Sam's Stompin' Ground! - Illinois 170 acres
- Thread starter Sam16
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Sam16
Active Member
Well... somewhat of a sad day on the Stompin' Grounds. I got an email from my neighbor that I really like this morning, telling me that a guy hunting our mutual neighbors property shot one of "my" 3 year olds last night. It was a deer we call Deuce because his G2's were impressive. We had pictures of him like crazy in September and early October but I think our big guy "Split Brow" came in the area and pushed him off to the property to our east as he's kind of disappeared from cameras. I passed on him twice last year as a 2 year old, and then we found one of his sheds in February. I was really thinking a great story was in the works for this guy in a year or two. Unfortunately, that's the trouble with owning 170 acres, they can roam a long way from my property borders. Still stings... haha. I just hope the rest of my up and comers smarten up before the rut! And I hope Split Brow turns into a ruttin' fool on our place!
Cedar Ridge
Active Member
That suxs. Best you can hope for are good neighbors that share your commitment to shooting only mature bucks.
Gator
Well-Known Member
Who would have thought... I have a free Halloween weekend to bowhunt and I reluctantly chose to stay at home. High of 78 degrees today!Oh well, hopefully it'll be better next weekend.
I'm with ya on that. My vacation officially started at 3 yesterday but I'm still in town and plan to go to work on Monday and wait until this next heat wave passes before using vacation. Guess I'm lucky to have that flexibility.
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Sam16
Active Member
I want to take a few minutes and introduce you to a buck that is 7.5 or 8.5 years old and has been on the farm since we purchased it in 2012.
Our particular farm is part of a approx 1000 acre island in the middle of miles and miles of crop fields. The positives, we get to know our bucks very well. We have some great history, and "Eeyore" is prime example. The negatives, we very rarely get a "surprise" buck or a roamer.
I may have mentioned him before, but his name is Eeyore. Since 2012, he has a droopy ear, similar to the Winnie the Poo character. In 2012 I am assuming he was 3.5 yr old, and that seems to be when he must have gotten a tine near his left eye/ear area. His left eye has also been swollen since. I have never seen this deer on the hoof, and we only have 1 sequence of velvet pictures. But every October, he shows up, ruts on our place and goes back to the farm to the west. I feel like the pictures below are an interesting look at the antler stages of different aged deer.
2012 - We bought this farm and met Eeyore as a 3.5 year old
2013 - 4.5 yr old - I think his antlers took a step back. Maybe his body was recovering from the injury?? Sorry not the best picture
2014 - 5.5 yr old - His best antler year I think
2015 - 6.5 yr old - Still pretty solid
2016 - 7.5 yr old - Maybe a slight decline... But I would LOOOVE to wrap my tag around him
Our particular farm is part of a approx 1000 acre island in the middle of miles and miles of crop fields. The positives, we get to know our bucks very well. We have some great history, and "Eeyore" is prime example. The negatives, we very rarely get a "surprise" buck or a roamer.
I may have mentioned him before, but his name is Eeyore. Since 2012, he has a droopy ear, similar to the Winnie the Poo character. In 2012 I am assuming he was 3.5 yr old, and that seems to be when he must have gotten a tine near his left eye/ear area. His left eye has also been swollen since. I have never seen this deer on the hoof, and we only have 1 sequence of velvet pictures. But every October, he shows up, ruts on our place and goes back to the farm to the west. I feel like the pictures below are an interesting look at the antler stages of different aged deer.
2012 - We bought this farm and met Eeyore as a 3.5 year old
2013 - 4.5 yr old - I think his antlers took a step back. Maybe his body was recovering from the injury?? Sorry not the best picture
2014 - 5.5 yr old - His best antler year I think
2015 - 6.5 yr old - Still pretty solid
2016 - 7.5 yr old - Maybe a slight decline... But I would LOOOVE to wrap my tag around him
buckhunter10
Well-Known Member
Some good bucks on the farm! Keep after em!
Sam16
Active Member
It's funny that I had the notion last week to take a few minutes and showcase 5 years of pictures of the buck we call "Eeyore". This buck is 7.5 yr old and has been rutting on our farm for as long as we've owned it. Mind you, he has never been spotted on the hoof... until this weekend.
