My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th (UPDATE)
 

Well, several different things have kept me from getting this thread posted.........like my best friend killing another buck out of the same tree the next night ;) I have been up to my elbows in butchering duties because it is so warm......between that and hunting I just haven't had time to sit down lately.........ANYWAYS, it's raining tonight so here we go :)


It was Tuesday October 26th and I was headed out to the woods alone. It was a beautiful morning and my coffee was hot.........what more can you ask for?

I get to the woods in plenty of time and grab my gear. I head down the path and make my way towards the tree I want to climb. As I am setting up my stuff I can hear motion all around me..........the deer are coming in from the fields already [:@] Now I am just hoping they hang around long enough for first light and not just head on by and go to bed. I figure I better kick into stealth mode so I don't alert everyone to my location. I manage to get about 22 feet up with almost no noise (Thank you Summit) and my cup of coffee is still steaming in my cup holder (best $10 I ever spent ;)) I pull up my bow and wait for the coming sunrise. About 15 minutes of listening to deer walk all over the place beneath me has me BEGGING the sun to rise already!!.......of course when it does I see and hear.......NOTHING! The woods has gone completely silent and not an animal in sight. I kind of smile to myself and just figure that's the way it goes sometimes. I sit for about 10 minutes watching the still woods and decide I should try some calls in case something is still within earshot. My buddy said some bucks were chasing does the night before so what the heck right? I hit my estrous can twice and then follow up with a soft grunt. Within 10 seconds I hear something stirring in the thick brush ahead of me :D I am half certain it will end up being a squirrel but I follow up with one more hit on the can and one more soft grunt and get ready. Seconds later I see this buck coming my way through the brush........I can tell by his path that he will enter a shooting lane about 15 yards straight in front of me.........but he is coming from my front left so he will be slightly quartering towards me when he gets there. I come to full draw undetected and his path is unchanged. Decision time. I peak to my right and see that it is pure JAIL........no shots at all. If he goes in there and veers left I never get a shot.......if he goes right I MAY get another chance. I decide in that split second that I have a good shot (not great) right now and most likely it will be as good as it gets. The buck is now 12 yards out and my pin is tucked tight to that front right shoulder. I stop him with a mouth grunt and touch my release. The arrow flies true and looks to be a perfect hit. The buck turns and runs straight away back where he came from. After about 20 yards I lose sight of him because of the leaves still on the trees. I focus hard on listening because it's all I have left. I can hear him running for about 5 seconds and then I hear him crash to a halt........a few more leaf rustles (him twitchingon the ground) and the woods is once again silent.........except for my freaking heart beating like a snare drum :D

I know he is down and I know he isn't getting up..........but I am alone and figure he ain't going anywhere so just sit back and wait. I look at my watch and it is 7:30 am. I decide I will wait 1 hour and then go get my arrow and decide from there. I sit down and finish my coffee (which is still warm ;)) and try to play Yahtzee.........2 rolls into my first game I get a yahtzee and just laugh because it must be my day :). I play for what seems like an eternity and am just dying to go get my deer. I look at my watch and Arrrrrgggggggh it is only 8:00 am. I stay true to my time frame and sit and wait. 5 minutes later I hear a deer coming. I look over and it is a buck similar to the one I just shot and he is just working his way around. I decide to mess with him with my grunt tube but he shows little if any interest. He does however get to about 80 yards and I can see him barely through the thick brush. He starts going crazy on a small tree........rubbing and thrashing and just beating it up like a maniac.........at one point he actually takes a couple steps back and charges the tree to give it an extra shot. He walks about 20 yards closer to me and works a scrape like crazy then urinates in it before moving on.........it's the last I see or hear from him. Cool show and what a GREAT morning!! It is now 8:35 am and I am getting down.

I walk over to where the deer was and see nothing but upturned leaves....[:o] Not a good start. I walk over to where his exit path took him and see some blood........couple drops and a streak......no arrow yet. I walk about 5 yards and see a couple more drops and then the blood gets better. Nice bright red blood and I find some on the leaves of a small sapling with frothy bubbles in it :D in the next 10 yards the blood becomes almost a steady stream of drops and spatters and then golf ball sized and larger spots. My head is down as I creap along the trail and when I see how heavy the blood is getting I know what is not too far away so I look up and sure enough I see his white belly laying about 25 yards away in the middle of a path :D He went about 50-60 yards just like it sounded. When I get to him I see that my arrow entered close to the shoulder and exited lower chest opposite side near end of ribcage.........Where is my arrow??? I field dress him and drag him back to my tree to get my stuff together. As I get to my tree I solve the arrow mystery. He was a little more to the left when I shot him then I thought and I was looking for my arrow about 5 feet too far to the right. The reason I didn't see it right away is that it was stuck in the ground so far I had to pull it out with both hands. My equipment really did a great job.

