Upon leaving the house, we were met with an unforgiving blast of cold air. Looking out, we could see everything was covered in a layer of frost and ice from the cold rain the night before.
We made it out to the property just after 6am and were met with the herd of mule deer we have been seeing for a month not 50 yards from the house. Fortunately we had talked about this over breakfast and we waited.
10 minutes later they had moved off enough for us to ease our way out of the pickup and get geared up. Slowly we began making our way around the wheat field they were browsing on. They were unaware of our presence and that allowed us to get into a fairly good position until a stray doe popped over a hill not 40 yards away from us and thumped away.
We thought we were done for the morning as we hunt a rather small property surrounded by properties that we didn’t have permission on. So we sat down at the top of the cliff overlooking the alfalfa field we have been seeing several deer regularly. Nothing.
We talked strategy over again and decided to sneak over toward where the deer were before ding-dong got all jumpy and alerted the rest of them. As we were making our way up the hill toward them, I caught a glimpse of a couple ears. I eased down into the grass and motioned Kate to do the same. I was hopeful, maybe just maybe they hadn’t spooked past the property line, which was just a short 400 yards away.
I quietly unbuckled my pack and set it on the ground and we slowly crept to the crest of the hill. To our liking we began seeing more and more deer by the second. The entire herd was beginning to settle down and a couple had even bedded down in the shady grass about 90 yards from our position.
From our stomachs we slowly brought the binoculars up to our eyes scanning over the four bucks that we could see. One was lying down and was at a bad angle to see his size; another one was up pushing does around, oblivious to anything around him other than the hindparts in front of his nose. Still another one, small 3x3 was just happy to be there I think as he wasn’t doing much of anything, just watching the bigger buck pushing does.
Kate & I began a hurried whispering match back and forth trying to decide which buck was the older & bigger. I thought the one lying down was the bigger one, Kate thought the one up chasing tail was… the dilemma began.
Finally, the buck that had been lying down stood up and I realized, yet again, Kate was right. Of course while we were trying to decide which was the bigger, he was broadside to us 90% of the time. Unbelievable. Once we had determined which buck we were going to take, the doe had taken him straight away from us leaving me no shot. At the top of the next hill, roughly 180yds away he turned, but not quite enough. I had about 2” to squeeze the bullet into his vitals. Too far to the left, goes into his haunches. I had to pass on the shot as I didn’t want to chance not getting a clean kill.
Helpless, we watched him follow the doe closer to the property line. He did stop broadside just before the property line…at 380yds. I just couldn’t pull the trigger again, I’ve never shot that far before and didn’t want to start practicing that range on him. So we watched as they effortlessly hopped the fence into the DMZ.
Kate was bummed to say the least, about in tears, “I want that buck.” I fell in love with her all over again right then.
We talked it over again and decided to continue up the hill and just watch the herd to see if it was going to be possible they would make their way back onto our property.
While we were sitting up there we saw lots of deer, whitetail and muleys were everywhere. It seemed like every space in the trees was filled with brown & gray fur. We watched as a HEAVY whitetail went ring-around-the-rosey with a hot doe for half an hour. He wasn’t a big deer, 2 ˝ years old, and not very wide but he had probably 6” bases and carried his mass all the way through the end of his antlers. He looked like he had tree branches coming out of his head.
All this happened about 40yds from us…on the other side of the fence.
We saw the muleys bed down about 700 yds away in a group of trees, and it was a good hiding spot indeed. We counted four pickups that drove past them not farther than 100yds away and no one spotted them. About 11am we decided to head in and grab some food & a power nap.
We came back out about 1pm and made our way back out to the hill we’d seen them bed down earlier in the day. Kate began glassing the trees and then in the most excited whisper I’ve heard from her lips, “IT’S HIM, IT’S HIM, IT’S HIM, IT’S HIM!!” She was visibly shaking she was so excited. 2nd time I fell in love with her that day.
After seeing them begin their journey back to the alfalfa field, we booked it back to our homemade bridge and up across the alfalfa field. After crossing the field, we made our way into the pasture on the northwest side of the field. We set up on the east end of the pasture about 2/3 of the way up on the slope of a hill overlooking the field. We were there about 20 minutes and I snuck a peek over the hill. What I saw excited me and terrified me at the same time. Our buck was coming on a jog toward the field, but he was following a doe that was headed directly for our location.
I dropped down to where Kate was, grabbed her hand, and we made our way to the north, out of their path. We got set up again about 50 yards from where we were sitting and no sooner did we get seated, the buck and about 6 does popped over the hill exactly where we were sitting. Once they got down onto the field they worked their way around back west around the hill and were out of sight.
So we snuck our way back to the west in the pasture, hoping we could put the sneak on them from the north of their position. As we were making our way through the pasture, another 8 does were coming in from the west, so we had deer to our east, west, and south. South was the direction we wanted to go so we just kept on going to the south, effectively splitting the herd in two. Fortunately when we inevitably jumped the does, they headed north and then back east onto the alfalfa field, but plenty far away from where we were going.
We then made our way through a draw that ran south east toward where the deer were feeding. We were in perfect position and in the process of bellycrawling the last 75 yards or so when a young doe came boinging over the hill to the west heading our way. Thinking we were busted for the night, I was bummed. But the little thing kept coming. It ended up going past us about 30ft away from us to join the rest of the herd completely oblivious it bounded past the two of us.
We just smiled at each other, bewildered at what we just witnessed, and kept going. We got to a spot on the hill overlooking the field and we could see everything when we were on our knees. I wanted to get to where I could shoot from a prone position (more accurate) and I needed to get just a little closer.
