Wilcox
Senior Member
Well, it's been over a month, but I got my best buck so far last month. Hadn't had ANY shooters on my cams in months, but full moon, perfect wind and good, cool temps had me feeling lucky.
Got into the stand about 6:30 and nothing but tree rats until about 7:30 when I saw a lone doe heading towards a bedding area about 50-yards away. Got excited thinking something else might be behind her, but nothing, nothing, nothing.
Another hour goes by, then 9AM comes along and I promise myself not to leave before 10. Right at 9:15, I catch movement, horns, SHOOTER! He's heading right into the same bedding area, but coming from a completely different direction. He's walking away, so I snort-wheeze/grunt/snort-wheeze/grunt combo to try and turn him. I see movement coming, so I'm all ready to see....a DOE!
She comes in on a string - must have been playing the ol' jealousy card on the buck I'd seen, but she walks 5 yards from my tree and ends up feeding past and directly downwind, which gets me nervous. Shortly, I see the big boy coming right in her footsteps...but he suddenly gets distracted by the acorns under a great white oak about 30 yards in front of my tree and turns broadside, but right behind some brush, so I have no shot. He starts to move, so I come to full draw, but he just sits there eating acorns and keeping an eye on the doe for so long that I have to let down...and he just sits there for what seems like forever just stuffing his belly on acorns...while I'm trying to keep from shaking myself out of the stand!
He suddenly steps forward into a small opening, turns uphill just for a second, so I draw and put the NAP Kill Zone into his side and it hits his opposing shoulder, so doesn't pass all the way through, but he takes off and I'm sure he's done.
Gave him an hour and then my brother and I went and found him about 70 yards away...perfect, perfect day. Mainframe 8 pointer with a kicker off his G2 for character.
Got into the stand about 6:30 and nothing but tree rats until about 7:30 when I saw a lone doe heading towards a bedding area about 50-yards away. Got excited thinking something else might be behind her, but nothing, nothing, nothing.
Another hour goes by, then 9AM comes along and I promise myself not to leave before 10. Right at 9:15, I catch movement, horns, SHOOTER! He's heading right into the same bedding area, but coming from a completely different direction. He's walking away, so I snort-wheeze/grunt/snort-wheeze/grunt combo to try and turn him. I see movement coming, so I'm all ready to see....a DOE!
She comes in on a string - must have been playing the ol' jealousy card on the buck I'd seen, but she walks 5 yards from my tree and ends up feeding past and directly downwind, which gets me nervous. Shortly, I see the big boy coming right in her footsteps...but he suddenly gets distracted by the acorns under a great white oak about 30 yards in front of my tree and turns broadside, but right behind some brush, so I have no shot. He starts to move, so I come to full draw, but he just sits there eating acorns and keeping an eye on the doe for so long that I have to let down...and he just sits there for what seems like forever just stuffing his belly on acorns...while I'm trying to keep from shaking myself out of the stand!
He suddenly steps forward into a small opening, turns uphill just for a second, so I draw and put the NAP Kill Zone into his side and it hits his opposing shoulder, so doesn't pass all the way through, but he takes off and I'm sure he's done.
Gave him an hour and then my brother and I went and found him about 70 yards away...perfect, perfect day. Mainframe 8 pointer with a kicker off his G2 for character.
