I bought this piece of land in Athens County near Amesville last year. I have done a bunch of work to it, much to the chagrin of my wife. Last year I put cameras out and caught a few "shooter" bucks, this one was one I named lobster claw due to the fact that he did not have many points other than two G3's that were small and towards the front. Last year I debated whether I would shoot him or not if I saw him, Obviously he was an old buck last year 4.5 to 5.5... But not much in terms of points.
Last year I took up archery (Diamond Liberty) and this year got my first cross-bow (Excalibur Vortex). Side note I love both!
I have been hunting most weekends down in my place in Athens, I live in Columbus. Until Sunday morning I had only seen one buck, a small-ish 8-pointer (not a shooter). Also I hunt in KY and have seen much bigger bucks there while hunting early season.
So Saturday morning I hunted from my "lazy man's stand", nicknamed because of it's proximity to my cabin. It is less than 200 yards as the crow flies. Also not very far off the road (very little traffic). The stand is situated between an open clearing for a powerline and the start of a steep slope to the top of a hill. Lots of mature white oaks in this area.
To get to the point... Saw nothing Saturday morning (I hate morning hunts)... And gave the stand one more shot Sunday... At about 7:40 a VERY large doe comes down the hill, acting very weird, probably due to my estrous, she stopped about 15 yards from my stand to munch on some acorns... Then I heard him, grunting his way following her path... Couldn't make much out as the fog was rolling in and was like pea soup. At about 40 yards I knew who he was... Lobster claw... But his mass was amazing... He wouldn't giveme a shot and was looking head on at me at approximately 25 yards eating acorns (the doe had ran off - he spooked her). He turned broadside for a brief second and wap... Made one of my better shots, double-lunged, but too high for the heart, he ran for over 150 yards with a HUGE blood trail.
Athens County, Ohio buck down, w/pics!