My dad and I took Thursday and Friday off of work to get a few extra sits in... My dad convinced me to go hunt from the ground in one of our ravines where he had located a good pinch point on November 10th. I kind of begrudgingly agreed because I hate not being in a stand. Before I was even set up, a 4 yr old came to 38 yards! I honestly think he was coming to check out the commotion I was causing, thinking he was missing out on a lady! Unfortunately, I didn't have an arrow nocked but I thought "Maybe the old man is onto something with this spot..." I sat there along a creek for a couple more hours with zero action. About 10 minutes before last shooting light a 2.5 yr old 8 pt walks right into the wheelhouse at 15 yards using the funnel. As he's standing there, the 3 yr old I passed last weekend comes SPRINTiNG out of a bedding area, does a circle and sprints back in. (still not sure what the heck he was doing) But he was causing quite a commotion. Right then, I heard the unmistakable sound of a buck stomping my way to see what was going on, but he was immediately behind me making it very hard to get into position from the ground. I debated standing up to get in better position but I didnt want to spook the 2 bucks in front of me. As soon as I laid eyes on him... heart began pounding out of my chest. It was Eeyore and he was 8 yards behind me through some brush. I allowed him to get past me, turned as far right behind me as I could and he stopped 2 steps before an opening. He turned back around and he saw me trying to get into better position and took off to 80 yards to stare me from a distance. I had forgotten how intense hunting from the ground can be! WOW, what a hunt! What an encounter! Safe to say the rut was ON!
November 11th
I was so eager to get into my favorite morning stand on the farm. Weather was perfect, timing was perfect. The morning started with a forkhorn at first light. In the next hour I must have seen 9 does/fawns so I knew it should be only a matter of time before a buck appears. At 7:30 AM, as 4 fawns were to my left, I look to my right and see Eeyore stomping towards my direction. He is starting to angle away from me a bit, so I knew I had to get drawn and find a spot to fit an arrow through. I had pegged him for about 25-27 yards so I bent my legs to clear a branch, settled in and released an arrow. Immediately I knew it was low... (and later ranged him at 30 yards) The buck was hit, but he took 2 steps and stood there for 30 seconds. I scrambled for binos and nocked another arrow. He trotted off and I'm left thinking what in the world just happened. After 45 minutes, sending some texts to my buddies and my dad saying I think I just screwed up, I went to check my arrow. Not thrilled at all, not much blood and white hair at the site. BUT... here is what I saw where he stood for 30 seconds.
I was encouraged... I was praying the Rage Extreme bailed me out. I followed steady, bright red blood for about 100 yards before he went onto the neighbors property. I backed out, got permission to track onto the neighbors, and gave him about 12 hours. In the meantime I checked the trail camera at this stand and here he was from Nov 9th.
We took up the trail after my dad and buddy hunted that night... following decreasing blood for over 500 yards before it finally stopped. We were finding a pin drop of blood every 15 yards just prior. I was so devastated it's not even funny. I still am... BUT, I wasn't giving up so easy and we had all weekend in front of us.
Nov 12th
Our morning hunt was uneventful... but in the evening I got into another one of our ravines and made a goofy face for the camera... haha
Saw 3 forks but the big news is that my buddy laid eyes on Eeyore in the center of our property, grazing in a cut corn field at 70 yards. He had a little hitch in his giddy up, but wasn't limping too bad. And he was still reacting to does somewhat, so we think he is going to survive. I'm not sure how well a 7.5 yr old deer with a Rage hole in him will fare vs winter, but we will see! We are pulling for him.
Another silver lining this evening... this girl came through RIGHT at dark with her buddy at 10 yards.
My first coyote! At least she can't bother Eeyore anymore...
Quite a weekend! Afterwards I let my neighbor know what happened and he showed me this picture he got from Nov 9th.
Talk about a making his rounds during the rut, WOW was Eeyore active. Lesson to be learned here... for 5 years this deer was a nocturnal ghost. At age 7.5 he seemed to have thrown caution to the wind during the rut becoming a wreckless daywalker. It almost got him killed 3 separate times in 3 straight days. We will be after him in the late season thats for sure.
