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Apologies all, report on the KY hunt
I haven't been avoiding you guys. Uncle Mike, I promise I weren't cheating in you with another forum.... Just one liners there, while I knew this was going to be a lengthy reply.
Huge shake ups at work, 3 month delays all coming to a head and a loss of a key employee had me in a foul mood, not to mention busier than a one legged cat trying to cover crap on asphalt.
Anyway, the trip. Isaac crapped on us two out of three days. Saw lots of does but the huge bachelor herds of bucks that were being seen the week before apparently found out we were coming. Partly because of the full moon, the bucks went almost nocturnal. Also, they seemed to split off by the time we arrived. More later.... Wife calls...
Huge shake ups at work, 3 month delays all coming to a head and a loss of a key employee had me in a foul mood, not to mention busier than a one legged cat trying to cover crap on asphalt.
Anyway, the trip. Isaac crapped on us two out of three days. Saw lots of does but the huge bachelor herds of bucks that were being seen the week before apparently found out we were coming. Partly because of the full moon, the bucks went almost nocturnal. Also, they seemed to split off by the time we arrived. More later.... Wife calls...
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I kept asking the landowner if they had hogs. He replied no, but there were some farther east. When he inquired why, I said because I kept finding piles of doo-doo that looked more like hog than deer. Turns out, big bodied deer feeding on acorn mast and all the soybeans they can handle make for BIG turds, as compared to our scrappy little deer feeding on saw palmetto berries and whatever bitter, acidic leaves and weed tops they can find.
The deer were a reddish colored deer. Ours are more light brown/tan. They were very pretty. I saw my first chipmunks. Watched three of them dart and dash, playing around. I was on the ground at this point so they got fairly close. Took a shot at one but missed.
The deer. We were frustrated from the beginning by the habits of the bucks. They came out of the soybeans about 5-6 am and didn't come back out till right at dark. I finally saw a buck end of the 2nd day.
Now, this property produces 180-200 class deer every year. I asked the landowner what I could shoot and he graciously replied, "Whatever you think is a trophy. Some people don't get to hunt as much as I do, so if you want him, shoot him."
However, lunchtime of the 2nd day, he was so anxious for us to "kill a good 'un" that he said, "If you have ANY doubt, don't shoot. The big one will be right behind him." That evening, I was hunting a 1,000 feet stretch of steep hill between two highways. It was thick and looked horrible. However, it turns out that was where the bucks went after feeding all night. They crossed the first, lower highway and climbed up into the mountain and bedded down. After watching a doe at 15 feet from my tree (eyeing me the whole time) at about 7:00, at 8:20 I finally happened to turn my head to the right(the WORST side for a right handed bow shooter) and I. SAW. HIM.
Omigosh. I've never seen, much less shot, a big buck. I've killed exactly 5 deer in my life. 2 does, 2 button bucks, and one small forkhorn. This deer just materialized out of the darkness. I never heard him make a sound. He was dead 20 yards from me, came in behind my right shoulder and never looked at me.
His antlers were maybe 16 inches wide at best guess, and the main beams went up high. His tines were short. I'm guessing he was a 6 point, but he was the biggest GOSH DANG DEER I've ever seen in my life. He had to weigh 150-160 pounds if he was an ounce.
But.....me, doing exactly what my elders tell me too, I didn't shoot. I was "waiting on the big one".
I'm still waiting.
But for me, a killer of 90 lb forkhorns, he was a giant. Next time, I won't hesitate. As my good, mentally-deficient cousin Chris said, "Brown is down. Worry about Mr. Big later."
I got lots of video. Almost impaled a fox squirrel 20 feet from my nose and tried for the chipmunk. I had a lot of fun and finally, finally got to see a "big" deer.
One thing that made the hair stand up on the back of my neck is the difference between him and the doe I saw an hour and a half earlier. She came in thumping her feet. He would've slipped right by me. She bade her time, milling around... He slunk like a dog that had ripped up his owner's couch and was trying to avoid punishment. Had his head low to the ground, not sniffing, but pointing straight ahead. He literally snuck.
