2018 Hunting Picture Thread

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Archery season just started here about 2 weeks ago. Last year was the first time I hunted with x-bow (can't use a vertical bow due to an old bullet wound to right forearm). Never got to launch a bolt last year. Missed a big doe Tues. afternoon at 46 yards (I can hit a target at that distance), but had another come in right under the stand- followed by her spotted fawn. Gave her a pass even though its was legal to take that doe, but that fawn would have most likely died. This one came in just prior to daylight yesterday AM, at 24 yards. Hit her a little high, but hit both lungs and got a great exit wound. She ran about 75 yards into the pine straw, but after a half hour or so and a little help, was able to locate her. Xbow was a PSE fang 350, Barnett headhunter bolt, Muzzy trocar broadhead. Yes, its a small deer. Its also Florida.
 
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Iphone pic of the doe and fawn that came in and hung out with me for about 15 minutes. Our rut makes no sense here at all- supposedly its in Feb. (mostly). Fawns are typically dropped in Aug/Sep. A forest service guy I talked to yesterday told me he has seen a spotted fawn in March. Its also not uncommon for does to mate their first year, which I think is what happened here.
 
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Iphone pic of the doe and fawn that came in and hung out with me for about 15 minutes. Our rut makes no sense here at all- supposedly its in Feb. (mostly). Fawns are typically dropped in Aug/Sep. A forest service guy I talked to yesterday told me he has seen a spotted fawn in March. Its also not uncommon for does to mate their first year, which I think is what happened here.

I think that fawn probably would have been ok if you shot mom, but good for you having self control. The doe I shot yesterday had a fawn but I wasn't sure which was the mom. Just so happened to be the one I shot because she was still holding milk.
And I would almost rather have a small doe like your's lol. would make carrying it back much more easy!
 
This weekend is the modern gun youth hunt in Arkansas.
Hunters 6-15 are the only ones who can hunt with a modern gun and no antler restrictions apply.

My daughter is 15 so this is the last year she can participate.

We didn't see a deer today, but had a blast anyway.
There is another weekend in January, so hopefully we'll have better luck then.

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12 year grandson got this Friday, he's been fighting Leukemia and is on chemo, couldn't pull his bow back so we got him a crossbow and special permit. I'm so happy for him after all he's been through. Scored 171.
He's already got me beat in the buck department and I've been at it for almost 20 years. Sorry to hear he's ill and I wish him all the best. Awful thing for anyone but especially awful for a kid. Glad he hunted, the woods is good medicine.
 
I found this guy on some state land in early October. His girlfriend took off when she saw me, but he loitered a bit too long. A 200 yd high shoulder shot off of shooting sticks with a 127gr LRX dropped him on the spot.

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A few weeks later I got this muley buck on a friend's property (Thanks Rock!). I didn't have time to range him and, I believe, overestimated the range on the first shot. I'm still not entirely sure what happened, but the 127gr LRX hit him high in the shoulder and perhaps deflected upward, shocking his spine but not breaking it. He dropped but got back up and I caught him mid-three legged run with a 140gr Accubond to the chest a split second later. Or at least that's what I think happened, I managed to stab myself pretty good while guttting, then had a hell of a drag up hill, when I finally got to the truck I was beat and didn't really make the effort I now wish I had to trace the wound channels.

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I struck out on bulls during bow season and early rifle in a new area I tried out this year. This past weekend I went to fill my cow tag in the normal area I like to hunt. I hiked a little over 10 miles Saturday, glassing and trying to cut herd tracks in the fresh snow.

On Sunday I talked to the area hunt coordinator from the state on the road, and she pointed me towards a herd of a couple hundred she had seen moving over a ridge. I wound up tracking them several miles over the course of the day, during which, two other groups of hunters saw them and tried to make shots. Hopefully they missed cleanly because I didn't see any elk down as I followed their path.

A little after 2 pm I finally spotted them bedded down on a hill top about a mile away. By 3 pm I had snuck and then crawled to a position on an adjacent hill top a little over 300 yds away. I watched them for a few minutes and when they started to spook and stand up, I picked a decent cow in the clear and sent a 180gr Accubond her way. She went down hard a few seconds later as the herd was starting to move out, but she was still sitting up so I shot again.

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The bullets hit about 5 inchs apart with the first one hitting the onside shoulder and, I believe the heart before exiting the chest cavity and entering the far shoulder. The second shot hit at a different angle as she was quartering towards me when she went down, it went through the lungs and exited further rearward in the far side ribcage.

I wound up finding the bullet from the first shot under the skin. It went through a lot of bone and weighed 109gr as pictured.

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I actually shot last year's cow on the far ridge visible a little over a mile back in this picture... not a great move, that pack out was a tough one.

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It wasn't so bad this year though, I quartered and skinned the cow, put the bagged quarters in a scraggly tree and hiked out for the night.

Yesterday I came back with a friend and his Ice fishing sled and we dragged the quarters the 2.6 miles to the parking area. Way better than packing or game carts as far as I'm concerned if you have some snow. The day would have been a lot nicer if it weren't 10 deg with 30 mph winds... A bit chilly.

Yours truly in about 5 layers dragging the sled in (Laramie Peak in the background).

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My friend next to the quartered elk-cicles loaded up in the sled.

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