Working at the Farm - Took a few I-Phone Pics

Guys, I wanted to update my habitat thread with some pictures of the buck I got yesterday. I had hoped to get much better pics today, but it has poured the rain and not the best lighting or weather. I have him to the processor now and the head in my freezer.

Thanks so much everyone who replied in the live from the stand thread. It feels good to get the one I was after. Here is the story:

Up until yesterday I had been hunting with my new muzzleloader, but the forecast was for rain all day long, so I felt it might be safer to take the 308 Tikka. Also, because of the heavy rain forecast, I thought the box blind would be a good dry choice.

The morning was kind of uneventful. I saw two young bucks chasing does though the NWSGs, and a decent 8 point came out in one of my plots at around 10:15 AM. I saw other does moving around some, and the rain just kept coming. I generally come out midday and take a break, but with the rain pouring down, I decided to just put in the day. I would have soaked everything walking back and forth to the truck. I caught a nap from about 11:30 to 1:30 and started watching again.

Sometime around 3:00 I got a text from my son, who told me that he was on the way to join me for the evening and help me watch. By that time the rain had become a light mist. We were both glassing the fields, and sometime about an hour before dark, I glanced down toward the low food plot and saw a deer walking the edge broadside to me about 110 yards away. The tops of the tall NWSGs were partially hiding the deer, but I could see it was the one I was after. I could get the scope on him easy, but was afraid to pull the trigger, because I would be shooting through quite a bit of grass. You never know what that could do to a bullet or trajectory path, so I let him keep walking.

I just kept the crosshairs on his chest the best I could as he walked along, and finally he walked past a spot where a patch of big bluestem had partially fallen down and I had about a 2 foot clear opening to get the shot off as he moved through. When the bullet hit, he spun just a little and ran forward and stopped for a few seconds. Once again, the grass was blocking a follow up shot. Then he turned and just disappeared into the field. We were both watching him and could see the tops of the antlers bounce above the grass occasionally. Then we just couldn't see anything.

I told my son to keep watching from the blind while I walked the grass. I went through 2 passes and found nothing. Finally my son joined me, and on the next pass he found the deer right at the point that we thought he may have fallen. On the first two passes I had probably walked within 10 feet of him each time, but they are so hard to see in a grass jungle like we have.

The 150 grain Hornady SST did an incredible job. The lungs were blown completely out, and the exit hole was massive. I don't know how he did it, but even with a hit like that the deer probably ran 65 yards.

Needless to say, I am so very happy. I give God the honor and praise for everything!

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Congrats on an amazing buck again!
I'll never stop being impressed by how tough they are. If I'd been dbl lunged, you could have found me right there lol.
Thanks again for sharing so much of what you do. It's definitely an inspiration for us.

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Wow , nice old buck and old tractor. Would this shot you made on the buck be down near the large dead stump near your creek bed plot??
 
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Congratulations Steve on growing and harvesting such fine animals. It is amazing you are able to accomplish it with the road hunting poachers you have. Anyhow, great buck and with all of the pearling around the base of the antlers he must have made some awesome looking rubs. Shooting an individual buck that you are after is really special, thanks for sharing the great event with us.
 
Congrats on an amazing buck again!
I'll never stop being impressed by how tough they are. If I'd been dbl lunged, you could have found me right there lol.
Thanks again for sharing so much of what you do. It's definitely an inspiration for us.

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Merle, I get inspiration from lots of folks on the forum, and you included. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
 
Wow , nice old buck and old tractor. Would this shot you made on the buck be down near the large dead stump near your creek bed plot??

dogghr, yes it was in that direction. However, the deer came from the exact opposite direction than I expected. I think the noise on neighboring properties in the last few days made him change his bed.
 
Congratulations Steve on growing and harvesting such fine animals. It is amazing you are able to accomplish it with the road hunting poachers you have. Anyhow, great buck and with all of the pearling around the base of the antlers he must have made some awesome looking rubs. Shooting an individual buck that you are after is really special, thanks for sharing the great event with us.

Thanks Dave. I think it's good when an old guy like me can get excited, and my son can testify that I was. In fact, he ended up calming me down when he found the deer. I was starting to get a little worried. This will be a special season for us both to remember.
 
