RE: Official Team The Dark Horses Thread (Returning Champs) (13)
 

Wow! Jason what a brute.. congrats man. Great buck!

RE: Official Team The Dark Horses Thread (Returning Champs) (13)
 

nice score Dave

RE: Official Team The Dark Horses Thread (Returning Champs) (13)
 

Damn guys. The Dark Horses are laying the SMACK down on some serious BONE this year! I'm eatin' it up.

Jason - that's a whale of a buck. Couldn't be any happier for ya buddy. It's been a hell of a year for you - with the baby and all. I raise my glass.

Dave - that's a great buck you got there. I'm guessing you're getting him stuffed?

The rest of you guys - maintain your focus and close this one out. We need two more bucks to put the stamp on the '08 season. If it has antlers, we need it. Leave it all out there, and do everything you can to keep from eating those archery tags.

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My Ohio season took an interesting turn yesterday morning... I flexed a morning hunt into my work schedule and got to spend a few hours out there yesterday a.m. Right at daybreak, I had a small forkie come through. Not long later, a really great looking 3x3 cruised the ridge.

Right around 10:15, things got interesting... As you know, the season is getting late, and I'm not one to eat a tag. So, just as I was packing up my gear, a buck came into my set - a beautiful 4x4 - similar size and shape as this year's PA buck...If I were to guess, I'd say4, 8, 6 inches in the G1-2 & 3. Good symmetry, average mass. 2.5 year old.

Decision time.

I passed.

If I see him again, he's duck butter. Starting next weekend, I'm officially lowering my standards to the first 100+" buck that crosses my path. Those standards will dip even further if I can get a cameraman out there with me- at which point I will shoot any buck that comes into range, just for the sheer joy of shooting on on video. :D

I just want a couple more hunts to see if I can't luck into a big boy. Most of them are locked-down right now, but I'm holding onto hope. A bad season can turn into the season of a lifetime in less than ten seconds.

It was one of those snap judgments that I had to make. I knew that if I killed him yesterday, I'd have had a long drag out, and would've had to call off work (which I didn't want to do).

Not to sound arrogant - but there are deer that are WORTH calling off work for... And there are deer that are NICE, but justAREN'T worth burning an off-day for... He was one of the latter.I just don't drive500 miles every weekend to bring home a buck that's no bigger than the ones I can shoot right here in PA.Not yet.We're going down to the wire.

So, I hung my bow back up and swallowed the lump in my throat, just hoping that I didn't make a really, really stupid decision.

RE: Official Team The Dark Horses Thread (Returning Champs) (13)
 

Awesome! I'd be thrilled with half that buck!

Great buck Jason!

RE: Official Team The Dark Horses Thread (Returning Champs) (13)
 

Great buck southdakotahunter, Ya'll are sure making it hard for anyone to un-seat you!

RE: Official Team The Dark Horses Thread (Returning Champs) (13)
 

Thanks for the great comments guys! It was a heck of a trip, I still owe you guys the details one of these days..... In the meantime, I went out for a quick evening hunt tonight and nailed a coyote.....

http://www.hunting.net/forum/tm.aspx?m=3171081

RE: Official Team The Dark Horses Thread (Returning Champs) (13)
 

You guy's got me motivated to go out this afternoon on that new property and try and lay 1 down. The wifey does't want to go so I'll be flying solo. Congrat's on # 2 for the 2 on our team that scored 2. Jason nice looking yote good job. Going to be gun season next week so I have the slackers coming up for 1 last hunt.They don't know it's there last but with there lack of effort I just can't let them hunt anymore. Good luck to the rest of you and Jason score?

RE: Official Team The Dark Horses Thread (Returning Champs) (13)
 

Got the buck scored... 146

RE: Official Team The Dark Horses Thread (Returning Champs) (13)
 

146... awesome Jason.. just awesome.

If you don't mind me asking.. could you put up an aerial with the location of the kill site on it. Would like to see where you took that beast.

Congrats again.

RE: Official Team The Dark Horses Thread (Returning Champs) (13)
 

Holy hell batman great buck.

Tonight I went out to some land that my cousin hunts and he set me up on an inside corner. I didn't see anything until about 15 minutes left. I had a doe behind me at 35 yards and couldn't get a shot. She hung up there so I decided to use her as a decoy,I hit the can call 4 times and she didn't like it and took off. No sooner and I heard a crash from the oppidite direction and out steps a 140+ big bodied buck. He was heading for where the doe was. I hit the can 1 more time and he turned to come to me. I needed him to take 2 more steps but he just wouldn't budge. Then it was to dark.

It was a great night but not to much rutting sign.