Glad I got the opportunity to witness that. I was sickened for a few days that I didn't take him. But I'll go back. I take it as a learning experience.
Thanks for being excited for me, guys.
I'm still waiting.[/QUOTE]
Been there, done this!!! AARRRGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've done the same thing a few times, last year, even. I had what I thought was a small 8 pt at 90 yards during shotgun season. It was the first day, overcast, raining, hard to see. I passed. I get home that night, check my trail cams, turns out he was an awfully good deer.
Our bow season runs Sept 25-Jan 31. $150 for a tag. Come on up, if you get some free time. I'll do my best to put you on some big buckeye bucks. Doe tags are $15.
Thanks.
It gets better. I went hunting on my grandpa's land yesterday (Saturday.) Had a large bodied doe walk right behind me, but since I left my Thermacell at the house (STUPID STUPID STUPID) my arms looked like windmills waving skeeters away. She ran off and blew at me for about 10 minutes.
I could see her about 60 yards away, but there was no shot. Another doe blew at me an hour later in another direction.
And today after church, I watched two spotted fawns play in a field. They got quite close to the car. Beautiful to watch. I've only seen a spotted fawn maybe once in the wild. These were quite large and I was surprised they still had spots. Must've been a late spring birth.
I've seen more deer this year alone than all the years combined I've hunted. Things are looking up.
That's a tough break on passing on a nice buck and hoping for a better one, but I promise you that this exact strategy will pay off for you one day. I usually take the best doe I get a shot at from the first group I get a shot at purely to put meat in the freezer and then worry about the quality buck later. For me, this alleviates the stress of getting the meat part/not gettig skunked. Did the tag you hold give you the option to take a doe in addition to a buck or was it a buck-only tag?
For 190 bucks, a non resident gets a buck and a doe in the state of Montucky. We passed on does because we weren't so concerned with getting meat in the freezer, being 12 hours from home and having to haul it back.
Thanks. I still see him slinking in my mind's eye.
Sounds very similar to Nebraska (1 either-sex tag + 1 bonus antlerless tag for $206). I like states that give you that flexibility. In my case, it saved my butt that I had an either-sex tag in tow during this last hunt, as I thought I had shot a doe!
Yeah, I completely understand passing on does when you have to figure out what to do with it, possibly for several days before you have to leave. The logistics of meat prep and shipping can be really tough when you travel far from home to hunt. Because I presently live in a state where even getting to hunt a deer is never a sure thing one season to the next, oneof the first things I start thinking about and researching when I'm hunting an out-of-state (or far enough across state to have a long drive back) is who is available out that way to process & ship the meat. I was really sweating that I was going to run out of whitetail venison this year since I'm running on fumes from last year's kills. Thankfully, this last archery hunt to Maryland saved the day. Hopefully, I can get something out of my upcoming mulie hunt, but that's hardly a sure thing.
But But But, you won't catch him with his underwear on his head if he's busy workin'.
Yes!
As for keeping the meat, get one of those giant ice chests and fill it to the top. Shoot your meat deer and skin and quarter it and get the backstrap and tenderloins out, and put it on the ice - it will fit easily. I put my 160 pounder in one last year, and could have fit another in there. You can haul it around for a week, draining the bloody water occasionally and adding ice as needed. It will actually improve the meat because the blood will leach out. It will also be the perfect temperature for butchering, when you get ready.
The experience will stand you in good stead for future hunts and has provided a valuable learning curve. One of the things about hunting is that all who take part in the sport have experienced incidents which form lasting memories of both what to do and what not to do. While some hunts are measured by the success in putting animals on the ground, it can also be said that hunts where nothing is taken are even more successful by what they teach you about both yourself and your intended 'prey'.
Irrespective of your success, the most important fact is that you were out there and 'doing it'.
This I can empathise with......and for you it will motivate you for years to come.
I look forward to reading of your successes in the future.
(Cantresistthis) Glad you have decided to ditch the rifle........At the 20 yd range you described, I doubt whether the 270 would have made it through the skin............