unit in the state that had an open season. I concentrated mainly on 4 units, and mainly one in particular that is known for good genetics for heavy horns on the rams. After a few failed stalks, finally on day 10 (this past Sunday) this ram presented a nice broadside shot and I couldn't pass it up. He looks like a warrior with chipped places on his horns, broomed-off tips, and a knobby Roman nose. I'll try to post a full story somewhere later, since I have some interesting pics and video of bighorn rut activity. Good luck to everyone still out there hunting whitetails!
From: patience2spare
16-Nov-19
Wow, Greg!!! Congrats on a magnificent ram! One step closer to your sheep slam. Cant wait to see the video and hear more about the hunt. Pete
From: INbowdude
16-Nov-19
Greg, that's amazing and congrats on the new grandchild. Very blessed.
From: bas
17-Nov-19
Congrats on the ram! That hunt is a dream a long ways off for me.
From: KDC
17-Nov-19
Great ram Greg!!
From: pav
18-Nov-19
Congrats Greg! You do realize this ram is #1 for your 2nd Grand Slam...right? Meaning....you have some work to do! :^)
Nice job buddy. Great ram! Very happy for you!
From: sticksender
18-Nov-19
Hey pav, I never thought of that, but it sounds intriguing! Gotta get serious this week down south and try to finish #1 first ;-)
From: NY Bowman
19-Nov-19
Congratulations on a great ram!
From: pav
20-Nov-19
Dang...got so caught up in the photo, I missed the new grandson announcement.
Congrats Grandpa Greg!
From: sticksender
26-Nov-19
Had a very fun and action-packed trip to Sonora last week. Ended up actually taking 6 animals....a Desert Ram, a Muley buck, and then over the course of looking for Coues deer, arrowed three Javelinas and also a coyote. Surprisingly in 4 days of hunting Coues Deer, I never saw one. But we knew there were a few around that were showing up on trail cam pics. Sure can't complain though ;-)
From: INbowdude
26-Nov-19
Greg, what a year! You da man! Great looking critters. Congratulations.
From: KDC
28-Nov-19
Congratulations Greg!! Awesome trip and year you're having.
From: pav
29-Nov-19
....and there it is! HUGE congrats Greg on your archery sheep Grand Slam! That's an accomplishment very few bowhunters will ever experience. Being a lifetime Hoosier flatlander makes your accomplishment even more impressive. So happy for you my friend! You definitely earned it!
What a hunt in Sonora. Five bowkills AFTER your Desert ram. Action packed for sure!
From: sticksender
29-Nov-19
Thank you guys. By the way credit to my wife for her tolerance and support of this hunting obsession. Feel very fortunate and blessed to be able to do this!
From: bas
30-Nov-19
Wow. Congrats on all the animals! That is very impressive.
From: JTV
07-Dec-19
exit hole .. Slick Trick Wicked Trick
exit hole .. Slick Trick Wicked Trick
View from the tree ......
View from the tree ......
I'm done .. Tagged out .... both Archery tags filled ... 120 lbs, killed this afternoon .. 12 yd shot/ran 40 yds .....
From: bas
07-Dec-19
Nice shot JTV!
From: sticksender
07-Dec-19
Congrats on the nice doe. Sweet looking stand location with a nice view!
From: JTV
07-Dec-19
Very scenic in many places I hunt out there .. a 1 1/8 mile walk into this location (I did 4.5 miles that hunt..lol) ... watched 2 immature eagles circle over head also that afternoon, saw a total of 9 deer, 8 al's and 1 buck ...... its a great late season afternoon bow location once the waterfowl hunters leave at noon, just got to get a n/nw wind ... the stars were amazing on the walk out after dark ... as I was field dressing her, after I went back to get her, there was a pack of 'yotes on a levee 100 yds away howling, yipping, barking up a storm waiting for dinner ..lol .. thank goodness I got the Hawk Crawler cart after that intense drag/cart of that 205 lb buck ... this was easier to get her out for sure .... I dont mind hunting far in... its the drag/cart out that is the butt kicker ..lol ..
From: INbowdude
07-Dec-19
Congrats JTV!
From: patience2spare
11-Dec-19
Nice shot, Jeff! Congrats on wrapping up another successful season. Pete
From: NY Bowman
12-Dec-19
Greg, very impressive! Congratulations!
Nice job to all!
From: varmint101
30-Dec-19
Gracious you all have been tearing it up! First one I’ll put is the one I took last day if muzzy. I’ve been trying for weeks to take a deer off the ground with no blind. Been super fun! Came so close a half a dozen times. Sure have to time that draw perfect. Yesterday evening I took my millennium chair out and sat behind a root ball from a blown down tree. Figured they’d be coming to the green grass with warm temps. It was beautiful out! Had an eagle flying over for a while. It went into an adjacent field, screamed twice and flew back over me. That’s when two deer came along the lightly wooded field ridge top and started munching. They milled around for a while and went back over the hill. I thought that was it when I look up and here comes one down the hill right to the brush line in front of me. There was a good opening and when it turned broadside and stretched out to nip some cedar boughs at 40 yards I pulled back, settled, and let it go. Hit it perfect and didn’t go 20 yards falling over. I had thought it was a yearling doe, but it turned out to be a button buck. Good eating at least. I used my 60# Traverse and a Bloodsport Grave Digger 1-3/4” head for the first time. (I’d used the extreme version before with success) I know it was a young deer, but good grief that head did a number on it. It wasn’t as sharp as I’d liked it to be out of the pack so I touched it up to a razors edge. Worked as it should.
From: varmint101
30-Dec-19
Before that on October 10 I finally got a racked buck with my trad bow. Taken a handful of does, but this is my first racked buck! I came close to a stud this past Saturday. Came to about 15 yards, but was straight on. Could’ve shot him in the neck, but didn’t and he flipped ends and out of my life. Fast forward to Thursday evening. I got out and setup between bedding and a hot bean field that’s still green! I wasn’t up 10 minutes and two young does came by. I actually missed the lead doe at about 18 yards. Per my usual first shot I went right over her back LOL forgot to bend at the waste! I had 3-4 more does come by about 35-40 minutes later, but never got a clean, good shot. At 720 I see lone movement coming down the hill towards me. I see the rack then focus on the spot I want. Quartering shot the 45# Bear Kodiak ‘59 and Simmons Tigershark took it all and left a heck of a blood trail once Kade and I found it. He was so excited to go and did great in the dark! Been a great fall with my ‘59. Taken some squirrels and now this buck. By the way, this 10ring string I put on it is so quiet! The deer had no idea except for the sound of the arrow hitting. Sorry the pics aren’t the best. It was after 10 and pitch black when Kade and I got him drug out. The ole phone and old truck lights only do so much.
From: sticksender
30-Dec-19
Congrats on your success varmint. BTW I think your photos came out pretty darn nice!
From: INbowdude
01-Jan-20
Way to go Varmint!
From: patience2spare
02-Jan-20
Great season, Matt! Way to go setting those personal goals and accomplishing them - as well as getting your son out for the recovery! Pete
From: varmint101
08-Jan-20
Thanks! It was definitely a season of goals. Luckily they worked out. My son went with me for both deer recoveries and sat with me in a number of occasions. A couple of those we almost made it happen, but it wasn’t in the cards. At least he got close to some deer and turkeys!
