Got busted by the biggest deer I've seen in the wild today

[Eb1]

I decided to walk around the food plots a little early before dark. As I walked around the back side of plot #2 I thought I saw a little cedar tree in the middle of the plot. But we don't have cedar trees in the plot.

It was a small non-legal buck. As I started to back out some to get a better look, out came grand-pa. I learned a lesson today for the humteenth time. I should have just sat right down at that very spot. Instead I tried to walk around a thicket. Even on all fours at times with my crossbow on my back. I had about 15 minutes of light left.
I got within 20 yards, but the little buck had jumped into the thicket, and grand-pa held his ground.
As I pulled up the bow to fire, a large poof was heard with a squeal, and then the deer was gone. What a great adrenaline rush and experience.

I could have launched a bolt from 45 yards when I first saw him come out into the field, but that would have been careless and unethical. Old boy lived another day and won the battle.
I am glad we had that encounter. He has been seen for 4 years on the farm, and that was the closet anyone has got to him. If it had been a gun day, he'd be on the wall. Man, that was awesome.

It is funny how defeat can have such a humbling outcome. I am not sad, mad or sore about it. This bow hunting experience has really got me rethinking how I harvest deer. Don't get me wrong. I will still hunt with a gun when I can, but the effort and games that are played on the hunt is much more exciting. I haven't even killed with a bow yet, and I am pumped about the experience.

I know my bows limitations. It is an older Horton. It is what I could afford over the summer, and I have shot it a ton. It is only 150# draw, and is noisy. 20-25 yards is my limit on the shots I feel comfortable with, and is what I feel is ethical for the bow for a good clean accurate kill.
Come Christmas if grand-pa is still around, I'll have my muzzleloader, superblackhawk .44 Mag or a 12 gauge slug, but until then....It is me and the bow on the up close and personal.

Happy hunting, fellow hunters.

 

[gspn]

First of all...congratulations on knowing your limits and having the discipline to stay within them. Lots of deer have been wounded by lesser hunters.

Second...that encounter is going to keep you awake for a lot of nights. Those are exciting times...thanks for sharing the hunt with us.

 

[Eb1]

You're right. Every time I close my eyes I see that big boy and how close he was.

 

[Outlaw Man]

First of all...congratulations on knowing your limits and having the discipline to stay within them. Lots of deer have been wounded by lesser hunters.

Yes!

You'll get him one of these days. If not, we'll all enjoy reading about you trying....and I think you'll have fun, too.

 

[Dthunter]

If you got him on the first try, you would be happy enough.

But if you try and try and TRY TO GET HIM MANY TIMES! it will forever occupy your mind when you DO get him!

If you "never" do, he will always occupy your dreams!

I fail to see a down side either way! Lol!

A Good effort during hunting, good careful decisions, and patience is what hunting is about. Everything else is just fluff!

And even the fluff is fun! Lol!

 

[Patocazador]

You didn't know he was around before, right? So now you can plan a strategy and probably waste the rest of the season hunting one deer.

I did that last year .. I finally said, "Phooey!" and shot whatever was provided by providence. It's more fun than hunting an 'obsession'.

 

[Dthunter]

Reaaly?!

You didn't know he was around before, right? So now you can plan a strategy and probably waste the rest of the season hunting one deer.

I did that last year .. I finally said, "Phooey!" and shot whatever was provided by providence. It's more fun than hunting an 'obsession'.

It sounds like you quit!

Dont let yourself be defeated like that.

If you give up that easily how are you going to get/do anything worth remembering? Only by work and adversity can you actually "appreciate" a goal/achievement.

 

[Patocazador]

It sounds like you quit!

Dont let yourself be defeated like that.

If you give up that easily how are you going to get/do anything worth remembering? Only by work and adversity can you actually "appreciate" a goal/achievement.

I'm 70 years old and have better things to do with the remaining days I have left. Chasing ONE deer is not one of them. Besides, it's not like we are "smarter" than the deer.

 

[Dthunter]

I'm 70 years old and have better things to do with the remaining days I have left. Chasing ONE deer is not one of them. Besides, it's not like we are "smarter" than the deer.

Thats one sour attitude! But your intitled to it. You have the years behind you.

None of us know how much time we have left. Age doesnt mean spit!

I survived Cancer! I kicked it's ass the first time! Who knows if I have to battle it again. But I can promise you that i will do my personal best to live every day in between! I take no day for granted, and feel honoured to live each day I'm given.

I remember reading the story of Jack O'Connors Last days of hunting. If I remember it correctly, he said he never regretted passing on an animal. "Its the persuit that a person remembers".

Working hard for something gives you something to remember and value. Your approach may differ, YMMV.

 

[Beentown]

Hunting one deer or a few can get miserable. I have done it the past four seasons (I only bow hunt). I am back having fun and shooting what has provided shots. I can see his point completely. Not everything is a competition.

 

[Dthunter]

Hunting one deer or a few can get miserable. I have done it the past four seasons (I only bow hunt). I am back having fun and shooting what has provided shots. I can see his point completely. Not everything is a competition.

Hunting for a goal is and individual thing yes. But I have never view it as a competition!
I have hunted extreamly hard for about 35 years. I have been hugely blessed to have taken record book animals in many classifications (traditional archery, compound, black powder, centerfire rifle) I certainly know what its like to pass animals up to try to get an individual animal. Its not easy! It takes dedication.

