VA Turkey
Well-Known Member
Some of you may remember/recognize this pic from a 10 pointer that I've got a ton of pictures of. I've never killed a mainframe 10... a lifetime of nice 7's, 8's, 9's and even a couple 10 pointers that were mainframe 9's with kickers/etc. So... I sorta set my sights on this guy...
Who will run out of luck first??? My guess is it will be me!
I had pretty much decided to let him rest until ML season (Oct 31st here) but I decided with the warm temperatures (didn�t want to climb my other mountain spot) and PERFECT SSW wind I would try the clearcut stand one more time.
I slipped in ever so quiet, knowing the buck was probably bedded close. Climbed in and got settled about 5:15. At about 6:00 I see Sylvester (the local house cat) slipping through the sorghum field. 10 minutes later I hear the squirrels barking and see kitty slipping up an old road bed in the clearcut. As I was checking out Sylvester I just noticed something out of place in the clearcut to the left of the road bed and about 10 yards from kitty. It was horns� or was it? I watched the �horns� for probably 5 minutes before he finally turned his head. He was watching kitty. I could only see the tips of his right main beam and his G4. He finally stepped my way and I knew immediately it was him. He must have just gotten up from his bed.
Okay� it was just a few minutes after 6:00 so he had about an hour to make it the 65 yards to my stand! Well� he picked and poked and fed and scratched and farted and sniffed and looking and smelled and basically just killed time in the clearcut finally closing to about 45 yards. He needed to come through one gap in the brush and he would be on the open side and probably in the kill zone. About dark a group of at least 400 turkeys (ok, it only sounded like 400) decided to roost right across the creek and that made him nervous and watching for what seemed like forever. Finally, as light was fading he turned and disappeared into the brush just above the sorghum field. He was gone� AGAIN! I gathered my gear and did some serious sneaking out of there and didn�t hear any deer bust/run/etc.
At some point he�s either going to disappear or get killed. I have a feeling I know which one it will be. :(
I�ve hunted this clearcut stand 4 times and seen him 3 of the 4 hunts. That would be the 5th time I�ve seen this buck during bow season and I also watched him 3-4 evenings this summer. I have over 100 trailcam pics of him. I�ve never had so much history with a deer before. It�s so intriguing and yet so frustrating!
My guess is I will camp out in the clearcut stand during ML season and never lay an eye on him� Long live my 10 pointer, long live my 10� The Bastard�
Here's a couple shots from the stand... the first is looking North and the other is looking South. The stand is basically in 1 of 2 trees that will support a stand in the clearcut. In the second picture the buck basically stood yesterday evening right behind the brush on the right side of pic beside that small white oak.
Sorry for the long post and boring details... I think I just need to vent... it's like therapy!!
Hope each of you have a great season...
To be continued... I hope... :)
Who will run out of luck first??? My guess is it will be me!
I had pretty much decided to let him rest until ML season (Oct 31st here) but I decided with the warm temperatures (didn�t want to climb my other mountain spot) and PERFECT SSW wind I would try the clearcut stand one more time.
I slipped in ever so quiet, knowing the buck was probably bedded close. Climbed in and got settled about 5:15. At about 6:00 I see Sylvester (the local house cat) slipping through the sorghum field. 10 minutes later I hear the squirrels barking and see kitty slipping up an old road bed in the clearcut. As I was checking out Sylvester I just noticed something out of place in the clearcut to the left of the road bed and about 10 yards from kitty. It was horns� or was it? I watched the �horns� for probably 5 minutes before he finally turned his head. He was watching kitty. I could only see the tips of his right main beam and his G4. He finally stepped my way and I knew immediately it was him. He must have just gotten up from his bed.
Okay� it was just a few minutes after 6:00 so he had about an hour to make it the 65 yards to my stand! Well� he picked and poked and fed and scratched and farted and sniffed and looking and smelled and basically just killed time in the clearcut finally closing to about 45 yards. He needed to come through one gap in the brush and he would be on the open side and probably in the kill zone. About dark a group of at least 400 turkeys (ok, it only sounded like 400) decided to roost right across the creek and that made him nervous and watching for what seemed like forever. Finally, as light was fading he turned and disappeared into the brush just above the sorghum field. He was gone� AGAIN! I gathered my gear and did some serious sneaking out of there and didn�t hear any deer bust/run/etc.
At some point he�s either going to disappear or get killed. I have a feeling I know which one it will be. :(
I�ve hunted this clearcut stand 4 times and seen him 3 of the 4 hunts. That would be the 5th time I�ve seen this buck during bow season and I also watched him 3-4 evenings this summer. I have over 100 trailcam pics of him. I�ve never had so much history with a deer before. It�s so intriguing and yet so frustrating!
My guess is I will camp out in the clearcut stand during ML season and never lay an eye on him� Long live my 10 pointer, long live my 10� The Bastard�
Here's a couple shots from the stand... the first is looking North and the other is looking South. The stand is basically in 1 of 2 trees that will support a stand in the clearcut. In the second picture the buck basically stood yesterday evening right behind the brush on the right side of pic beside that small white oak.
Sorry for the long post and boring details... I think I just need to vent... it's like therapy!!
Hope each of you have a great season...
To be continued... I hope... :)
