Cedar Ridge
Active Member
Thanks Native! Super happy with him.
Live from the Stand 2018
- Thread starter cutman
- Start date
Cedar Ridge
Active Member
What a day...7 bucks seen this morning and all within bow range...nothing tripped my trigger so they all walked. Went out this evening and sat a stand with an iffy wind about 30 yards in from our south plot. Was just enjoying the cool evening and all of a sudden heard a chase coming but it was coming from directly down wind. The doe ran into view in the woods and I saw a large body and thick, wide rack following. It was an oh crap moment and when you see a deer like this you do not start filming with your phone... the doe stopped directly behind me at 15 yards and the buck stood behind a huge white oak directly down wind. Both of them knew something wasn’t right and he moved toward her a few yards. Somehow I worked the crossbow I am having to use over an arm thick limb that comes out of the tree about shoulder height while I am sitting and got him in the crosshairs but even though the scope was on him the actual arrow was going to have to go through some limbs that were directly in front of the arrow tip from the same tree I was sitting in. No way I was going to risk a wound. The deer got extremely nervous and bounced out about 30 yards through the trees and then the doe bolted back the way they came and he went with her back to the north.
No pictures ever of this buck and he reminded me greatly of the 24” inside spread buck in my avatar that I killed here in 2014...
After the deer left I was just sitting there amazed and kind of down but I got over it pretty fast when I thought of how much great luck I have had while deer hunting in my lifetime and the fact that our rifle season opens next weekend...then “bang” sounded off loud enough for me to jump! The shot was south of our place on a ridge top at the same level as we are. A few minutes after the shot I heard voices, then a few minutes later I heard a truck driving over there and then it stopped, dropped tailgate, loaded something, slammed tailgate, more talking, then started up and ratttled down the hill to a paved road in the bottom...I hate a poacher the same as a thief because that is what they are! Happens every year over there during the week before rifle multiple times...
Hate that for you. Dang shame that folks can’t just follow the rules. Piece of crap poachers.
weekender21
Well-Known Member
What a day...7 bucks seen this morning and all within bow range...nothing tripped my trigger so they all walked. Went out this evening and sat a stand with an iffy wind about 30 yards in from our south plot. Was just enjoying the cool evening and all of a sudden heard a chase coming but it was coming from directly down wind. The doe ran into view in the woods and I saw a large body and thick, wide rack following. It was an oh crap moment and when you see a deer like this you do not start filming with your phone... the doe stopped directly behind me at 15 yards and the buck stood behind a huge white oak directly down wind. Both of them knew something wasn’t right and he moved toward her a few yards. Somehow I worked the crossbow I am having to use over an arm thick limb that comes out of the tree about shoulder height while I am sitting and got him in the crosshairs but even though the scope was on him the actual arrow was going to have to go through some limbs that were directly in front of the arrow tip from the same tree I was sitting in. No way I was going to risk a wound. The deer got extremely nervous and bounced out about 30 yards through the trees and then the doe bolted back the way they came and he went with her back to the north.
No pictures ever of this buck and he reminded me greatly of the 24” inside spread buck in my avatar that I killed here in 2014...
After the deer left I was just sitting there amazed and kind of down but I got over it pretty fast when I thought of how much great luck I have had while deer hunting in my lifetime and the fact that our rifle season opens next weekend...then “bang” sounded off loud enough for me to jump! The shot was south of our place on a ridge top at the same level as we are. A few minutes after the shot I heard voices, then a few minutes later I heard a truck driving over there and then it stopped, dropped tailgate, loaded something, slammed tailgate, more talking, then started up and ratttled down the hill to a paved road in the bottom...I hate a poacher the same as a thief because that is what they are! Happens every year over there during the week before rifle multiple times...
I heard 2 shots the other night within 8 seconds of each other. Either that hunter is the fastest muzzle loader hunter this side of the Mississippi or he's rifle hunting. Poachers are a real pain.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Got my 15 point about 35 min ago. Pics later.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
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Congrats on a fine rifle buck!
pinetag
Well-Known Member
Awesome! Can't wait to hear the story.
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weekender21
Well-Known Member
Congrats Native, that's a great deer!
weekender21
Well-Known Member
The morning started off cold and overcast. 17-ish deer before 9:30 in and around the ridge top funnel I was hunting; 7 were bucks. No chasing yet bet they’re definitely warming up for the big show.
The rain started falling around 10:00 and won’t stop until tomorrow night. We’re forecasted to receive ~3 inches. I’m planning to slip into the woods tomorrow afternoon as it starts to slack off.
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The rain started falling around 10:00 and won’t stop until tomorrow night. We’re forecasted to receive ~3 inches. I’m planning to slip into the woods tomorrow afternoon as it starts to slack off.
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Cedar Ridge
Active Member
Congrats! Can’t wait to get the whole scoop!!
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Thanks so much everyone. It feels good to get the one I was after. I will post some more pics and put the story in my habitat thread, but here is a quick synopsis of the hunt.
Up until today 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. Tomorrow I will get some better pics. Thanks everyone for the support, and its great to share my story with such a bunch of awesome deer hunters.
Up until today 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. Tomorrow I will get some better pics. Thanks everyone for the support, and its great to share my story with such a bunch of awesome deer hunters.
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PineSapJunky
Well-Known Member
Congratulations on putting in the time to achieve a goal. Glad to see one of the "good guys" won and you didn't see one of your target bucks on a neighbor's Facebook page. That's a heck of a deer
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