Steve, congratulations on the great buck you were able to harvest. It is some kind of special to be able to take the exact buck you were after... I have been lucky enough to do this on a few occasions

How many shooting houses on your place because iirc most of the deer you and your son have taken have been from one since I have been watching your thread...is it the same on? If it is you might want to make sure you really give it some TLC in the off season
 
Steve, congratulations on the great buck you were able to harvest. It is some kind of special to be able to take the exact buck you were after... I have been lucky enough to do this on a few occasions

How many shooting houses on your place because iirc most of the deer you and your son have taken have been from one since I have been watching your thread...is it the same on? If it is you might want to make sure you really give it some TLC in the off season

Thank you Johnny, and I know that you understand the feeling a guy has when he can't get that one special deer off of his mind,

We only have one shooting house, but I have ladder stands made out of treated wood at several places on the farm. However, we have such good luck at this spot, it's hard for me to hunt those ladders anymore. When (and if) I get back into bow hunting when I retire, those stands will be used a lot.

I gave a lot of thought to locating that blind. Three major things went into its location: (1) being able to get in and out repeatedly without spooking deer, (2) having a great view of key spots where trail cameras show deer travel is generally good, and (3) being able to see a good number of the mast trees I have set.

Since you have been following the thread, every deer we have killed there was shot within a few yards of each other. The buck my son shot this year in ML season was 30 yards from where I shot mine in gun season. The one that was shot a little ways off ( 2 years ago) had just passed through that same area, but it was just minutes too early to shoot. We let him travel on and shot him only 200 yards from there about 15 minutes later after legal shooting light. So, yes, you are correct, there is one area there that is a honey hole for buck travel. It is a low area near a branch where I have a small plot surrounded by tall NWSGs. The closest timber is probably about 300 yards away, so the deer use the NWSGs for travel cover to visit the area.

Yes, we love the blind. On days like yesterday when it poured the rain all day, it sure does make it nice. But, when it is dry, I seldom set inside. I have a little deck on the outside where I can see what we need to see, and I really enjoy the time in the mornings there when the world starts coming to life at daylight. It's just like setting in a tree stand...without the tree.:)

Thanks again, and congratulation on that monster you recently took.
 
Yea you need tell about your tool box haul up that 2 story staircase.
Do the deer tend to follow the edges of the grasses and the food plots or tree plantings? Or do they jst plunge thru the jungle itself?


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Yea you need tell about your tool box haul up that 2 story staircase.
Do the deer tend to follow the edges of the grasses and the food plots or tree plantings? Or do they jst plunge thru the jungle itself?

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Good question on the NWSGs. When I started with them, I knew very little about them or how deer used them. Since that time - after running several cameras for years and observing while hunting - I'm starting to get an education. Below are some of the most important things I have learned:
  • Even though deer will follow trails that you mow, they think nothing about just plunging through the jungle. I see them doing it all the time, and it is very exciting to see the tips of a tall rack occasionally appear in the distance. Also, when chasing is going on, it could be dangerous standing out in the grass on the ground - a man could get trampled.:D I've had numerous full speed chases to come right under me over the years. It makes sense, because they have perfect cover like in a thicket - yet they can run full speed without having to worry about hanging on a limb or poking an eye out.
  • NWSGs are used for travel cover all year long, but I feel that they are primarily used as bedding mostly in the fall and winter. In the hot summer, deer would rather be in a deep wooded hollow and not out where the sun can reach them. Yet, for travel cover, the grasses are great at any time they are high enough to provide cover.
  • I see a lot of bedding transition to the NWSGs in the fall when the leaves start falling off the trees. The woods are getting more open and cover in trees is not as good - yet, the grasses are very thick and provide great cover. Now, it also feels good to a deer in the morning when the warming sun comes up. From the stand I have seen them shift places during the middle of a cold day to catch some more sun. Also, the cedar fence rows between grass fields are important. The cedars provide an extra measure of cover and they can use them as shade trees if they want to.
  • Even though the cedar fence rows are good bedding places, you can just start walking though a tall NWSG field and find beds right out in the middle. When I was searching for my dead deer, I found 3 or 4 fresh beds within a 100 yards of where I was hunting. I had no idea that anything was even there.
  • The reason you hear so much negative about NWSGs is because many people who have them don't have species that are tall enough. People say, "...deer don't use them...." You can't expect a big deer to walk out where the cover is only hiding up to his shoulders and everyone can just look and see him. He wants to operate in NWSGs just like he does in the wooded thickets. He want's to be completely hidden and use his nose to guide him safely on his travels.
What works on one property may not work on another one. What works for a while at one place may not work forever there. What I have seems to be working well for us right now, but I want to keep learning and not be static. I know one thing - I give the Good Lord the glory for all things.
 
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