I think it's finally starting to sink in just how big this buck is.
I was at the Little Mahoning Creek Watershed Association meeting last night when I felt my phone vibrate. I took a quick look at the display and it said “Zellman’s Taxidermy.” Well, unless Ron was calling to ask how my day was I knew this was the call I’ve been anticipating! As luck would have it, I had to drive right by his place on my way home so I arranged to pick the buck up.
He looked magnificent on the wall in the taxidermy studio. When you walk in and see that it’s your deer that stands out as the top dog, it’s a pretty precious moment. We chatted for a bit and looked at some of the other deer that were being mounted before I loaded up my mount and headed home. Thank God I have an understanding wife because I had poor Angela helping me rearrange my mounts for about a half-hour or so when I know she really just wanted to go to bed. What a good sport!
There is no question who the current "king of the wall" is.
It struck me how much bigger my Illinois buck is compared to my two Pope and Young bucks from PA. They’re all the same age, but they’re not anywhere near the same class. Angela and I discussed this for a while and we decided that you can’t really compare hunting at home to hunting in Illinois in terms of the quality of the deer. Taking down a mature buck in Pennsylvania is just as impressive as taking one down in Illinois in terms of the challenge, but it’s unfair to compare the physical characteristics of the animals.
A special thanks to Ron Zellman of Zellman’s Taxidermy for once again doing a great job, and in just two months. Ron has done five deer mounts and one bear mount for me, as well as four other deer mounts for my dad and brother over the last several years, and there is a reason we keep going back. I hope I’m making a trip to see him again next year!
Highs and lows. Although you could characterize about any season in that way, I think it perfectly describes the 2009 campaign. There were ups and downs in terms of the hunting. Pennsylvania…down. Illinois…up. How about the weather? Early to mid season…rain, wind, and even snow. Beginning of the rut…perfect. Late rut during the Illinois trip…rain again. Late season…heavy snow. And finally, the temperature. We had a cold snap in mid October, but then things warmed back up a bit during the rut. And the late season? How about one day in the 40s, with most of the others topping out in the teens and twenties! It’s safe to say I used all of my clothing this season to deal with the conditions at hand.
Early Season – Pre-Rut
The season started out pretty much as expected. I did see three shooter bucks on the first Saturday, which was unusual, but none of them were in the class I was looking for. I got nice video footage of them while they fed under my stand, and had the satisfaction of knowing that I could have filled my tag with a pretty nice buck had I wanted to. On October 21, I took a nice doe to put some meat in the freezer, and from that point forward I made the decision to concentrate on a buck, while holding on to my other antlerless tag until the winter season. Although I knew there were several good bucks roaming around, none of them were moving during daylight hours. I knew the rut would provide the best opportunity.
Rut
Out of nowhere, it happened. Although I was starting to see mature buck activity pick up during shooting light in late October based on my trail camera photos, I still wasn’t seeing them on their feet. I went into Halloween night with high expectations, but was disappointed when I didn’t see a single deer. A rainy and windy cold front blew through earlier in the day and the radical winds were not in my favor. Still, it turned out to be quite a memorable night after all as one of the guys hunting our property met up with the “Moose” buck. When he described the deer to me, I knew immediately which buck it was. Although we didn’t find him that evening, we picked up the trail first thing the next morning and found the deer not far from where we gave up the previous night.
Mark Duffield's "Moose" buck had 16 scoreable points, weighed apx. 220 lbs., and had a green score of 141 3/8. He was four-and-a-half years old.
Although I knew about this buck and was hoping to get an opportunity at him, I was excited that one of our guys was able to get him, and I enjoyed being able to get my hands on him. It was an exciting moment for everyone involved, especially Mark who got a trophy of a lifetime.
I would get my opportunity a week later on November 7th when Mike and I were filming a hunt on a windy evening in a relatively new spot for me. As the sun set, a mature buck headed right for our location just how I had planned, and I thought I was going to fill my tag. Unfortunately, the buck had two broken points on his right side so I decided to pass on him. Talk about ups and downs, and all in a mere 30 seconds!
Unfortunately that moment turned out to be my best opportunity during the regular season. I saw a lot of really nice bucks over the next several days, but none of them met my personal antler restrictions. One of the days I saw 11 different bucks, which was just about as good as a filled tag in my opinion. After a tough regular season at home, it was time to shift my focus to Illinois, and the opportunity to hunt some of the biggest bucks on the planet.
