megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
Pivs
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Finally moving in daylight!- update, it's over
- Thread starter megalomaniac
- Start date
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
Congrats on a nice buck. What's the story? He looks 4.5 based on his teeth. How much did he weigh?
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
The plot with the feeder is an expanded clearing on a pipeline. Crazy dense brush all around... combo of unburned pines with tornado damage and residual of Katrina damage to the pines. Literally, there's about 200 acres of bedding that you would have to crawl through the entire area except for the pipeline that cuts through. 5 yards max visibility.
I decided to move 300 yards off the foodplot and sit in the middle of the pipeline. The pipeline heads toward the interstate, and I was probably only 150 yds from I 59 South. The pipeline is completely torn up with scrapes, although most are dead as we are in between 1st and 2nd rut.
About 5:00, I caught a glimpse of this buck crossing the pipeline about 125 yds away, but not even enough time to get binoculars on him and he was gone. Literally just trotted across the pipeline and I had a half second to see him. Another deer crossed in the same spot about 15 minutes later, same story.
About 5:40, I heard a deer coming thru the brush right towards me, so I got out of my folding chair and got set up on the gun with the bipod. This buck popped out at 20 yards and pegged me immediately. I knew he was old enough, but not that great of a rack, but probably the 4th best rack of any deer I had photographed since July. He blew and ran away to 100 yards, stopped and looked back. I don't really remember making the conscious decision to take him, but just went into kill mode and high shoulder shot him to dump him right on the pipeline so as not to track thru the jungle.
I was able to drive 4 wheeler right to him, stripped the meat off the carcass right there, and drove back out.
I'm a little sad about not being able to chase the buck I really wanted anymore, but relieved, as that deer was literally driving me crazy with how unpredictable he was.
Even though this buck was 300 yards from the plot and feeder, I never got a picture of him. Must have been living in the swamp and feeding on greenbrier and acorns down there.
Like I said, this is a fairly typical rack and body size for our 3.5 to 4.5 y/o's.... I didn't weigh him, but I'd guess he was around 165 live wt. Old injury to back leg... funniest thing I've ever seen... one tarsal was black and dripping down his leg, the other was white as snow... I guess he peed sideways
I decided to move 300 yards off the foodplot and sit in the middle of the pipeline. The pipeline heads toward the interstate, and I was probably only 150 yds from I 59 South. The pipeline is completely torn up with scrapes, although most are dead as we are in between 1st and 2nd rut.
About 5:00, I caught a glimpse of this buck crossing the pipeline about 125 yds away, but not even enough time to get binoculars on him and he was gone. Literally just trotted across the pipeline and I had a half second to see him. Another deer crossed in the same spot about 15 minutes later, same story.
About 5:40, I heard a deer coming thru the brush right towards me, so I got out of my folding chair and got set up on the gun with the bipod. This buck popped out at 20 yards and pegged me immediately. I knew he was old enough, but not that great of a rack, but probably the 4th best rack of any deer I had photographed since July. He blew and ran away to 100 yards, stopped and looked back. I don't really remember making the conscious decision to take him, but just went into kill mode and high shoulder shot him to dump him right on the pipeline so as not to track thru the jungle.
I was able to drive 4 wheeler right to him, stripped the meat off the carcass right there, and drove back out.
I'm a little sad about not being able to chase the buck I really wanted anymore, but relieved, as that deer was literally driving me crazy with how unpredictable he was.
Even though this buck was 300 yards from the plot and feeder, I never got a picture of him. Must have been living in the swamp and feeding on greenbrier and acorns down there.
Like I said, this is a fairly typical rack and body size for our 3.5 to 4.5 y/o's.... I didn't weigh him, but I'd guess he was around 165 live wt. Old injury to back leg... funniest thing I've ever seen... one tarsal was black and dripping down his leg, the other was white as snow... I guess he peed sideways
duckduck84
Well-Known Member
Awesome buck, congrats!
karl struck
Well-Known Member
Sounds like a great spot. Nice Buck!
Mike Belt
Well-Known Member
Good deal. Glad you could end the season on a high note. Where I hunt there are many lanes cut through absolutely thick stuff. Those lanes sometimes provide the only visibility to be had. I have set up on them but I really hate to because in most cases you only have time to see a deer dash across without getting a shot. When they stop in that opening it's great though.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
Oh, season is def not over I still have 2 more weeks to find and hunt another buck on the other 1000 acres of the club. I had a mainframe 10 with split g2's patterned since summer, but he's only 3.5 and about 12" inside. I was hoping my 11 y/o little girl would get him, but he never came out for her. I pulled that camera and he disappeared 3 weeks ago, prob shot on the neighbors. I do have a 6.5 or 7.5 y/o toad over 200lbs there, but he'll be lucky to score 75 inches. I've only gotten pics of him in the middle of the night, and his tarsals are not even black, so I suspect he doesn't feel like chasing the ladies as much in his old age. Be tough to get him, but he'd be a real trophy.
