RE: My first big buck
lol yeah I guess i could do that.\
I hunt my dads property. Used to be a nice mix of open woods, pine stands, and redbrush thickets. Nowmost of the open woods has turned into swamp thanks to beavers, but I like it better that way. Keeps others out. Lotsof deer in the area and Ihad been finding nice buck sign everywhere. Started out sitting in my stand overlooking a food plot and bedding area. Sat there for about 1.5 hrs with no deer. I cant sit in a stand all day, not the way I like to hunt, but normally do for the first hr or so. Decided to go still hunt through a nice stand of pines that I have shot deer in before. Started into the pines about 9ish, got in about 100yds and saw this big green thing with orange ribbons strung from it sitting in a clearing in the pines. Hunter in a wheelchair sitting in a tent is what it turned out to be. Pine stand plan was shot down right there as he was smack in the middle of them and I didnt want to screw up his hunting. Met him later turns out he's the landowner of the adjacent property that i've never met before. only hunted there for 19 yrs lol. So back out of the pines I go. By now it's around 9:30- 10:00. Of course all my lazy neighbors around me are still sitting in thier stands just like they do all day every day. So I head down into the swamp you can see behind me in the first picture (area I shot buck is hidden by garage.) Sarted still hunting nice bedding area of high swampgrass and redbrush. Lots of beds, no deer. Sawmpgrass is up to my shoulders (i'm 6'4") so it is quite easy to miss the deer moving in and out of that area. Moved through that area up onto a slight ridge in the back of the property. This area is also one of my favorites because it is one of the only dry areas in the woods and has a nice stand of oaks and a great grove of apple trees surrounded by alders and more redbrush. So by this time it's around noon and I'm starting to get rather hot. It was 40 when i got out and around 62 by noon. So i needed to go fill the water bottle and shed some clothes. Walking the back ridgeline and spotted move,ent coming out of the swamp to my left and scope out a nice fat doe skirting the swamp and headed for the big fields in the back. I was ready to shoot her when I lose sight of her in a really thick tangle of grape vines. As i'm bringing the gun down to try and get a broader picture I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. The buck was coming up a trail out of the swamp about 25yds from me lookin to do nothing but bolt the field to the posted property on the other side. About 10 yds from the woodline he stopped and took a look up the field away from me and I dropped him on the spot with a shot behind the shoulder. Had another buck with him. Little scrubby 4 point, but from the size of the deer it was young and probably wont be a scrub in a yr or two.
Well that's my story. Not a great spot and stalk story but I take great enjoyment out of still hunting and being able to work my way through a woods that thick and have the deer not know i'm there.
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