Illinois
I’ve always felt that going on a hunt out of state was a nice way to cap off the season, and there is no reason to put any pressure on yourself to be successful. I look at it as a hunting vacation, and try to enjoy the fun of hunting away from home while putting little emphasis on actually harvesting a deer. When you book a hunt, you can’t forget that it’s still hunting, and there are certainly no guarantees. This was the mindset I took with me to Hancock County, Illinois this year, and I think it helped me take down the biggest buck of my hunting career.
The weather was horrible, and you truly had to make the best of a difficult situation. There was a small window of dry weather to start the morning of November 16, and if there was ever a time to get lucky, this was it. You can watch the above video for the details of the hunt, but I’ll describe the final thoughts as I remember them just as I was about to take the shot.
I knew the buck was a giant. I saw a lot of points, and his swagger screamed mature buck. To be up close and personal with a buck of that caliber was surreal. I don’t remember breathing. I distinctly remember whispering “He’s coming in!” When he stoped to work the licking branch below me, I resisted the urge to draw prematurely. I knew that he needed to get directly in front of me where he would have the least chance of catching my movement. Everything was in slow motion, but at the same time it was faster than I could comprehend. I whispered under my breath, “Step out of there,” and almost on command, he took the final few steps I needed. I drew the bow and simultaneously made the decision to take him right through the shoulders. He was just a few yards away, and I knew my Easton Axix arrows at 10.3 grains per inch tipped with the old reliable Muzzy 100 grain three-blade broadhead could handle a shot like that, and I had complete confidence in my setup.
It was power versus power, and when I released the arrow I immediately heard it slamming through the deer’s chest cavity. He sounded like a freight train as his 270-pound body raged through the woods. It’s a five-second moment that I’ll never forget. Tthen there was silence. I couldn’t see the buck, but I sensed he was there. This was confirmed just seconds later when I heard the crash, and then silence once again. This time I could see his stomach below the brush in the distance, and I knew he was down.
I never got nervous until I approached the buck and saw just how good he was. I took a minute to gather my thoughts and gain a full understanding of what I had just accomplished before I touched his rack and massive body. Although it was harsh to think about, I reminded myself that I may never again in my life be able to stand over a buck like this that fell to my arrow. I tried to savor every second of the moment, while not taking even a second of it for granted.
From that point forward I think it rained 90% of the time, which made the hunting difficult for the rest of the guys at camp. On our last day the weather broke a bit and I was able to get back out and take a nice adult doe to cap off my trip. Brian saw the biggest buck of his life during the evening hunt, and I know that made his trip, despite the rain. It was a pretty exciting way to end the hunt.
Firearms Season
I got out with the bow a couple of times during the firearms season, but never go an opportunity at a shooter buck. The highlight for me was Angela taking her third deer in three years. She took a nice doe during the evening of the first Saturday, and she did it after passing up a respectable buck. Her reasoning? “It’s too small,” she said. She later told me that she would have felt worse about shooting a younger buck than not getting a buck at all. “I put my crosshairs on his shoulder and I could have shot him,” she said, and I could tell that was good enough for her. I couldn’t have been prouder.
Another perfect shot by Angela downed this mature doe, and put some meat in our freezer.
Late Season
Weather was again the story during the late season. On one occasion I went out when it was just seven degrees. Because I was getting pictures of a few great bucks that made it through the earlier seasons, I was driven not to give up. I saw several bucks, including the biggest one hanging out on the property on New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately I was walking out of the woods when a group of six or seven bucks came through chasing a doe. The big guy was included in the group, and we locked eyes at just 20 yards apart.
I was face-to-face with this buck on New Year's Eve, and just knowing that he made it through has me already looking forward to next season.
The next evening provided my only chance to take a good buck in the late season. We had the wide eight-point with long brow tines just 20 yards away, but he busted us in the tree at the last second. I tried to draw, but it was to no avail. Trying to get a big buck in the late season is tough enough, and when you add trying to film it, it’s nearly impossible. Although I was a little disappointed, it was really no big deal. I’m learning that watching them get away and knowing they’ll be even bigger next season is almost as fun as shooting one!
