HuntingNet.com Forums - Seriously!!!!

In Michigan I have access to over 1,000 acres which have been managed since the early 90's... meaning there are several deer from the 140-170 mark out there and two deer that are 200+. Well last night I got the itch to fill my freezer with a nice tasty doe and I thought it would be nice to not hunt with a camera guy.So I gathered my gear and sat in a stand that normally the big boys don't walk under. Well there I am minding my own business waiting for a doe to come out and there he is. He was all of 200" just eating in the food plot and at his closest he was 15 yards quartering away. I was soooooooooooooooooooo tempted to pop him, but I can't without a camera. The thing that drives me crazy is, that buck has never been seen in the 5 years we have been watching him in that area. But I will say the wind was circling last night and dead down wind did its job. He never knew I was there.And to top it off this is the first time that buck has been seen in shooting distance since he was a 150. The only times we get honored by his presence is when he is in our food plots in the summer. GuessI am going to do some thinking on that stand and going out without the camera.

On sadder news a 13ish maybe older kid, who was suppose to be only shooting does on the south side shot,or said he shot, a10pt with a drop tine.And ifit is the deer I am thinking it is, that buck was 160's.But after not finding his arrow and looking for the first drop of blood in 5 hours of searching, I am out of ideas. And really I want to scream at this kid andhis hill billy father.Because this is what pisses me off (sorry going on a tangent here).

A week ago I am drivingthe roadssurrounding our property and I see this kid in full camo and his dad. So I amcarious, stop and ask them were are they hunting andwhat they are doing, dad goes on and says he found this stand and got permission to hunt this piece of property and he is taking his kid hunting for the first time. Well I am one to point out the obvious and tell him you do not have permission to hunt this piece of property I own the lease and hunting rights to it. The kids face just drops. I kind of start feeling like an ass, so I tell him he can hunt but only shoot doe. We have plenty of them and need some thinning out.

One week later the kid is pounding on my door all excited saying he shot the biggest deer of his life ( I am thinking an old doe) and I ask him to tell me what happen, and it was the 10pt with a drop tine!!!!!!!! Seriously is this really happening??? My next question is (before I blow a fuse) is where is your dad? "Dad dropped me off and was going to pick me up at dark!" Oh really??? I say well lets wait for him.

At this point I am showing no emotion just hoping the deer is dead and not wounded. And I keep having the kid tell me what happen over and over about shot placement and those things. Dad shows up, the kid runs to his dad and tells him about it, the dad is all excited for the kid. I am thinking to my self I could not have made it any clearer that it was DOE only! This is about 3 hours later from the time the kid shot the deer. We walk in can't find the arrow, and searching and searching for blood.

I called a couple of my buddies; we had about 6 people plus the dad and his son looking for blood. Who I might add pulled his last string when he started smoking and wanted to give up after half hour of no blood. After 5 hours of searching and asking the kid to repeat the story over and over... Where did the deer come from, where he ran to, how did he react after the shot..... We gave up.
So walking to the kid and his dad back to the car, I asked to speak to the dad alone and pulled him aside and in a very quite and soft tone, I told him to get the f of my property and if I ever see him on there I will have him arrested for trespassing.

I did not want to make a scene in front of the kid; I do not believe that is right. I did not want them hunting there in the first place, but didn't want to discourage a kid from hunting. I think we are a dying breed and need all the youth we can get. I do not blame the kid, young kid with a big deer, he probably thought he was doing a great thing, and making his dad proud of him. I blame the father; he should have never left him alone. Well that’s my rant thanks for listening.