It was an amazing weekend here in Illinois. It started off Saturday morning. I opened up the camper at 3:30am door to get ready for the morning hunt, that is when I was greeted by 30mph winds and sleeting rain. I quickly decided the bed was the best place for me to be. I set the alarm for 8am and got up to find it was still raining. I decided I would head into town and get some breakfast and wait for the weather to break. I finally made it to the treestand around 12:45pm. I had just got my climber off of my back when a small buck ran a doe right pass me at about 15 yards. I climbed my tree, got settled in and started to rattle. Not 30 seconds into it an great mid 150's 10 came running in followed by a nice mid 130's 8. While they did not offer a shot, it was great to see rut activity in high gear. Over the next 4 hours I seen 8 more bucks, including one monster that I watch breed a doe about 70 yards away.
Sunday morning started off just as hot, with two does and a spike out in front of me at first light. I decided I was going to sit the stand all day and was rewarded for my effort with buck after buck all day. While I did not see any shooters, the action was fast and to be honest, I lost count of how many bucks I seen all together. Around 4pm I heard a deer running down the ridge behind me. I turned to see a doe running hard right for my treestand with a nice buck close behind her. I mouth grunted to stop him and he offered a shot at 34 yards. A well placed arrow thru both lungs sent him crashing about 80 yards from the point of impact. All-in-all, it was one of the best weekends of hunting I have had in a very long time.
The buck grossed 145 7/8 and netted 141 6/8. Here are his measurements.
Spread 20 6/8
Right Antler
F - 22
G1 - 1 5/8
G2 - 4
G3 - 7
G4 - 6 1/8
H1 - 5 2/8
H2 - 4 7/8
H3 - 4 6/8
H4 - 4 4/8
Left Antler
F - 21 1/8
G1 - 1
G2 - 6 1/8
G3 - 9 4/8
G4 - 8
H1 - 5 2/8
H2 - 4 7/8
H3 - 4 5/8
H4 - 4 4/8
Spread 20 6/8
R Antler 60 1/8
L Antler 65
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145 6/8
- Difference 4 7/8
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141 6/8
Second Illinois Buck Down
Time for some nannywhacking!!
