My first giant!

[chummer]

Bad for you. Good for him, unless he was hunting on you?

Gotta hate if that happened. I absolutely hate trespassers.

He is a good guy so I am happy for him. I emailed him a ton of pictures I had of him. He is one of the few good locals so I think he probably stays on the neighbor. He got it on a Saturday I was there so I am pretty sure it wasn't on us. I give him a lot of info so it kind of bothers me he won't tell me. Oh well, lesson learned. I have been texting him all night. He has given me a lot of other info but won't give up the honey hole.

 

[bueller]

I'd rather have a neighbor whack my target buck than a pickup truck going 65 on the county road. At least you know what happened to him and maybe you will have the opportunity to see the antlers in person. Bittersweet for sure.

 

[Native Hunter]

Sorry to hear it for you. At least it was a legit hunter that harvested him. One of the nicest bucks I've had got poached 1/2 mile away last year.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

At the very least, it sounds like you have a survivor there and between all of them, some good genetics are probably in the pipeline now. With the planting, hinging, logging you're doing there - you'll be creating your own " honeyhole " !! Your place can become the go-to spot for the deer, especially if the majority of the surrounding areas are untouched woods. In northern Pa. there are miles of unbroken woods that have low deer densities. But nearer to farmland and camps that log, plant food plots, apple trees, spruce/pines/hemlocks for cover, and add browse sources - there are much better deer numbers. Keep the faith & stay the course !!! ;)

 

[chummer]

At the very least, it sounds like you have a survivor there and between all of them, some good genetics are probably in the pipeline now. With the planting, hinging, logging you're doing there - you'll be creating your own " honeyhole " !! Your place can become the go-to spot for the deer, especially if the majority of the surrounding areas are untouched woods. In northern Pa. there are miles of unbroken woods that have low deer densities. But nearer to farmland and camps that log, plant food plots, apple trees, spruce/pines/hemlocks for cover, and add browse sources - there are much better deer numbers. Keep the faith & stay the course !!! ;)

The best part was going through four years of pics looking for my buck. I thought these big boys were new this year but it turns out they have been living here for 2-3 years now. The two giants just had tremendous growth this year and went from 8's to 10's. I didn't have a lot of pics of them till this year. Previous years only a couple pics a month. They both had identifiable points that I could link them back a couple years. It will be interesting to see what I can draw in from the migration and get to fill their voids. Checked my plots for the final time today and it appears a herd showed up in the last couple weeks. Today was the last day of the season so hopefully some bucks made it. Hopefully this mild winter continues.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Sounds like things are on the up-swing up there, Chummer !! The work you're putting in is only gonna make it better. Evidence of a herd showing up is a good sign, even if they migrate out. They'll remember where the goodies are and be back. If the winter stays reasonable, some may stay around. Plus - plus any way you look at it !!