This kind of dedication isnt for everyone, I understand that. Just please dont discourage young hunters, if thats what they want to do.

Being happy with what you get is definitely important!

 

[CApighunter]

I also jumped the biggest deer of my life this season. Main frame 4x4 with a drop tine on one side, spread that was an easy 26 inches, probable more like 28-29. Crazy huge for a black tail, my friend who was with me said he could have been a B&C buck. Kicked him out of his bed from about 10 yards. He took of into the brush, never saw him again.

 

[Patocazador]

Hunting for a goal is and individual thing yes. But I have never view it as a competition!
I have hunted extreamly hard for about 35 years. I have been hugely blessed to have taken record book animals in many classifications (traditional archery, compound, black powder, centerfire rifle) I certainly know what its like to pass animals up to try to get an individual animal. Its not easy! It takes dedication.

This kind of dedication isnt for everyone, I understand that. Just please dont discourage young hunters, if thats what they want to do.

Being happy with what you get is definitely important!

I might hunt like that if I was in Alberta .. or Saskatchewan. Odds go up considerably when even the small ones are big.

 

[twofifty]

It's often all about the odds.
Whether we are conscious of it or not.

 

[Officers'Wife]

Some things aren't meant to be, this time was his turn not yours. You played by the rule of kill not wound so I'll share your disappointment.

I've never understood the lure of the "trophy buck" hunting. But my attitude is simply harvest of livestock. If matching wits with the trophy is your style of hunting then I hope you see many more of the "big ones" and always play by the rule I mentioned. The world is still a good place and you are part of it.

 

[Eb1]

This wasn't a hunt for this deer. This deer has been on the farm for a long time, and my family has admired him for that time.
We know he is out there, but he rarely shows himself. I think the reason he was out was because the little buck had been grazing for sometime, and he thought it safe to come out. I just so happened to catch him when he did decide to come out.

I am going back to hunt regardless if I see this deer or not, I will bring home some meat. And not wounding this deer was probably the best thing I could do to solidify my hunting privilege on this land, as the owner of the farm, which is family, was watching from his house with his bi-nocs.

This was my first bow hunting experience. If it had been the Saturday before I'd had put a 200 grain XTP though him when he first stepped out, but being that it was bow season, and I had a 150# older bow that I have shot all summer to know its limitations I had to get close. Did I make a mistake and not keep walking around the other way? Should I have just sat down and let the smaller buck come to me with the possibility of the bigger buck to follow. All things to consider and ponder. The only thing I know is I didn't fling a hail marry at the old boy in hopes of being some sort of hero by killing the large 12 pointer.

Will I hunt this one deer. Sure. If I see him again, but we have 8, 7, and others that are just as good, and many does that taste mighty fine. With 4 full sized food plots, 12 stands, and all hardwoods and bedding areas I feel that my day is coming to have a trophy, but I hunt to eat deer. The horns are a bonus. Here in AR the deer meat is sweet and delicious. MMMMMM.. I love it.

Christmas is another 3 day hunt where the .44 Mag Super Blackhawk, the Omega, or the 12 gauge with slugs will be put into play. This changes the odds into my favor. We'll see what happens, but until then, I'll have the bow with me, and learn from my mistakes, and enjoy being in the woods and being with family.

It was a humbling experience that I wouldn't trade. I am thinking of carrying my camera with me when I hunt now because if I can't hit them with the bow, I'd sure like to have a something to shoot them with, and that would have been a great picture to blow up and frame.

 

[Davek1977]

Personally, I'd much rather hunt a particular deer than just deer hunt. If the goal was to fill a tag, my seasons would nearly always be over by noon on opening day. Theres enough deer in this area that wouldn't be difficult. There is much more satisfaction...as far as I'm concerned... with harvesting a deer that has haunted your memory and dreams than there is in shooting the first legal deer you have an opportunity to kill.

 

[Eb1]

That is true, and makes sense to me, but I still like to have a freezer of meat and then go after the deer that is haunting me. If he happens to step out well "bonus"..

 

[f4t9r]

All part of the excitement of hunting. Sometimes the encounter is exciting as the kill. Good choice on not taking a long shot

 

[41 Mag]

Congrats on the experiences you had. Those are the things that keep me in the woods, putting things on the ground isn't a priority to me anymore.

I started hunting with my pop when I was 6 and took my first deer then. I'm only a couple of months from hitting 50 now. I have been in the woods every year and most of them I have put meat in the freezer, but in the past 12-15 more of that meat has been feral hog.

I get into the hunting much more now than I ever did. Not to kill a deer but to simply build my strengths and challenge myself to become a better hunter. I can now more times than not slip right in amongst them and settle down without blowing them all out. It has taken years to get there but I now know when and how to move as a result. There will always be that one doe or young buck that simply cannot leave the new bush that just appeared alone. Your gonna get busted, and your gonna loose that battle most of the time, but when you win, even if you don't fire a shot it makes it all worth while.

My grandsons and me have had a ball hunting our farm. We don't have stands, we simply head out from the house and go sit on the side of the hill out back, or pick a growth of shrubs to sit under. This year we have been able to sit still enough to have several nice bucks walk within yards of us, as well as the local harem of does which is always eager to bust us. This has been a very rewarding season for us and we have only fired a couple of shots and those were on the hogs or squirrels.