Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 16, 2013, 03:13:02 PM
Post by: Widgeondeke on November 16, 2013, 03:36:17 PM
Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 16, 2013, 03:47:03 PM
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Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 16, 2013, 03:48:24 PM
Post by: buckster on November 16, 2013, 03:57:28 PM
Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 16, 2013, 03:58:28 PM
Post by: buckster on November 16, 2013, 04:00:37 PM
Post by: jrebel on November 16, 2013, 04:01:07 PM
Can't wait for the story
Post by: Mfowl on November 16, 2013, 04:05:39 PM
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Post by: carpsniperg2 on November 16, 2013, 05:27:57 PM
Post by: MuleySniper on November 16, 2013, 05:28:31 PM
MS
Post by: sakoshooter on November 16, 2013, 05:37:34 PM
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Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 17, 2013, 01:03:21 AM
This all started back in 2011.
Some of you may remember in 2010/2011 I was chasing a giant buck we called Monster (very original..I know). This buck was and still is by far the largest whitetail I have ever had the pleasure of hunting. This buck was killed by a fellow hunter in the first part of December and since I had focused all of my efforts on him I was left without a mature buck to hunt.
Monster 2011
Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 17, 2013, 01:06:37 AM
DBHAWTHORNE 2011 Buck
Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 17, 2013, 01:13:37 AM
Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 17, 2013, 01:22:40 AM
Uncle Buck 2012
Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 17, 2013, 01:31:22 AM
Enter 2013. The cows were extremely heavy in the area I was hunting. In fact the rancher still has not removed all of his cows from that permit area (but he has from the area I hunt) because he waited too long and now he can't find them. I was not able to get a picture of Uncle Buck prior to the season because food was out of the option and the cows were so thick that they literally crapped all over my mock scrape and broke the mock licking branch I was hoping to catch him on.
Finally...just a few days prior to the season the rancher removed his cows and within 48 hours of him removing them I had my first picture Uncle Buck for the year.
Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 17, 2013, 01:39:19 AM
I immediately began getting night photos of Uncle Buck and one day he even came in just minutes after dark.
I hunted less than three total days this season. All day the 10th (at the drainage stand), half a day on the 14th (different stand), All day on the 15th (different stand) and an hour or less on the 16th.
On the 10th, 14th and 15th I saw exactly zero deer (very rare..I was fairly shocked things were so slow). As I sat in the stand the morning of the 16th little did I realize what I had in store.
Minutes after first light a doe appeared and ate some corn while she closely kept an eye on the ridge line where I suspected Uncle Buck lived. She only hung around a few minutes and then walked away.
Less than a half hour later I heard a noise behind me and I turned my head to see Uncle Buck standing in the bottom of the drainage. He had come from the ridgeline where I had always thought he lived. He made a half circle around me and stopped just inside the brush to survey the area before exposing himself. This whole time I am fiddling with a video camera (not a big fan of trying to self film and what I got was crap but at least the shot is on film and that is certainly a good thing to have). Needless to say my heart was beating out of my chest but I did manage to calm the nerves prior to the shot.
When he stepped into the opening he was at 35 yards and he was slightly quartering towards. I drew back my bow and as I did he made a slight nervous step backwards. I released the arrow and felt the string kick ever so slightly to the right as it unexpectedly and ever so slightly brushed against my neck gaiter. Additionally, I dropped my bow arm slightly and my arrow was lower than intended. However, what worked out in my favor is that Uncle Buck jumped the string and when he did he lined up perfectly for my arrow.
I heard the arrow hit and I watched him run about 60 yards before he slowed to a trot and limped away. I thought I might have hit him low in the leg. I viewed the footage and on the tiny screen it certainly appeared to be a lower and forward hit but I couldn't tell the exact point of impact.
When I got on the ground I surveyed the situation and found a lot of blood immediately. I began following the blood trail which was extremely heavy and appeared to be the result of an artery pumping blood. The blood trail was so easy to follow that I basically could look ahead 10-15 yards and just walk....and this is what I did.... at 150 yards I spotted a heavy spot of blood so I walked directly to it (big mistake). I spent the next 45 minutes to an hour looking for blood in his most recent direction of travel....there was none...not a drop.. I knew I must be missing something so I decided to "phone a friend"..as we talked we started putting things together and thought he might have doubled back on his trail (even though there was snow the tracks didn't read so clearly). I doubled back and was relieved to find the blood trail again after roughly 25-30 yards. I had missed this before because I was paying too much attention to what was ahead of me rather than around me.
