|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Game: Midwestern Whitetail If I’m not out of state hunting there is a good chance that you will find me every weekend on my farm, Twin Oaks, an hour north of St. Louis. Most of my time is spent planting and maintaining food plots, putting up stands, checking trail cameras and eventually deer and turkey hunting. After 15 years of practicing quality deer management and improving the habitat on the farm it has now turned into a tremendous place to hunt deer and turkey. A nice creek runs for 2.5 miles through the farm. About 60% of the farm is in hardwoods (lots of oak trees), 15% crops with the rest split equally between food plots and CRP fields. There are about 30 fields on the farm, all of which are scattered around the woods. Not great if you’re a farmer but ideal if you’re a hunter. I decided to spend the entire week before the Missouri rifle season bow hunting on my farm. Since I had already harvested a couple of does with my bow I was focused on shooting a big buck. I was seeing a lot of nice bucks and a few great bucks but they weren’t cooperating. The buck activity picked up as the week progressed and most of the big bucks I saw were starting to hang out with their favorite doe. On our final day of bow hunting my hunting partner Peary and I were headed back to the house for lunch when I spotted a big 10 pointer bedded about 35 yards inside the wood line. The buck jumped up with a doe and headed into a drainage. There was a dry farm pond next to the drainage which would offer me some cover. I told Peary to take the ATV and drive away. I grabbed my bow and slowly crept around the pond bank. Fortunately the wind covered some of the noise from the leaves crunching with every step. There he was, 65 yards away looking in my direction. Over the next 15 minutes I managed to close the distance to 60 yards. I noticed the back end of a deer about 20 yards to the left of the buck. I figured it was the doe, but you can imagine my surprise when I checked things out with my binoculars. It was a buck, a 14 point buck. I had pictures of this buck; he had a 6x8 frame and a bad front right leg. There I was 60 yards from a huge 10 pointer and 70 yards from a beautiful white racked 14 pointer. The 14 pointer approached the 10 pointer only to quickly be run off. Next the doe had enough and took off and that was the end of my stalk. If only it had been rifle season. That night I couldn’t sleep. All I could think off were the two magnificent bucks. I made my mind up that I was going to hunt those bucks. I was anxious to get back to the section of woods where I saw the bucks. My tactics were about to change. Siting in tree stands waiting for a buck would be replaced by still hunting and looking for a buck. My more aggressive approach was producing results. I was seeing a lot of deer and even spotted the big 10 pointer twice. Unfortunately he wasn’t hanging around like he did the day before. I was seeing a lot of bucks and had some close encounters with some nice 130 - 140 class bucks, but I managed to let them walk. I was determined to stay focused on the big bucks, especially the 14 pointer. I still hunted all weekend but my tag was still in my pocket. This made 9 straight days of hunting. I suggested to Peary that we give ourselves and the deer a break for a day and get back at it Tuesday. I spent 4 hours Tuesday morning slowly walking and glassing. It was amazing how many deer would magically appear in my binoculars when I thought there was nothing anywhere around. I had a large 8 pointer chase a doe 10 yards from me without knowing I was there. I did see a large framed buck, but by the time I decided he might be worth giving up my quest for the 14 pointer he bolted. I hunted most of my farm that day going from one section of woods to another. I had one more area to cover before I made it back to the area where I had seen the 14 pointer 4 days earlier. I was probably moving faster than my normal snail’s pace when I jumped a big buck and a herd of does. Peary was sitting on a food plot just below the woods and radioed that I had chased 8 does by him but no buck. I told Peary I would return after my last still hunt and try and drive the buck to him. I had about an hour and a half to cover the 25 acre section of woods. The woods was basically a big bowl, high on the perimeter and low in the center, I decided to walk the perimeter and glass into the woods. During my walk I had seen two groups of does, one with a very good buck and two smaller bucks. It was tempting but I let him walk. I was on my way to do the drive for Peary when I decided to take a quick walk into the center of the woods. Nothing! I started to turn around and I caught the flash of a white antler. As the buck started to take off I saw he was limping. It was my buck! He stopped broadside in a gully about 150 yards away. I shot. He stood there like nothing happened. I couldn’t believe it. “Quick, shoot again before you lose the broadside shot,” went through my head. So I did, with the same results. He just stood there. This time I leaned against a tree and made sure my cross hairs were on his vitals. I squeezed the trigger and he went straight up in the air. 30 yards later he was down for the count. I had my buck. He was the 68 th buck that I had seen since rifle season opened. I’ve been fortunate to have shot a lot of very good bucks. Many people think it’s because I have a great place to hunt. That certainly is an important factor, but more important is not pulling the trigger on the first good buck you see. I have to admit, I never had to pass on 67 bucks to get the one I wanted.
|
.JPG) |
.JPG) |
 |
.JPG)