My dad and I took Thursday and Friday off of work to get a few extra sits in... My dad convinced me to go hunt from the ground in one of our ravines where he had located a good pinch point on November 10th. I kind of begrudgingly agreed because I hate not being in a stand. Before I was even set up, a 4 yr old came to 38 yards! I honestly think he was coming to check out the commotion I was causing, thinking he was missing out on a lady! Unfortunately, I didn't have an arrow nocked but I thought "Maybe the old man is onto something with this spot..." I sat there along a creek for a couple more hours with zero action. About 10 minutes before last shooting light a 2.5 yr old 8 pt walks right into the wheelhouse at 15 yards using the funnel. As he's standing there, the 3 yr old I passed last weekend comes SPRINTiNG out of a bedding area, does a circle and sprints back in. (still not sure what the heck he was doing) But he was causing quite a commotion. Right then, I heard the unmistakable sound of a buck stomping my way to see what was going on, but he was immediately behind me making it very hard to get into position from the ground. I debated standing up to get in better position but I didnt want to spook the 2 bucks in front of me. As soon as I laid eyes on him... heart began pounding out of my chest. It was Eeyore and he was 8 yards behind me through some brush. I allowed him to get past me, turned as far right behind me as I could and he stopped 2 steps before an opening. He turned back around and he saw me trying to get into better position and took off to 80 yards to stare me from a distance. I had forgotten how intense hunting from the ground can be! WOW, what a hunt! What an encounter! Safe to say the rut was ON!
November 11th
I was so eager to get into my favorite morning stand on the farm. Weather was perfect, timing was perfect. The morning started with a forkhorn at first light. In the next hour I must have seen 9 does/fawns so I knew it should be only a matter of time before a buck appears. At 7:30 AM, as 4 fawns were to my left, I look to my right and see Eeyore stomping towards my direction. He is starting to angle away from me a bit, so I knew I had to get drawn and find a spot to fit an arrow through. I had pegged him for about 25-27 yards so I bent my legs to clear a branch, settled in and released an arrow. Immediately I knew it was low... (and later ranged him at 30 yards) The buck was hit, but he took 2 steps and stood there for 30 seconds. I scrambled for binos and nocked another arrow. He trotted off and I'm left thinking what in the world just happened. After 45 minutes, sending some texts to my buddies and my dad saying I think I just screwed up, I went to check my arrow. Not thrilled at all, not much blood and white hair at the site. BUT... here is what I saw where he stood for 30 seconds.
I was encouraged... I was praying the Rage Extreme bailed me out. I followed steady, bright red blood for about 100 yards before he went onto the neighbors property. I backed out, got permission to track onto the neighbors, and gave him about 12 hours. In the meantime I checked the trail camera at this stand and here he was from Nov 9th.
We took up the trail after my dad and buddy hunted that night... following decreasing blood for over 500 yards before it finally stopped. We were finding a pin drop of blood every 15 yards just prior. I was so devastated it's not even funny. I still am... BUT, I wasn't giving up so easy and we had all weekend in front of us.
Nov 12th
Our morning hunt was uneventful... but in the evening I got into another one of our ravines and made a goofy face for the camera... haha
Saw 3 forks but the big news is that my buddy laid eyes on Eeyore in the center of our property, grazing in a cut corn field at 70 yards. He had a little hitch in his giddy up, but wasn't limping too bad. And he was still reacting to does somewhat, so we think he is going to survive. I'm not sure how well a 7.5 yr old deer with a Rage hole in him will fare vs winter, but we will see! We are pulling for him.
Another silver lining this evening... this girl came through RIGHT at dark with her buddy at 10 yards.
My first coyote! At least she can't bother Eeyore anymore...
Quite a weekend! Afterwards I let my neighbor know what happened and he showed me this picture he got from Nov 9th.
Talk about a making his rounds during the rut, WOW was Eeyore active. Lesson to be learned here... for 5 years this deer was a nocturnal ghost. At age 7.5 he seemed to have thrown caution to the wind during the rut becoming a wreckless daywalker. It almost got him killed 3 separate times in 3 straight days. We will be after him in the late season thats for sure.
Triple C
Well-Known Member
Great story and hoping it ends with Eeyore on the ground from one of your arrows before long! Tough to lose one but good news is he's still walking around. That's bowhunting for sure. I've lost a few over the years. You certainly have some nice bucks on your place. Thx for sharing!