His original direction of travel was taking him up a ridgeline that I had never seen him on but when he switched his direction of travel he was moving towards the ridgeline that I suspected was his primary bedding location. This basically meant he made a big circle which put him roughly 100 yards behind the stand.
At roughly 300 yards I saw another large pool of blood and started feeling fairly confident I would find him....and that feeling didn't take long to come true...30 yards later I saw Uncle Buck. The blood trail was so heavy the entire 330 yards (GPS measured) that I could walk it at normal speed. The arrow had entered in front of his shoulder and exited through the bottom of his chest and off side leg...likely severing multiple arteries.
I was overcome with feelings that can't be described in words. Here was a massive public land mountain beast that had survived harsh winters, wolves, bears, coyotes, mountain lions and many hunting seasons...until this one.
I couldn't be happier.
Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 17, 2013, 02:20:38 AM
Post by: mulehunter on November 17, 2013, 03:25:51 AM
Post by: 3nails on November 17, 2013, 05:02:05 AM
Post by: oldleclercrd on November 17, 2013, 05:38:34 AM
Post by: Expedition Scout on November 17, 2013, 06:27:26 AM
Post by: scottfrick on November 17, 2013, 06:34:12 AM
Post by: fireguy459 on November 17, 2013, 07:03:49 AM
Post by: dupedc on November 17, 2013, 07:32:50 AM
Post by: Mr Mykiss on November 17, 2013, 07:59:37 AM
Post by: BAR C3 on November 17, 2013, 08:30:28 AM
Post by: jackelope on November 17, 2013, 08:33:56 AM
Post by: Easy-E on November 17, 2013, 08:40:48 AM
Post by: Birdguy on November 17, 2013, 09:11:18 AM
Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 17, 2013, 09:16:07 AM
..safe to say he is in the 160's gross
Post by: denali on November 17, 2013, 09:19:41 AM
Post by: Wacenturion on November 17, 2013, 09:25:23 AM
Post by: curlewkiller on November 17, 2013, 09:34:24 AM
Post by: fishingfool on November 17, 2013, 09:38:41 AM
Post by: Reet on November 17, 2013, 09:50:24 AM
Post by: hirshey on November 17, 2013, 12:06:44 PM
Congrats! That's one heck of an animal!!
Post by: dennis7cr on November 17, 2013, 12:28:25 PM
Post by: PA BEN on November 17, 2013, 01:12:12 PM
Post by: CJ1962 on November 17, 2013, 01:32:48 PM
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on November 17, 2013, 01:38:01 PM
Post by: coachcw on November 17, 2013, 02:51:21 PM
Post by: dr.derek on November 17, 2013, 03:51:46 PM
Post by: Dan-o on November 17, 2013, 04:16:08 PM
You certainly earned it.
Post by: KFhunter on November 17, 2013, 04:33:54 PM
Is that the Kettle river?
it's just an RV campground :chuckle:
the deer was relocated for the photo op.
Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 17, 2013, 05:48:21 PM
Is that the Kettle river?
it's just an RV campground :chuckle:
the deer was relocated for the photo op.
:tup: Yep... That is the campground...I didn't have anyone with me in the field so picked a nice area to take pictures....I'm not even staying at that campground. I asked for a nice area to take photos and that was recommended..very happy with it.
Post by: bullcanyon on November 17, 2013, 05:54:54 PM
Post by: HornHoarder on November 17, 2013, 06:10:15 PM
Post by: BOOM!! on November 17, 2013, 06:50:41 PM
Post by: MLBowhunting on November 18, 2013, 07:14:19 AM
Post by: combs338 on November 18, 2013, 07:39:56 AM
Post by: tgray on November 18, 2013, 07:58:40 AM
Post by: lokidog on November 18, 2013, 09:16:48 AM
Post by: Ibcnurun on November 18, 2013, 12:02:02 PM
Post by: archery288 on November 18, 2013, 08:59:21 PM
Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 18, 2013, 11:38:40 PM
Great Job. Just reminds me that scouting is 99.9% of a successful hunt. Just curious - at what approximate elevation did Uncle Buck reside?
I have pictures of him from 4.5K to 2.8K. He would/could make that run in a day or two...especially during the rut. He seemed to prefer 3.8-4K in general.
Post by: scoyoc5 on November 19, 2013, 02:04:20 AM
Post by: Machias on November 19, 2013, 03:38:01 AM
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Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on November 19, 2013, 06:03:38 PM
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Post by: elkoholic1 on November 20, 2013, 10:47:22 AM