Looking Ahead
Every season provides it’s share of memories, and 2009 will go down as one of my all-time favorites. Despite the tough weather and the fact that I didn’t fill my PA buck tag, I was able to take two does as well as the biggest buck of my life, and I also had the opportunity to touch the biggest buck ever taken on our property. Although my body is thankful for the end of the season, it won’t be long before I’m back at it doing some post-season scouting and a little antler hunting. As scary as it sounds, the 2010 season starts now!
I have to admit, by the end of this hunt I was convinced that I was throwing in the towel, and giving up. The near zero wind-chill was pounding me all evening, and it wasn’t until almost dark that I saw a deer. I ended up seeing a decent 20 month-old eight-point with a busted up rack, the trophy spike, and seven antlerless deer. Nothing was near bow range, so my tags remained unfilled.
I’m still not 100% certain I’ll go out tomorrow. I feel like I shouldn’t give up on the last day that I can hunt until next October, but my level of enthusiasm is as low as it has been all season. We’ll see what my body decides when the alarm goes off. I guess as long as there is a chance, no matter how small, I shouldn’t give up.
This decent buck was on the move near my stand location on Sunday morning. I think we'll have some beauties walking around next season.
Things have changed a bit on me since last week. The deer are only moving just before dark, and I’m not seeing nearly as many. I’m guessing they’re working a new food source, but I don’t have the time or the desire to find where it is and set up an ambush point. Still, my spot is still a pretty good one, and I had a decent night tonight by seeing three bucks and seven antlerless.
You have to watch every move you make this time of year. One thing I’ve learned is if you don’t have to move, don’t! Any unnecessary movement will certainly be noticed, which I was reminded of tonight. I knew one of the deer out in front of me about 100 yards away was a buck, so I pulled up my binoculars to get a better look. He was a decent eight-point, but certainly not a shooter. Still, I was trying to give him a good look to see if I could recognize him, and that meant bringing my binoculars up and down to clear the steam from the eye pieces. When it’s in the low 20s, it doesn’t take much to steam up the cold glass with your warm face. Unfortunately, a group of doe were coming in from my right and were headed right into my shooting range. With all of my movement, they saw me before I saw them and they high-tailed it out of there.
I thought long and hard about just throwing in the towell after tonight’s hunt, but somehow I think I’ll make it back out a time or two before the final gun sounds. The weather doesn’t look good for the last couple of days, but what else is new. This has been the toughest weather I’ve had to deal with during the late season, which certainly doesn’t help me keep motivated.
The weather has been horrible, particularly if you’re trying to hunt with a bow. Since I was last out on New Year’s Day, the temperature hasn’t gotten close to the freezing mark. Add to that the steady wind averaging 10-15 m.p.h., and you’ll understand why this was the first day out for me in four days. It’s amazing how 22 degrees can actually feel comfortable.
There was a steady snow falling, which I welcomed for the aesthetic value, but as I would later find out, I could have done without it. With about six inches of snow on the ground including a couple of inches of soft powder, I was able to sneak to my stand almost silently. The goal for the hunt was to fill my last doe tag to put a little more meat in the freezer, or, take a mature buck if the opportunity presented itself. After about an hour, I noticed the entire front of my pants and coat were covered with snow. Instead of brushing it off, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have some natural snow camo. I’m sure I was as close to being invisible as one can be in the late season. About 4:00 p.m., I saw a deer working its way in my direction. I was in luck! A nice adult doe was about to make her way into my prime shooting lane, and she had no clue I was there. Just as she was entering the opening, I drew my bow but was horrified when my jacket made the sound of a crinkling bag of potato chips. It seems the snow froze to the front of my coat, and the result was disaster. Of course the doe busted me and ran out of sight. What a bummer. And to add insult to injury, I only saw one additional deer on the night, and it was way out of range.
I hope to get out a couple of more evenings before the season ends on Saturday. No matter what happens, I’ve enjoyed the late season, even though the weather was far from cooperative this year.
This buck was inches from falling to my arrow tonight, but close doesn't count.
Mike and I talked late this morning and made plans for an evening hunt. We knew the weather was going to be tough, so the plan was to get out for the last couple of hours and possibly fill my last doe tag on film. Because we were worried about being spotted by the extremely edgy deer, we decided to use a small decoy to help take their attention away from us. In hindsight, I wish we wouldn’t have made that decision.
