My 185" 15pt Browtine buck (trail pics added)

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11-07-2008, 08:58 AM

fletch920

Fork Horn

Thread Starter

Join Date: Apr 2003

Location: IOWA

Posts: 400

My 185" 15pt Browtine buck (trail pics added)

Well, this is kind of bittersweet for me as it ends a 3 year game of cat and mouse. I have hunted this deer based on trail-cam phots all this time and only got to see him twice. ALL trail-cam photos of this deer were at night. Very nocturnal deer. The first time I finally saw him was last January 8th, 2008during late muzzleloader season and I had him feed in a picked corn field for 30 minutes about 70 yards away. I let him go then because his right browtine was broken off and his left mainbeam was broken off just past his G2. I was heartbroken to say the least. This year I did a little scouting close to the bedding area and found a fresh scrape that I hung a camera on during a rainstorm so it would wash my scent away. I checked it 10 days later during another rain and had his picture from two different days. I put my son on the scrape two different evenings during early muzzleloader season and he did not see a deer.

Then, on the 28th of October, I finally got the right wind and slipped into a small oak tree near the scrape. I carried in a small portable stand. I climbed the tree and began quietly trimming some small limbs to allow room to move a bow around and open up some shooting lanes. I noticed I was pretty comfortable just leaning/sitting on one limb while standing on another and decided I would not risk making any noise bringing the stand up. So, I climbed back down, put on my camo and tied a cord to my bow. I simply went back up to my limb that was only about 12' in the air but offered the best break-up from oak limbs that still held their leaves. Strapped in and pulled my bow up and settled in at about 4:15PM. At about 5:00 I had 4 does walk by within 20 yards and really liked the set-up. At 6:15 I spotted the browtine buck heading for the scrape. He worked several scrapes and fed a little at 40 yards for 10 minutes or more. He then looked as if he was going to move off and not give me the shot I wanted. I let him get just out of site up a fence row and pulled out a can call. I bleated with it behind my back twice and he came on a string, nose to the ground. I drew early and then grunted him to a stop at 10 yards. He was slightly quartering towards so I hugged the back of his left shoulder and took out both lungs and the top of his heart. He ran about 75 yards and crashed just out of sight. I climbed down, inspected my arrow which looked good and slipped out to go wait for a friend that was hunting on one of our spots about a mile away. We came back about one hour later and walked straight to him. He's only 14 3/8 inside, has 42 1/8" of mass and grosses 185 1/8". My best buck to date.

I hesitated posting this because of the way some always doubt and attack someone that has killed an exceptional deer. For the rest of you, please enjoy my deer of a lifetime. It was a true honor to have taken him.

11-07-2008, 09:01 AM

AF Hunter

Nontypical Buck

Join Date: Oct 2005

Location: Iowa (Heartland USA)

Posts: 3,249

RE: My 185" 15pt Browtine buck

Finally! When are you gonna learn that some of us live through the lives of others and pics of big bucks come BEFORE stupid crap like trying to earn a living for your family?