2020 MI/OH success

bigeight

5 year old buck +
Wrapping up with a little bit of doe hunting with my daughter this week, but probably done buck hunting for 2020.

I was able to fill one of my MI buck tags on a nice 3.5 yr old that we had lots of pictures of on Nov 14th (night before gun opener) Grunted him in from a couple hundred yards. Very exciting hunt. Ended up making good on a 25 yard bow shot, and the deer went about 20 yards. He had no idea what happened ! Wheeled, and walked 20 yards, stopped and layed down. Gross score of 128"

I filled my OH tag on December 1st with my daughters 350 legend (love that gun!). I had an encounter with this buck in early November with a bow and just couldn't get him to leave the doe he was with. Definitely had me shook after that !

I went down after a big snow storm to try to lay eyes on him again. Lucked out and didn't even sit down for my evening hunt. I got to the base of my tree and saw him about 140 yards away with a handful of does. Quartering away shot and he dropped in his tracks. My biggest buck to date. Had a couple of trail camera pics of him as well. Gross scored 174". Had over 28" main beams on both sides !

Apologies for the horrendous pictures. Very rattled and just plain wish I had a re do !!
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Congrats, there's a couple real nie bucks there!
 
Great bucks, congrats friend!
 
Looks like a great season!
 
no complaints from you this year on how hunting went.

congratulations..
 
Congrats!
 
Congrats on a couple nice bucks!
 
Congrats!
 
Thanks guys, much appreciated.

I definitely learned a lot of lessons on that OH buck. Too much confidence in my weapon, and maybe it should have cost me. I feel very fortunate to have harvested him.

I slow hunted my way to my stand because it was windy, 6" of snow, i figured I would be able to walk in on deer bedded on my way to my stand without them knowing. It definitely played out like that. I was able to glass several deer as well as a couple of young bucks bedded that had no clue i was there. Getting to the base of my tree, I noticed him there with a handful of does that appeared to be eating acorns.

He was facing STRAIGHT away from me. None of the deer had a clue i was there. I figured they were about 90 yards away. I took off my pack, got my shooting sticks out, and got the crosshairs on him. Waited and waited for him to turn. He dIdn't move a muscle for 5 or 6 minutes. I was just sitting there with the gun on the tripod, and my hands in my hand muff trying to stay warm. Cool as a cucumber. Then a doe kinda goosed another one, and they made a small commotion and he turned his head to the right. Didnt move his legs, just kind of moved head and shoulders to look at them. When he did, it bulged his ribs out passed his right hind quarter a few inches. So I got ready. He didnt move a muscle for a couple minutes and i just kept holding and holding behind his ribs. I was rock solid and just waiting for him to adjust his feet. It would have to miss his butt by about an inch, then catch those few inches of rib cage driving it up and into his chest. Apparently I thought that was a good idea and shot. I remember being SO surprised i shot !!

I was rock solid, but i still had almost 3 HOURS of daylight for him to turn ! What an idiot !! :emoji_rage:

Very hilly in that woods, so I marked with my eyes where I thought he was standing and ran right to it. I could see all the tracks running away with fresh mud flipped on top of the new snow. NOTHING ! No blood at all. I started zig zagging back and for forth cutting the tracks. 15, 40, 75 yards from that spot and not a speck of blood. I looked and looked for 20 minutes. Frantic, and absolutely sick to my stomach how stupid that was, etc.

I got back to where i thought he was standing, got out my phone /HuntX and got my bearings to find my tree where i was going to regroup and replay it and see if i was in the right spot. GOT my bearings and took about 3 steps and almost tripped over him ! He dropped right in his tracks !! I was so fixed on that "spot" running up to it, I started tracking 5' PAST where he was standing/laying !!

Very relieved and embarrassed!

Then replaying it, I was very fortunate. DEFINITELY an ill advised shot. I had all the time in the world to wait for a better shot. Very foolish. I had a 35 mph crosswind that I did not take into account. Would have made it even more of a reason not to shoot as well. I guessed it was about 90 yards. I never used my range finder. Had all the time in the world to, and just didnt. I did later and found it was 142 yards. I guessed 90 . 142 yards with a 150 grain bullet with a 35 mph cross wind. Absolutely stupid, stupid, stupid !!

Anyway, i was very fortunate to weasel that bullet in there and not have had any of those variables mess with it that i never took into account.

Very blessed to have it all work out, and learned a LOT of lessons that I will take into account moving forward as a hunter. You can't just "want" a deer so bad that you throw out all of your thought process that you do with other deer.....
 
Congrats on a pair of awesome bucks!
 
Congrats on your bucks! That one is a giant!
 
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