Season wrecker

[Stu]

I had a season wrecker too. I feel your pain.

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[Mike Belt]

I'd classify him as a "season to look forward to-er" before a season wrecker.

 

[megalomaniac]

Going after him this afternoon.... haven't hunted in 7 days. Have a good feeling... fresh scrapes opening up again on the field edges and he's starting to peek out right at the end of legal shooting light past few days..... fingers crossed it ends tonight so I can quit obsessing.

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[Grnwing]

Hope tonight is the night for you! Good luck, shoot straight!

 

[megalomaniac]

No luck. Had a deer start blowing in the thicket about 80 yards directly upwind from my stand at 5:45. Never saw a deer, but there aren't many on this plot and feeder... a 2.5 y/o broken 4ptr, a 3.5 y/o tiny racked 6ptr, a 1.5 y/o spike, an orphaned doe fawn, and the buck I'm after. May give him another chance to commit suicide this afternoon before the front hits

 

[megalomaniac]

went back and took my 10 y/o little girl the following day hoping she would get a crack at him. Checked the trail cam, he came out 20 minutes after I left the stand the night before We only had 2 does come out just after legal shooting light ended.

couldn't hunt him the rest of the weekend due to 4 inches of rain... to get to this spot, I have to cross a flowing creek that is usually only about a foot deep. But becomes whitewater if we get more than a couple inches.

 

[megalomaniac]

Yup. ... this deer has me patterned. Hunted this eve, had the broken rack 2.5yo come out with 20 min of legal shooting time (531 is sunset here atm), no target buck. Checked the cam, he came out after my daughter and I hunted Fri eve. He was out before end of legal shoot time Sun when we were elsewhere. I really believe this deer is watching me enter and then later leave the plot.

Next trick is to go in with two people, then leave with 1 left in the stand about 5pm. If he's watching the one leave, he may come out before legal shoot time ends for the other to kill

Never had a deer do me this way... he's driving me nuts. Can't believe he hasn't left the county as much as I've hunted him

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[Hunter 257W]

He may be able to count so you better go in with several people and only leave one behind! :shock: :mrgreen:

I remember reading a story by Ed Zern, the comedy outdoor writer, years ago about using that trick for crows. He had some max number that he had figured out crows couldn't count beyond and his theory was to take one more person than that and let all but one leave before starting up with his crow call. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

I assume season ends there at the end of January??

 

[megalomaniac]

nope, I have till Feb 14th this far south

for the rest of MS, either sex primitive weapon (but can use any weapon on privately owned/ leased lands) ends Jan 31st, but south MS gets an additional 2 weeks of buck only hunting since our rut is so late. In fact, peak of 2nd rut is just about to kick off around Feb 4th or so.

I'm going back Thursday afternoon, Friday afternoon, but then won't get to hunt him again for another week.

I just can't believe this place has 20 members and I'm usually the only one hunting close to 2000 acres (to be fair, 5 have already tagged out- we only get 1 buck and 1 doe per membership). I really wish we'd hold off on all does for a couple years. I've never seen foodplots this lush this time of the year. Wheat is 5 inches tall, clover is 2 inches tall, and many plots still have winter peas 6-8" tall. Amazing how well foodplots can grow when there are so few deer to eat them down At least fawn recruitment is better than 1:1 tho. Every doe I've seen or photographed has at least one fawn, many with two.

 

[TheLBLman]

Amazing how well foodplots can grow when there are so few deer to eat them down

That is true,
but you also have to consider the warmer climate of South Mississippi compared to Tennessee.
The "cold" up here takes a toll on our food plots

 

[megalomaniac]

Wes, same food ploys just 90 miles to the north would be eaten to the ground. The deer density is just that low here

Son of a gun has now flipped to coming out mornings instead of evenings. My son and I saw 7 deer this eve, including one about 5 minutes after legal shooting light that may have been the buck as we were exiting the stand. This is either the smartest deer alive or the luckiest deer alive. He literally comes by every single day for the past 3 weeks. Looks like he's lost a few pounds as well since I first saw him.

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[BDS05]

Any reason yall won't move away from the plot to catch him before sunset? Seems like an easy deer to pattern.. Good luck on the quest.

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[megalomaniac]

I know about where he's bedded (within 150 yds). Problem is, once you step out of the plot, woods are so thick you would be hard pressed to find a 15 yd shot. These woods were ravaged by Katrina 12 yrs ago, then a tornado 2 yrs ago. There is a creek/swamp about 150 yds away you can see 25 to 30 yds in older hardwoods, but I've only gotten 1 pic of him with muddy feet, so I don't think he's crossing much. 2nd rut is Def kicking in, which may explain his increased daylight activity.

In short, he's easy to pattern, but nearly impossible to hunt unless he steps out of the dense woods that surround the plot. It is possible he's travelling between this plot and another (closest is 500 yds), but I don't have cams on the others to know if he's using them on a regular basis. Hard to leave this spot as long as he's coming in daily.

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[Mike Belt]

Sounds like an all day hunt might be in order.

 

[Tn_Va_Hunter]

Sounds like an all day hunt might be in order.

Agreed. Multiple in a row if needed.

 

[megalomaniac]

I'm at the point where I'm thinking claymore mines, front toward enemy, are what I need. Sip coffee in the truck, wait for the BOOM, then come back to pick up the pieces. Already tenderized

My son and I are back after him again this eve.

All day sit would work... but that would be so painful.

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[Andy S.]

mega - I keep looking and anticipating kill pic, but I know all too well, those mature bucks LOOOOOOOOOVE making fools out of us and LOOOOOOOOVE making us exhaust a whole season on them to never be seen in the daylight. Don't ask me how I know. :tu:

Good luck, hope you catch up with him soon!

 

[megalomaniac]

I'm pretty certain that was him we spooked Thurs just after legal shooting light. He hasn't been back on camera since . I just got in the stand with my 13 and my 10 yos... got here late planning on hunting a plot up close where there are several does visiting, but my 13 yo said he wanted take the 2.5 mile 4 wheeler ride in the rain to this spot in hopes the big buck comes back out. I've lost hope at this point tho....

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[megalomaniac]

One last try for my season wrecker tonight.... still hasnt been back since the morn of the 2nd. I will admit defeat.

But all is not lost. Found a new hope 2500 yds away to chase the last week of season!

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[Mike Belt]

That last pic is a bulkier looking buck.