It was an extremely slow night until there was about fifteen minutes of shooting light left. We had only seen one deer to that point, and with the wind and snow pounding us in the face, we were tired and beaten. Just then I caught movement on the hillside to our right. I felt confident that whatever the deer was would make it toward our stand location, and I was right. As he came into view, I recognized the buck as one I got a photo of a couple of weeks ago. He’s a really wide eight-point with nice brow tines. He must have moved into the area during the firearms season because I never saw him or got photos of him before. Although he’s not the type of buck I’m normally after, a buck like that with a bow on New Year’s Day would be a trophy for sure.
Back to the decoy. Well, as the buck was approaching my shooting lane, he stopped to examine the decoy in front of us. Although he didn’t spook, he stopped, which I don’t think he would have done otherwise. As he was starting to enter the opening, he looked up in the tree right at us. Mike feels believes the deer saw the small red light on his camera, but regardless, he knew something was wrong, and I wasn’t drawn yet. My options were to watch him bolt without trying to draw, or try to draw and hope he doesn’t run off immediately. Unfortunately, he turned and ran at my first movement, and he was out of sight in seconds. Mike and I were both disappointed, but we feel pretty strongly that it’s the chase that makes it worth it, and not a filled tag. We made a mistake trying to use a decoy in the late season, but we’ll learn from it, and this hard lesson will pay off another day. I was going to call it a season after tonight given the lousy weather in the forecast, but how can I give up now? I won’t go out tomorrow (18 degree high with up to 30 mile-per-hour winds), but I hope to get out on a couple of evenings next week. Maybe there’s a bit of last-minute magic left in me.
By the way…if anyone has been trying to text me, my phone is down and I won’t have a replacement until Tuesday. Don’t ask!
It was a beautiful morning to hunt. The snow was still falling when I got to my stand, and all of the branches were covered with the wet snow from earlier in the morning. It was so nice that I seriously didn’t care if I saw anything. Just before I decided to climb down, a little five-point came in behind me. I considered that icing on the cake after enjoying the great morning. After he walked out of sight, I climbed down and headed home for what I thought would be a quick morning. Boy was I wrong.
A couple hundred yards from my stand a bunch of deer came busting down off of the hill right at me. I could tell something wasn’t quite right because they didn’t seem to notice I was standing there. Then I quickly realized what was happening. Apparently a seven-month old doe was coming into estrus, and there were at least six bucks right on her tail. Among them was a really nice three-and-a-half year old nine-point that I knew was in the area. We were locked eye-to-eye, and just 20 yards separated us. I was amazed that all of his points still looked perfect this late in the year. With him was a really nice four-point half-rack that would also have been a shooter if he still had both sides. All I could do was watch them bound out of sight. I had mixed emotions. On one hand I was excited to see he was still alive. On the other, I wondered to myself if I should have stayed in my stand a bit longer. Either way it was an exciting 30 seconds, and it made my winter season.
Before me and this nice nine-point crossed paths, the last I saw of him was this trail camera photo taken on December 4, which was the first Friday of the firearms season.
I got back out in the evening for a couple of hours and saw a pile of deer, including six yearling bucks. Only one looked like he had a decent rack, but he wasn’t anywhere near being a shooter. Several of the younger bucks were chasing young does, but none of them were receptive. After all of the action I saw, it’s safe to assume that there’s a bit of a late rut on at the moment. Admittedly though, I’m getting a bit tired, and I’m close to calling it quits for the season. I plan to get out with Mike tomorrow afternoon to film a hunt, but that may be about it.
After a couple of days of downright nasty weather, I finally was able to get back out today. The morning hunt was a challenge to say the least. The temperature was seven degrees, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to last long. Thanks to a lot of action in the woods though, the two hours I was out there went pretty quickly. As far as I could tell, only one of the 21 deer I saw was a buck, and a small one at that. I was sitting in my new Gorilla stand, and based upon how the deer reacted while around me, I did a pretty good job of tucking it into cover. Despite all of the activity, I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t see more bucks. That would certainly change during the afternoon hunt.
