Had a few close calls but never closed the deal ...
Moved around from farm to farm ... crops coming off now and some fields are getting plowed under already ...
Some farms , harvest the old fashion way ...
I bought a fall turkey tag as well and set up a ground blind ... to use for turkey and deer ...
At one farm I hunt , they nearly lost a load during the corn cut ...
But got enough tractors hooked up to it and were able to pull it out ..
Been hunting the small corn plot at the river flats were I have seen a few bucks ...
Freash doe tracks over my Jeep tracks since last time in ...
Found a new , well used trail thru the grass ...
Carved a new tree for my climber ...
With a nice 20 yard view to the field and some intersection trails ... had a nice buck coming in after a series of grunt calls but he held up and spooked when the farmer made a pass with the corn trailer ..
Got out with a coupler of guys from work thru the week ... We drove in Gabes Tachoma , and we hunted a bean field were I saw a beauty buck last Sunday ..
Have been seeing human and dog tracks around the property perimeter , and heard a beagle tounging the other night ... This old gent has been crossing a few boundaries walking his dog lately ... Maybe thats why the bucks have been spooky ?
I put Gabe in a ladder stand with a West wind in his face ...
I went up another tree with some decent shooting lanes overlooking good food source .... but still no luck ..
More and more beans coming off ...
As the combine cuts at the West side ... we try stands at the East side .... Pydpiper hikes in to try a climber position and Jim M. trys his luck at the tower stand ...
I keep moving around and scouting from farm to farm ... as the farmers keep busy taking advantage of the good weather to get crops off ..
I see many does , but the bucks elude me ...
Until tonight !!!
Got off work and got into the field late , but figured " can't get anything staying at home "
I packed my climber for a walk around the property ... Gave my Y25 Relayer a rest and just for the heck of it , took out my snow camo Vixen ( The one I won from last years photo contest ) ... I had recently put a new string on that I got from Boo and sighted it in with the factory fiber optic sights .... shooting great groups at 20 an 30 yards ..
The wind was out of the East tonight so I kept it in my face and scouted for fresh buck sign ... On my walk about , I found some great sign just inside the bushline where a buck had left some fresh boundary scrapes and tree rubs ...
Decided to try a buck bomb ( although I figured it was too early for it , I was interested to see if I could get any action ..
I sprayed out the buck bomb , and I climbed on about 12 feet with my climber to shoot an opening on the fresh trail I found .. Did a quick series of agressive grunts then shut up and waited to see what the evening would bring ..
I heard a loud branch snap around 6:00 pm ... by 6:10 pm I had a large bodied buck grunting his way along inside the treeline ... I got ready for the shot but he passed just outside my shooting lane with too much slash in the way ... I tried to grunt him back , but all went quite ? .... I figured my night was over ...
Approx 6:25 pm , I hear a metalick thud behind me , I turned slowly and just about had a heart attack !
15 yards away , a beauty large bodied 10 point has his head down and is pawing at the empty buck bomb can ... This bucks neck is swollen and he's zoned on the buck bomb !As I slowly move the Vixen into position he starts to lift his head to look towards me ... I slap the trigger and send my standard 2213 / 130 grain Wasp broadhead combo at him ..... WACK ! .... He spins and crashes into the bush ... then quiet .... about 20 mins later , I hear coyotes yelping ? I wait and listen till dark ... climb down and look for my arrow .. It looks good .
My arrow is not far from the turned over empty buck bomb can ... I upright it and snap a quick picture ..
Then I get calls from CH and Sandman to see how I'm doing ... help is on the way ! I snap a quick picture of my gear at the base of the tree ...
Thanks again to Boo for donating the Vixen in last years photo contest ! It's a sweeeeet shooter !
As I follow the blood trail I can hear the coyotes yelping close by again ... I only go approx 45 yards and fiind him piled up at the base of a tree .. I snap a couple of walk up shots and find he is actually an 11 pointer !
15 yard shot ... 2213 with 139 grain Wasp Broadhead .. complete pass thru , high but clipped both lungs ... 45 yard recovery distance ..
CH and Sandman arrive to help with the drag out and take a final picture ..... man we cant get over how big his neck is and how much he stinks of rut ! ( seems way to early for that ?? )
Field dressed and tagged .... time to download pictures and get some sleep ( gotta work tomorrow
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Been a busy week ! ... But I put in my time and it paid off ! ... good luck to all that are chasing whitetails this weekend
Congrats RJ on the buck 