Hunter-Steve
Senior Member
I hope you all like a long story....
I have always seen lots of bucks, but since Hancock county went QDM I have not shot one. Over the years I noticed that I always see deer on or about the weekend of November 11th so I made sure I was able to hunt this weekend , despite my in laws visiting for the first time in a year
I did not see any thing Friday afternoon or Saturday morning at my Hancock county lease, so one of my hunting buddies asked if I would like to take a short trip to a friends place. So I packed my rife and my backpack and we drove to Jenkins County. He gave me a short tour of the property and I decided to sit in a big oak on a point overlooking a cotton field that was lined with oaks dropping acorns.
I got up in the stand at about 3:45 and it was warm but windy. I took my rangefinder and checked out the distances. I figured I was near my guns limit at the edge of the field in front of me since I hunt with a Marlin 35. The edge was just at 120 yards at the furthest. So I settled in for the wait. At about 5pm the sun hid behind a solid cloud and it started to get dim. I looked at the field and saw nothing yet. The wind had begun to diminish and was still blowing in my face.
I looked at my watch, it was now 5:09 and when I looked up there he was. I could tell he was a buck with a big body and bigger than a spike. He was eating the acorns under an oak right across from me at 115 yards. The last thing my friend told me when he dropped me off was "remember we are NOT in Hancock so you can shot anything" So I never focused on the horns. I adjusted for the wind and distance and squeezed the trigger. I heard the bullet hit..... He arched his back and ran. As he began to enter the woods I decided to hit him again. I don't like to take a butt shot, however, I also don't like to track a deer in wood I don't know in the dark. It sounded like it connected too.
I then got down out to the stand and looked in my backpack only to find I did not have any flashlight or drag rope. The thin cord I use to hoist my gun and gear was not much use for dragging a deer. So I decided that I needed to see if he left a blood trail. Half way across the field I heard a crash. It sounded like he was either caught in something or on the ground spinning. Because the sound was not moving. Buy the time I got to the wood line It was still making that same racket. I saw just one spot of blood about 2" round and faint. I entered the woods into a very thick set of thickets. I could see movement about 25 yards up. It was his rump and it was on the ground but moving up and down. Then I thought I saw something run but the tail and white rump was still there.
I made my way to the deer and he was just letting out his last breath. I verified he was dead and pulled him from the thickets he was in. He had a broken left antler and would have been a nice 8 but as you can see from the pictures he was still a decent 7. Now I got the shakes. Finally buck fever
I almost forgot how good that feels.
So I decided to put my gun back out at the field edge with my backpack and drag him out by hand. Well when I got about half way back to him I heard the crashing again. And this time some snorting. To my surprise there was even a bigger buck goring the downed buck. and I did not have my gun
I watched as he would charge and gore the downed deer and lift it off the ground. I then tried to walk back to my gun when a third buck started weazing at me. Now I was getting concerned that I may be next. I ran back to my rifle and then both of the other deer ran off just enough so I could not see them clearly. I got my downed deer out of the woods. but kept hearing the two snorting and blowing just out of sight as it got darker and darker.
I stood at the edge of the woods with my gun ready in case they decided to charge me. When my friend showed up I went to unload my gun and found that it was empty. I never reloaded after I got out of the tree stand
It was a great day that I will never forget
I have always seen lots of bucks, but since Hancock county went QDM I have not shot one. Over the years I noticed that I always see deer on or about the weekend of November 11th so I made sure I was able to hunt this weekend , despite my in laws visiting for the first time in a year
I did not see any thing Friday afternoon or Saturday morning at my Hancock county lease, so one of my hunting buddies asked if I would like to take a short trip to a friends place. So I packed my rife and my backpack and we drove to Jenkins County. He gave me a short tour of the property and I decided to sit in a big oak on a point overlooking a cotton field that was lined with oaks dropping acorns.
I got up in the stand at about 3:45 and it was warm but windy. I took my rangefinder and checked out the distances. I figured I was near my guns limit at the edge of the field in front of me since I hunt with a Marlin 35. The edge was just at 120 yards at the furthest. So I settled in for the wait. At about 5pm the sun hid behind a solid cloud and it started to get dim. I looked at the field and saw nothing yet. The wind had begun to diminish and was still blowing in my face.
I looked at my watch, it was now 5:09 and when I looked up there he was. I could tell he was a buck with a big body and bigger than a spike. He was eating the acorns under an oak right across from me at 115 yards. The last thing my friend told me when he dropped me off was "remember we are NOT in Hancock so you can shot anything" So I never focused on the horns. I adjusted for the wind and distance and squeezed the trigger. I heard the bullet hit..... He arched his back and ran. As he began to enter the woods I decided to hit him again. I don't like to take a butt shot, however, I also don't like to track a deer in wood I don't know in the dark. It sounded like it connected too.
I then got down out to the stand and looked in my backpack only to find I did not have any flashlight or drag rope. The thin cord I use to hoist my gun and gear was not much use for dragging a deer. So I decided that I needed to see if he left a blood trail. Half way across the field I heard a crash. It sounded like he was either caught in something or on the ground spinning. Because the sound was not moving. Buy the time I got to the wood line It was still making that same racket. I saw just one spot of blood about 2" round and faint. I entered the woods into a very thick set of thickets. I could see movement about 25 yards up. It was his rump and it was on the ground but moving up and down. Then I thought I saw something run but the tail and white rump was still there.
I made my way to the deer and he was just letting out his last breath. I verified he was dead and pulled him from the thickets he was in. He had a broken left antler and would have been a nice 8 but as you can see from the pictures he was still a decent 7. Now I got the shakes. Finally buck fever
I almost forgot how good that feels.So I decided to put my gun back out at the field edge with my backpack and drag him out by hand. Well when I got about half way back to him I heard the crashing again. And this time some snorting. To my surprise there was even a bigger buck goring the downed buck. and I did not have my gun
I watched as he would charge and gore the downed deer and lift it off the ground. I then tried to walk back to my gun when a third buck started weazing at me. Now I was getting concerned that I may be next. I ran back to my rifle and then both of the other deer ran off just enough so I could not see them clearly. I got my downed deer out of the woods. but kept hearing the two snorting and blowing just out of sight as it got darker and darker.I stood at the edge of the woods with my gun ready in case they decided to charge me. When my friend showed up I went to unload my gun and found that it was empty. I never reloaded after I got out of the tree stand
It was a great day that I will never forget