First kill with my Patriot........shooting Carbon Express Terminator Hunter Selects tipped with Magnus 4 blade Stingers. Those Stingers are just plain awesome.......great blood, razor sharp, penetrate like a hot knife through butter and he didn't go far.

Oh yea.........I almost forgot. One more deer falls to a Whisker Bisquit ;) I guess these crazy things work after all

The shot went right through the right lung and out the back of the left.........tight shot at that angle but thankfully I made the right decision.

He is a 6 pt and I cut him up that night due to the warm weather and I ended up with 64 lbs of steaks, chops, and burger from him. Great start to the season. Sure feels good to have meat in the freezer before Halloween.

I am taking him to a guy with flesh eating beetles on Monday and going to European mount him for something different...........should be interesting.


Here he is.

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Well, the site is not letting me load any pics for some reason.

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Hey Justin.........I am linking this pic to the PM I sent you........if this causes a problem just let me know. Not sure why I can post the pic in my PM to you but not here????


Here he is

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Here is another pic of his rack

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Magnus Stinger 4 blade. Just plain awesome job.

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Exit hole

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

congrats, nice buck :)

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Congratulations on your buck! And thanks for such a great story....

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Sounds like you had an awesome morning in the woods. I would kill for half of what happened to you! lol And not even the half that included a kill. Congrats.

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Congrats atlas nice buck.

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

:) Awesome story and pics. Thank you for sharing atlasman.
Really well written piece,, i loved the morning rush and coffee part ,,,
Great shooting and good luck the rest of the season

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Congrat's to you on your fine buck ,I'd definetly do a european mount he'll look great .


nubo

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Congrats...good job and nice buck

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Nice buck and great story. Congrats!!!

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Hey atlasman, super congratulations on the buck!

I really loved the story too!!

Keep up the good work.

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Great pics congrats

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

way to go atlas man, meat in the freezer

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th (UPDATE)
 

My best friend shot this buck the next day out of the exact same tree I killed mine.

They could be twins.

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Congrats Atlas. The story was a great read and I'm glad you got to finnish you coffe while it was still warm;)

Yahtzee though?:D

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th (UPDATE)
 

ummmmmmmmmm, are those key deer??? From florida?? If not they are very small bucks, and should have been let walk by. But if your a meat hunter, then i understand, i know the ol saying down south "if its brown its down" i just dont shoot anything that small, and maybe i am lucky for that. It just kills me to hear these guys talk about what big bucks they can kill this year, and end up shooting a one a half year old buck, not saying its you, but................i would like to see hunters doing some better quaility deer management. but congrats, and happy hunting.

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Congrats on the buck and great story!

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th (UPDATE)
 

They are NY bucks..............and in 17 years of hunting I wouldn't call them small at all. We got 63 and 65 lbs of meat from them respectively. Average to slightly above for a whitetail around here. I got 80 lbs of meat from my buck last year and that was a deer people see around here about as often as a white rhino ;)


You hunt your way and I will hunt mine. I personally don't let antler size dictate the success or failure of my hunting. If he's got a rack cool..........if it doesn't that's cool too.

They all look the same in my freezer.


I am a DEER hunter.

Given the choice though.......I'll take a years worth of meat over a rack any day.


I don't live in the south.


Again.........to each his own.


I like big bucks as much as the next guy.......I just don't make it my lifes work pursuing them. If a 1 1/2 year old buck walks by me opening day next year he is getting shot too. I know my woods and am realistic about my goals for the season. I am more then pleased with my buck and if I let him pass he will go down to a gun in three weeks. You can except it or live in denial and let deer walk for others to kill......simple as that.


I guess the big difference is what people consider a "quality" deer. You are judging the "quality" of a deer simply by it's headgear. In my views that is silly. Actually the best "quality" deer IMO would be the youngest little bugger out there because it will be so tender you can cut the meat with a fork.

It's all perspective my friend.


Thanks for the congrats and don't take anything I have said personally. We just have different views that's all. You would not be pleased to kill either of these deer and me and my buddy couldn't be happier with the way our season is going.


BTW..........I also have been hunting some tightly managed areas this year as well.

Like I said.........there is a time and place for hunting big bucks. You just have to be a realist about which situation you currently are in and react accordingly.


Best of luck to ya ;)

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

congrats on the fine buck

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th (UPDATE)
 

great pic

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

Congrats on a fine buck and awesome shot placement!

I too have my patriot shooting 4 blade stingers and find they are as accurate if not MORE accurate that my fieldpoints.
Glad to hear the stingers did the trick so efficiently.

RE: My 2004 buck taken on Oct 26th
 

great looking deer. Congrats to both you and your buddy. ;)