I went back out around 2:00 p.m., and by that time the temperature was hovering around freezing. It felt so warm after the last couple of days that I ended up shedding one of my coats. Deer activity didn’t get going until almost 4:00 p.m. when two doe walked by my location. That seemed to get the party started because things got pretty crazy from that point forward. The next two deer were yearling bucks that were missing opposite sides of their racks. I got a good laugh out of that one. Before I knew it, two more bucks were moving about 100 yards in front of me and I was starting to think I may see something good by the end of the night. If you like quantity over quality, you’ll be excited to know that I saw eight different bucks tonight. Unfortunately, they were all yearlings. At one point two of them actually locked up in a sparring match. The nicer of the two bucks was a busted up eight-point, and the other was another half-rack. That’s what you run into this time of year, a lot of busted points and missing sides.
I think I got all of the deer counted, and when the dust settled, my tally was eight bucks and 18 antlerless. That’s a lot of deer for sure, but not the deer I’m looking for unfortunately. I plan to get back out in the morning to sit in a stand I set right after returning from Illinois. I only sat in it one time so far, and I saw a couple of bucks. Maybe this time I’ll see the deer I’m after. It shouldn’t be quite as cold tomorrow morning, but is there really much difference between seven degrees or 20 degrees?
As you can see, my hunting journal entries are taking on a new appearance with the beginning of the late season. Gone are the details of the weather, my location, etc. Instead. I’ll save that information for my private journal, and simply share with you summaries of my hunts.
Opening day of the late season started off pretty wet. It rained the entire time, and it didn’t help matters that we were filming. Between trying to keep ourselves and the camera dry, it was hard to focus on hunting. We decided to call it a morning because we knew the weather was going to improve for the afternoon. We did see a young doe and a small doe group, but no antlers.
The afternoon hunt was much better weather-wise, but we were surprised at the lack of deer movement. In fact, it wasn’t until late in the hunt that we finally saw some activity. A four-point came in from in front of us and worked his way to our left. About the same time, a doe fawn walked right in front of our stand location, and eventually out of site. We could hear deer to our left, and finally a decent yearling buck emerged. He had four nice points on his right side, but just two points on his left. He wasn’t a shooter, but he has good potential. We estimated that he had a 15-inch spread, which is pretty good for a yearling.
That was the extent of the activity for the day. I was excited to get back out, and just being on stand was enjoyable. I think the evening hunt was impacted by flintlock hunters. There were more hunters out than I was anticipating, and it sounded like one group was doing a drive just off of our property line. I should have taken into account the fact that opening day was on a Saturday when I chose my stand location. Still a lot of hunting ahead of me before I close out the 2009 season.
It was the last day of the Pennsylvania firearms season. Since it was obvious that there were very few people hunting in the area, I decided it would be okay to take the bow out without fear of pushing deer off of the property. After several days what can only be described as deplorable weather, this afternoon seemed like summer vacation. The temperature got up to 36 degrees, and with little wind it made for a perfect night.
It didn’t take long for the action to start. From shortly after 14:00 through 16:00, there was pretty consistent activity. By 16:00, I saw 10 antlerless deer, but no antlers. Finally, about 16:30, I saw a large bodied deer working his way into my area from the left. I could see pretty quickly that it was a good buck, and one that I’d probably shoot if he gave me the opportunity. He made his way toward me, and as he got closer, I studied his rack closely. He was a heavy eight-point. I wouldn’t call him a trophy because he had short tines, but he was plenty wide and heavy, and a shooter. I’m guessing the buck heard me thinking through this because as I was deciding I would take him, he did an about-face and walked in the other direction. I did call to him once, but frankly, I was just as happy to see him walk away because he’ll be a great buck next year.
At last light, I was playing cat and mouse with another buck, but I never got a good look at him. I have a feeling he was mature based upon the way he acted. I found myself getting frustrated because now there is no hunting until December 26. The bigger bucks are just starting to get on their feet again, and all I can do is sit a wait. To add insult to injury, I pulled my memory card from a camera I had near my stand only to find out that I never turned on the camera when I set it two weeks ago! I’ll be pulling the other cards tomorrow so I’m hoping I have a few good photos that will make me forget my misfortune tonight.
You know, I could have so easily shot that buck with a rifle, and I found myself thinking about all of the guys who have been hunting their butts off without possibly seeing a shootable buck. It’s amazing how you can feel better about watching a good buck walk away when you have the bow in your hand than if you would have shot it with a rifle.