We kept going ever so slowly and finally got about as close as we were going to be able to without getting spotted. Everything was setting up nicely except for two problems. The buck was laying down offering no opportunity for a good shot and the crosshairs were directly in line with a wire on the fence. So I eased up into a sitting position and let the legs out on the bipod.
We sat for what seemed like an eternity with him laying down when finally he stood up. I asked Kate one more time if that was the one she wanted and she nodded. I settled the crosshairs just behind his shoulder and gave the accu-trigger one final squeeze.
I barely heard the gun go off, and didn’t feel the recoil at all but I knew I had put a good shot downrange. I cycled the spent cartridge and stuck in a fresh one just in case, but it wasn’t needed. He stumbled around for a few seconds before just sitting down and rolling onto his side. My first words to Kate, “We got him! After over a month, we finally got him!”
One thing I thought was really cool about this deer was his brow tines curved forward, I'd never seen that before, kind of hard to see in the pictures. I just noticed it today while looking at the rack.
Kate was a trooper, she’s completely new to hunting, her first time was last January during late season. She has a hard time seeing animals die and it was a bittersweet moment for her seeing our buck lying on the ground. But she was always learning while we were out, sometimes asking questions that I hadn’t ever thought of before.
I have to say, one of the moments that made my heart swell was when we were taking pictures and she asked if I wanted a picture with just her and the deer. I absolutely love this picture!
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Saw some antelope that morning too. Here are the pics:
Hey, look over there....
Sunday I went out pheasant hunting with BDowner. We were walking a small corner near a standing cornfield when the dogs started getting a little birdy. I looked up ahead and there was a flock of turkeys sneaking out the end into the cornfield. I yelled at Justin and we headed toward them. By the time we got there, only one turkey was still in sight. Justin had shot his first turkey just a couple weeks ago so I let him have first shot at it. The tom took off flying and Justin nailed him out of the air. I don't think the dogs quite knew what to think of it.
Turned out to be a great tom! Probably weighed about 20 pounds, had 1 inch spurs and the kicker - 3 bears! One was 10", the other two were 7". We managed to get a couple of roosters to boot. It was a great day!
]]>If you look at his left front leg, either he was injured when he was young or it was a birth defect. You could not move or straighten-out that leg, and there is no muscle on that leg. I guess before he was shot he was chasing a doe around, three-legged. Kind of reminds me of a T-Rex arm...
I figured as soon as I saw this buck, I just had to snap some pics and share it on here. ]]>
Informational Deer Meetings Scheduled Statewide
LINCOLN, Neb. – Hunters and landowners are invited to attend a public informational meeting to discuss deer issues, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. One meeting is scheduled in each district of the Commission.
Commission biologists will explain and take questions on a number of topics, including deer management, deer damage and depredation permits, antlerless harvest, trophy management, and diseases. Antelope and elk issues also may be discussed.
The meeting dates, locations and times are:
District I – Dec. 16, Alliance, Public Library, 1750 Sweetwater Ave., 7 p.m.
District II – Dec. 14, Valentine, Niobrara Lodge, 803 E. U.S. Highway 20, 7 p.m.
District III – Dec. 8, Tekamah, City Auditorium, 1315 K St., 7 p.m.
District IV – Dec. 10, Ogallala, Lake McConaughy Visitor Center, 1475 Highway 61N, 7 p.m.
District V – Dec. 3, Stromsburg, Viking Center, 118 E. 3rd St., 7 p.m.
District VI – Dec. 9, Alda, Heartland Public Shooting Park, 6788 W. Husker Hwy., 7 p.m.
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For the complete news release:
http://www.nefga.org/forum/news-info...-our-ngpc.html
For Bumpus. ]]>
Safety Warning And Recall Notice ]]>
I gotta commend them for holding out for something decent to shoot but yet it brought up another question I had.
If you shoot a spike that has spikes less then 6 inches can that be classified as a Buck or a Doe?
(Most people know but just incase: anything less then 6'' is considered an AO deer in regards to permits)
I am not familiar with this permit but I wish they would change the permit to a Buck/Doe permit so people on the last weekend/day of hunting can choose to take a doe just to fill the tag and get the meat. ]]>
2nd Turkey with my bow! 11/19/2009, Lancaster CO, 9am, 20lbs, 10 1/8" beard, 1" spurs. ]]>
So if I have caused anyone harm or unrest due to that post I AM TRULY SORRY!
I was how ever doing what was requested by whom I assume was the author IE: posting to local forums!
Now here is a link that was on that post in regards to a MONSTER BUCK taken illegally that no one brought up. It is one HE** of a deer!
Minn. hunter charged with poaching trophy buck | StarTribune.com
Again Sorry and I will have to consider posting things more carefully if at all in the future! ]]>
Looks like i will be dropping a few hundred on additional hunting supplies there in the very near future... ]]>
AccuWeather.com - Weather News Headlines - Weather News ]]>
When he was done harvesting the field he took off with his rifle into the pasture with the intent to try and find this animal and take him
Well when he rounded a bend following a narrow muddy creek here is what he saw:
The mud in this creek is a lot like what you'd assume quick sand to be like. You step in it and you sink. THe more you struggle the further you sink.
The buck was roped prior to my father filling his tag. He was able to laso the buck from affar do to not having the proper foot wear. Than stopping to take a photo with his phone.
This is the deer after being removed from the mud and given a bath. ]]>