bwoods11
5 year old buck +
I shot this buck Sunday afternoon at around 3:30. Spent part of the afternoon watching the Vikings game and finally decided that I better head out before the end of the game. Vikings win, I am heading to my stand. I crawl up into my ladder stand that overlooks a nice corner with timber to my north and east, CRP to my West and a mix of habitat all around me along with food plots.
All settled in and I decide to grunt just for the heck of it. Not a minute later a nice mature 8 comes walking down the tree line from the CRP. He is definitely looking for the source of the grunt. I'm thinking wow, I am hardly ready to shoot. Taking a good look at him, I think yep he's a shooter for my area (MN).
He continues on to an opening that we prepared years ago. When he is 25 yards I take the shot. Whoops, a bit back from the shoulder but it zipped right through him. The buck ventures about 60 yards and hunches up. He stood in the same spot for a long time.
At this point I knew I had not made a great shot, but I was (sort of) confident that the hit was fatal. We decided to leave him overnight. We had no choice.
Coyotes are bad in this area. But you can't push a deer with this type of hit. The next morning we went to the spot where I thought he would be. He was not there. Time to blood trail. My friends that helped are good trackers and we did not have a lot of blood. Matter of fact, it crossed my mind that I would not find this deer.
He headed south in the timber, then into the CRP, back through the timber then back in the CRP again....heading to a small lake. Once he hit that CRP we found some several bloody beds close together and then we knew the odds were better. At the bottom of the CRP was some thick cover and the blood went to it, there he was!! I was so excited as I was starting to wonder if I blew my chance at him.
This buck is not a local that I know of. I have never seen him on camera, or in the field. I think he came cruising from another property. We manage for nicer bucks, which this would qualify. It was sure a fun hunt, and a great track with friends....Now it is time to film my sons hunts. This is on a 50 acre parcel that is very good habitat. and it borders one of the nicest hunting farms in the state I think this is the 3rd bow buck I've shot on this farm since we bought it that would be P & Y or close to it.
West Central MN
All settled in and I decide to grunt just for the heck of it. Not a minute later a nice mature 8 comes walking down the tree line from the CRP. He is definitely looking for the source of the grunt. I'm thinking wow, I am hardly ready to shoot. Taking a good look at him, I think yep he's a shooter for my area (MN).
He continues on to an opening that we prepared years ago. When he is 25 yards I take the shot. Whoops, a bit back from the shoulder but it zipped right through him. The buck ventures about 60 yards and hunches up. He stood in the same spot for a long time.
At this point I knew I had not made a great shot, but I was (sort of) confident that the hit was fatal. We decided to leave him overnight. We had no choice.
Coyotes are bad in this area. But you can't push a deer with this type of hit. The next morning we went to the spot where I thought he would be. He was not there. Time to blood trail. My friends that helped are good trackers and we did not have a lot of blood. Matter of fact, it crossed my mind that I would not find this deer.
He headed south in the timber, then into the CRP, back through the timber then back in the CRP again....heading to a small lake. Once he hit that CRP we found some several bloody beds close together and then we knew the odds were better. At the bottom of the CRP was some thick cover and the blood went to it, there he was!! I was so excited as I was starting to wonder if I blew my chance at him.
This buck is not a local that I know of. I have never seen him on camera, or in the field. I think he came cruising from another property. We manage for nicer bucks, which this would qualify. It was sure a fun hunt, and a great track with friends....Now it is time to film my sons hunts. This is on a 50 acre parcel that is very good habitat. and it borders one of the nicest hunting farms in the state I think this is the 3rd bow buck I've shot on this farm since we bought it that would be P & Y or close to it.
West Central MN