Plus, all the time in the woods is helping get ready for turkey season which opens mid March. I've already found 8 LB's so far
I still have 2 more weeks to find and hunt another buck on the other 1000 acres of the club. I had a mainframe 10 with split g2's patterned since summer, but he's only 3.5 and about 12" inside. I was hoping my 11 y/o little girl would get him, but he never came out for her. I pulled that camera and he disappeared 3 weeks ago, prob shot on the neighbors. I do have a 6.5 or 7.5 y/o toad over 200lbs there, but he'll be lucky to score 75 inches. I've only gotten pics of him in the middle of the night, and his tarsals are not even black, so I suspect he doesn't feel like chasing the ladies as much in his old age. Be tough to get him, but he'd be a real trophy.Plus, all the time in the woods is helping get ready for turkey season which opens mid March. I've already found 8 LB's so far
Congrats Jon!
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Congratulations!
Just goes to show . . . . . . .megalomaniac":2dhsvplz said:
TN Larry
Well-Known Member
Congrats! Been following and hoping it was the deer you were after but nice buck either way.
tree_ghost
Well-Known Member
Congrats MEGA!!!
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megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
Figured I'd update.....
Mid to high 70s temps has made it pretty tough 2nd rut here. Still been some hunting. Over 300 hunts for the season on the club, still only 2 bucks total killed and 3 does killed, 1 wounded and unrecovered for the entire season on 2000 acres.
Makes my buck seem even more special
Nice to have a place to hunt just outside the city limits, but population is dismal and nocturnal as hell.
May lose the place next year, our property made the final cut (down to 5 sites nationwide) for a new auto manufacturing facility here in MS
Sent from my SCH-R970X using Tapatalk
Mid to high 70s temps has made it pretty tough 2nd rut here. Still been some hunting. Over 300 hunts for the season on the club, still only 2 bucks total killed and 3 does killed, 1 wounded and unrecovered for the entire season on 2000 acres.
Makes my buck seem even more special
Nice to have a place to hunt just outside the city limits, but population is dismal and nocturnal as hell.
May lose the place next year, our property made the final cut (down to 5 sites nationwide) for a new auto manufacturing facility here in MS
Sent from my SCH-R970X using Tapatalk
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
Hiked for a couple hours in his bedroom yesterday morning in the drizzling rain trying to figure out where to ambush him this fall.... I found one semi-open drain in the middle of the jungle, about 25 yard visibility in there, but not enough tracks to justify a set. Tons of randomly placed scrapes all throughout the jungle, but hard to find good trails in the pinestraw, and no dominate trail. I found a couple whiteoaks in the jungle that will be worth checking next fall. I think I'm stuck with hunting the pipeline and just hoping he comes out.
Mike Belt
Well-Known Member
It sounds like you're looking in pines. If so have you hunted in them before? Before our deer decline at Ames a friend had a stand in a pine thicket and did a lot of hunting in there. It sounds like what you described... lots of meandering trails through them and scrapes scattered around in them. No definitive trails to pick out but just meandering trails. These pines are thinned into rows and are now about 15 years old or so. Undergrowth can get thick between the rows. He constantly saw deer in there and several dandies and he saw them throughout the day. He even got to witness several buck fights. Just because you don't see a major trail to set up on doesn't mean you should forego hunting in there. Set up to where you can see through the rows and as much territory as you can cover which will be limited. Almost any tree that isn't a pine is a spot to find rubs and scrapes. Find a spot now and do some trimming to give you a little better viewing for this Fall.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
These aren't plantation pines in this particular area, just natural regrowth (at least 35 y/o regrowth) of mixed pines, hardwoods, and pulpwoods, with about 35% of the trees blown over from wind damage. Tons of natural azeleas, laurel, lorapetalum, yaupon, and privet in the understory completey shading the floor.
We have plenty of plantation pine, the manager is pretty aggressive about burning those areas annually, and do provide good semi-open hunting from elevation, especially during the peak of the ruts as bucks travel across them in daylight (which is still rare down here). This bedding area is just a matted jungle that will not burn despite trying to be set abaze annually. Any hunting from elevation would be impossible, and hunting from the ground is next to impossible.
We have plenty of plantation pine, the manager is pretty aggressive about burning those areas annually, and do provide good semi-open hunting from elevation, especially during the peak of the ruts as bucks travel across them in daylight (which is still rare down here). This bedding area is just a matted jungle that will not burn despite trying to be set abaze annually. Any hunting from elevation would be impossible, and hunting from the ground is next to impossible.
