Food For Thought Hardeman County Hunters

[Mike Belt]

This week a 161" buck was killed and if the story I heard was correct it was around 2-2:30 PM. We also had a 150" buck on camera twice this week at 2:30 PM. They weren't in anywhere near a rut mode; just simply up and moving. You might want to hang tough in the stand this weekend.

 

[Andy S.]

....if the story I heard was correct it was around 2-2:30 PM.

He was killed right at 2PM.

 

[T-Man84]

Thanks for the info!
Anyone seen a picture or know where in hardeman county it was killed?

I'm getting pumped!

 

[nick2720]

I agree with bucks not ready last weekend I saw 14 doe and a spike and 4 pt and the were grouped up with them and not pushing. Also my cams still showing some bucks still paired up but who knows it can change fast I'll be in the tree sat and Monday we'll see what happens

 

[nick2720]

This week a 161" buck was killed and if the story I heard was correct it was around 2-2:30 PM. We also had a 150" buck on camera twice this week at 2:30 PM. They weren't in anywhere near a rut mode; just simply up and moving. You might want to hang tough in the stand this weekend.

Mike do you hunt at Ames?

 

[easy45]

Was it killed on the hardeman part of Ames Mike? We hunt in Northern Hardeman, my wife had a 5 point the other evening pushing 3 does like crazy

 

[W.Seay]

It was a nice one for sure!

 

[Boll Weevil]

I've got pics within the last week of one of the 140" shooters on my place walking during broad daylight. Not with does or other bucks but just on his feet for a stroll.

They're definitely starting to think about it...becoming a little less cautious.

 

[Inkstainz]

I have been hearing from other guys with more time than myself that they've been seeing rut activities

 

[Andy S.]

Was it killed on the hardeman part of Ames ....

Yes

 

[Boll Weevil]

Got a pic you're able to share?

 

[Mike Belt]

nick...Yes, I hunt at Ames.

 

[Andy S.]

Got a pic you're able to share?

Here you go BW. http://amesplantation.zenfolio.com/p168 ... 2#hef14bb2

 

[WMAn]

Andy,

Is this the first 125" plus buck y'all have killed this year? Why is the pic taken after dark? Did it take him 2-3 hours to get the deer out?

161" on a 124 lb field dressed body. He must have thought he was killing a state record, when he let that arrow loose.

 

[nick2720]

This might be really stupid to ask but if its a bow kill why didn't they score it p&y?

 

[Solo Hunter]

Beautiful deer! Heck of a deer for a 3 1/2!

 

[Andy S.]

Is this the first 125" plus buck y'all have killed this year?

Yes. We typically kill zero or one scoring bucks with a bow each year.

Why is the pic taken after dark? Did it take him 2-3 hours to get the deer out?

I am certain he had it out before dark, but I'd bet he BS'd with a lot of other Ames staff and members as they stared in amazement which allowed it to get dark by the time the picture was taken.

161" on a 124 lb field dressed body. He must have thought he was killing a state record, when he let that arrow loose.

I asked this question and he told me he knew for certain it was a shooter, but he never dreamed it would go 161".

 

[Andy S.]

This might be really stupid to ask but if its a bow kill why didn't they score it p&y?

The scoring systems themselves are no different, same measurements, same computations etc. The difference between the two is weapon used and entry level scores required.

 

[Boll Weevil]

Really good deer there; kudos to the hunter. Wow...124 lbs?!? I wonder if he'd run himself down or just never was a big-bodied individual from the start.

 

[Andy S.]

Beautiful deer! Heck of a deer for a 3 1/2!

Ditto, definitely the valedictorian of his class. IMO, this is the type of buck that has the potential to push 190" gross as a typical 5.5 year old. IL and IA long for 3.5 year old bucks that score as much as this one did. He is a special buck, that is for sure, and the hunter that killed him is a top notch guy.

 

[Andy S.]

Wow...124 lbs?!? I wonder if he'd run himself down or just never was a big-bodied individual from the start.

Our buck's body weight should be peaking right now just before the hard chasing starts hard, so I would say he just never was a big bodied deer and probably never would have been.

 

[Mike Belt]

Beautiful buck and the first thing I thought when told the weight was that he probably looked huge. Not that I'm advocating letting him walk (I wouldn't have) but can you imagine what he'd have been in another 2 years. I wish more of our bucks carried his genetics.

 

[Bayou Buck]

Man thats a beautiful buck!

 

[Boll Weevil]

Another thought I had about body size and antler growth at his age was this. The first few years of a buck's life, nutrients go to skeletal/muscle growth in greater proportion vs. toward antlers. As the body approaches "full grown" nutrients can be redirected toward antler growth. I wonder if its possible that since he wasn't carrying "big body" genes, that he was able to fill out skeletal/muscle at an earlier age. Therefore, he started on antler sooner than his peers.

Regardless, super fine deer. Just thinking out loud.

 

[Andy S.]

Another thought I had about body size and antler growth at his age was this. The first few years of a buck's life, nutrients go to skeletal/muscle growth in greater proportion vs. toward antlers. As the body approaches "full grown" nutrients can be redirected toward antler growth. I wonder if its possible that since he wasn't carrying "big body" genes, that he was able to fill out skeletal/muscle at an earlier age. Therefore, he started on antler sooner than his peers.

I've often wondered about this theory too. The two best scoring 2.5 year olds I ever killed were the same way, very small frames with average or less than average body weights (for their age class), field dressing 105-120lbs, yet one was a mainframe 10 point with kickers starting on both G2s (grossed 120") and the other was the freak buck I killed few years back that looked like a doe with 136" rack on his little bitty neck.

 

[Mike Belt]

I hadn't thought about that but it makes perfect sense. I'm hunting for a couple of 100 pounders from here on out.

 

[WMAn]

I hadn't thought about that but it makes perfect sense. I'm hunting for a couple of 100 pounders from here on out.

If you read the deer hunting books about the Benoits from MA, they started out looking for the tracks of large bodied bucks (those that would field dress over 200 lbs). They then switched to looking for tracks of smaller-bodied bucks with larger antlers. The average body size of their bucks went down, but their average score went up.

On a LBL quota hunt, I killed a 3.5 yo 10 point that I'm guessing scores 110". At the check station another guy had a 3.5 yo 8 point that would have pushed 130". My buck weighed 152 lbs field-dressed; his weighed 130.

 

[fairchaser]

The story I heard was that he had seen the buck bed down that evening and took off work the next day. After he climbed the same tree the next morning, he could see the buck still bedded down. He waited till 11:00 and a doe brought the buck straight to him. He shot it then had to watch it die for 3 hours because he couldn't get down for fear of jumping the injured buck and it was too far to shoot at. What amazes me is how little the buck moved from one day to the next.

 

[Mike Belt]

I also heard he saw it bed down that afternoon and went back in the next morning only to see him still bedded where he left him and then he had to wait another 8 hours for the buck to get up and head straight to him. That had to be agony waiting that long with a bow in hand. Either way persistence and patience paid off. It is amazing that the buck stayed bedded that long with or without a doe. Even if he was with a doe it's hard to believe that they stayed bedded there that long together considering that the rut hasn't started yet and she probably wasn't in heat...unless she was one of those extra early birds. Maybe it's possible the deer did move over night and returned to the same bedding spot before light.