Sam16
Active Member
I'm back everyone! It's been since I had my frustrating "miss" on Eeyore that I have posted. I was pretty frustrated. You all know the feeling I'm sure. The silver lining is we still are getting him on camera so he's fine.
Quick side track... Look at the "food plot" he's standing in. This was very frustrating as it's November 13th or so and the rye/oats are so overgrown and mature that they are not attractive at all at this point. Lesson learned, we planted a bit earlier (mid August) due to try to catching a good rain. Luck would have it we had a great amount of rain between Aug and first frost and the plots grew too fast for too long. Anyways...
The season didn't get any better since then. A difficult weather gun season came and went. Second second provided better weather but same frustration. The deer sightings were so low, my dad was ready to give up (and for the most part he did). Of course Christmas came and hunting opportunities came to a halt. Finally I was able to out last weekend to see what's up at the farm. I hunted Sunday evening and saw 8 does/fawns and 2 forks. I figured I may as well try to call in a coyote the next morning since I didn't see any shooters, but had no luck... I checked the cameras and boy did I regret not deer hunting. Apparently the big bucks had been on the move.
** Having serious problems with photo bucket but I will have to post the recent pics tomorrow. Sorry.
Quick side track... Look at the "food plot" he's standing in. This was very frustrating as it's November 13th or so and the rye/oats are so overgrown and mature that they are not attractive at all at this point. Lesson learned, we planted a bit earlier (mid August) due to try to catching a good rain. Luck would have it we had a great amount of rain between Aug and first frost and the plots grew too fast for too long. Anyways...
The season didn't get any better since then. A difficult weather gun season came and went. Second second provided better weather but same frustration. The deer sightings were so low, my dad was ready to give up (and for the most part he did). Of course Christmas came and hunting opportunities came to a halt. Finally I was able to out last weekend to see what's up at the farm. I hunted Sunday evening and saw 8 does/fawns and 2 forks. I figured I may as well try to call in a coyote the next morning since I didn't see any shooters, but had no luck... I checked the cameras and boy did I regret not deer hunting. Apparently the big bucks had been on the move.
** Having serious problems with photo bucket but I will have to post the recent pics tomorrow. Sorry.
Sam16
Active Member
Here are the trail cam pics of the December group of bucks. This first buck I only have 1 other sequence of pictures in early July and here he shows up ONCE in December and gone again.
A real interesting up and comer I hope to catch up with next year. He was a 7x4 but a bit busted up now.
The buck we have called Split Brow for 3 years now disappeared during the rut, but he was very active during December, and during daytime too! Anyone venture a score guess on him? I believe him to be 6.5 yr old.
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I have NEVER seen this buck before but he looks like he has some trash!
A real interesting up and comer I hope to catch up with next year. He was a 7x4 but a bit busted up now.
The buck we have called Split Brow for 3 years now disappeared during the rut, but he was very active during December, and during daytime too! Anyone venture a score guess on him? I believe him to be 6.5 yr old.
I have NEVER seen this buck before but he looks like he has some trash!
Blizzard Ridge
Well-Known Member
Good looking deer Sam.
Sam16
Active Member
Spring has sprung! I was excited to get out and chase turkeys this past Saturday. I haven't been able to spend much time at the farm since my first child, Allison Claire was born on Valentine's Day!
I took my bro in law out turkey hunting for the first time ever. We saw probably 14 turkeys, and he missed a gobbler at about 40 yards. Awesome morning!
Afterwards I took the afternoon to plant 3 goldrush, 3 liberty, 3 Arkansas Black, 3 American Persimmons, and 3 Keifer Pears. Still need to get fences on them, but I was happy to get them in the ground after a long winter couped up in the house.
Once food plots and trail cams get up and going I'm sure I will be on here much more!
Have a great spring everyone!
I took my bro in law out turkey hunting for the first time ever. We saw probably 14 turkeys, and he missed a gobbler at about 40 yards. Awesome morning!
Afterwards I took the afternoon to plant 3 goldrush, 3 liberty, 3 Arkansas Black, 3 American Persimmons, and 3 Keifer Pears. Still need to get fences on them, but I was happy to get them in the ground after a long winter couped up in the house.
Once food plots and trail cams get up and going I'm sure I will be on here much more!
Have a great spring everyone!
