blueKYstream
5 year old buck +
I saw this buck a bunch in the summer at a mineral lick. He came in often with a couple other bucks, but I knew I wanted the chance at him. He shed his velvet and relocated from one side of the property to the other. It took me a few weeks to find him again. I was getting morning pictures but couldn't pinpoint where he was bedding or feeding. We have cattle as a necessary evil. Living off the farm, we have a guy that takes care of them and cuts hay. He was doing some brush cutting and located one of this buck's likely beds earlier in the week. The day before, this buck was spotted mid-day in a ridge of oak trees. On Friday, I went out to hunt him, but the cattle were moved into the field I intended to hunt. I've noticed over the years that deer tend to move their beds when that happens. They usually will keep their distance when feeding or relocate completely when that happens too.
It would have been a low-odds guess to hunt one of the other spots I've seen him at. I decided to stick with the plan to hunt some oaks where I thought he was feeding despite him being bumped a day earlier and cattle in the field. Fortunately, the cattle were moved about an hour or two into my hunt. At 5:30 I heard a couple deer cough but I couldn't see them. Eventually, I spotted a doe and 4-pointer. I had seen them on previous hunts too. I'm guessing they are twins whose mother was killed last year but that's speculation.
At 7:05, I heard a deer walking through the leaves. I could see it was a pretty nice buck. I glassed and knew it was him. He stopped in my only shooting lane. I ranged him quickly at 38 yards. I raised my crossbow and he caught movement. It was windy though and he quickly looked the other way. I raised the crossbow, counted three reticles down for 40 yards on the scope and fired. The process felt a bit rushed, which later had me second guessing myself. I looked up and saw he didn't flinch at the sound of the shot. Next, I heard a big "whack" and I knew it hit him hard. I couldn't see where it hit though. I waited 20 minutes and then walked over. There was a good blotch of blood at the shot location. I debated waiting but I ultimately decided to follow the trail. It was 81 degrees out. I followed the trail 25 yards and it dwindled to a spot here and there. My tiny flashlight wasn't great for following. It was fairly dark in the forest at this point. I decided to back out and call for help. When help came an hour later, we went looking and we found it fairly quick. He ran 75 yards straight down hill and piled up.
I believe that night he came from the bed found while mowing. It was a group of 2 or 3 cedar trees 2/3 up the hill overlooking a valley with a lake. I had bumped a nice buck from there years ago. It's surprising a deer can hide there without being seen, but it's a beautiful, classic spot and he can see everything in front while smelling behind. He must have watched me ride around checking trees and a camera or two just hours earlier. If he was in fact in that bed, he traveled about 400 yards and jumped two fences to get to the spot I shot him.
I couldn't be happier. This was also my first crossbow buck.
It would have been a low-odds guess to hunt one of the other spots I've seen him at. I decided to stick with the plan to hunt some oaks where I thought he was feeding despite him being bumped a day earlier and cattle in the field. Fortunately, the cattle were moved about an hour or two into my hunt. At 5:30 I heard a couple deer cough but I couldn't see them. Eventually, I spotted a doe and 4-pointer. I had seen them on previous hunts too. I'm guessing they are twins whose mother was killed last year but that's speculation.
At 7:05, I heard a deer walking through the leaves. I could see it was a pretty nice buck. I glassed and knew it was him. He stopped in my only shooting lane. I ranged him quickly at 38 yards. I raised my crossbow and he caught movement. It was windy though and he quickly looked the other way. I raised the crossbow, counted three reticles down for 40 yards on the scope and fired. The process felt a bit rushed, which later had me second guessing myself. I looked up and saw he didn't flinch at the sound of the shot. Next, I heard a big "whack" and I knew it hit him hard. I couldn't see where it hit though. I waited 20 minutes and then walked over. There was a good blotch of blood at the shot location. I debated waiting but I ultimately decided to follow the trail. It was 81 degrees out. I followed the trail 25 yards and it dwindled to a spot here and there. My tiny flashlight wasn't great for following. It was fairly dark in the forest at this point. I decided to back out and call for help. When help came an hour later, we went looking and we found it fairly quick. He ran 75 yards straight down hill and piled up.
I believe that night he came from the bed found while mowing. It was a group of 2 or 3 cedar trees 2/3 up the hill overlooking a valley with a lake. I had bumped a nice buck from there years ago. It's surprising a deer can hide there without being seen, but it's a beautiful, classic spot and he can see everything in front while smelling behind. He must have watched me ride around checking trees and a camera or two just hours earlier. If he was in fact in that bed, he traveled about 400 yards and jumped two fences to get to the spot I shot him.
I couldn't be happier. This was also my first crossbow buck.
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