If you've seen any of my past threads here in the Hunting and Fishing section, you've probably noticed I've never posted a picture of a buck. The last buck I killed (other than a couple accidental button heads mistaken for does) was a young basket rack when I was 11 years old. Somewhere between then and now, I decided I would only shoot a mature buck and that my goal was just to fill the freezer and enjoy my time in the woods. Over the last 6-7 years I have become increasingly interested and involved in the principles and practices of Quality Deer Management and have been actively implementing these practices on a friend's family farm for the last 4 years. This tract of a little over 1000 acres hadn't been hunted too hard over the previous 10+ years, but what hunting did occur was done with little discrimination regarding buck age structure and herd balance. Our first goal was to address the severely skewed doe:buck ratio by essentially putting a moratorium on bucks and harvesting a healthy number of does each year. Due to a couple of reasons, the bulk of the harvesting fell on my shoulders resulting in 3 years of filled doe tags and many non-hunting friends/family members having access to venison. With each passing year, we began to see more diversity in the ages of the bucks caught on the trail cameras. As this bow season opened up, it seemed like we were having more encounters with bucks of various ages than we had in the past but none were shooters. By opening weekend of gun season, the increase in rut-driven buck activity/sightings was undeniable and much more intense than I have ever seen it. I was seeing bucks every set, many of which were tending or seeking out does. I was almost run over by a doe being chased by a buck one evening as I walked back to my truck. After passing on several 3.5 yr. olds and younger, I finally had my first encounter with the most mature buck I have ever seen this past Saturday.
Before the start of this season, I decided I would dial back on the number of does I would harvest this year and would focus on a couple of our long shot spots. One spot I wanted to hit was the hay loft of the barn or as I like to call it, the Gentleman's Stand. We usually spend a couple days shooting targets from here in the off season, so I'm familiar with the ranges available and we had tons of pictures of deer moving through the corner of the field. During my first set there I watched as a spastic 3.5 yr. old 10 pt. ran through the field, leaping around like he was getting stung by bees. Temps dropped down to the low 30's this past Saturday and I made the trip out to the farm by myself to give the Gentleman's Stand another sit. Right at first light, two young does came out and started feeding around the 300 yd. target stand. I watched them for a little while and when nothing else followed, I decided I would send a 130 gr HVLD out to visit one. I turned on the video camera and as I settled in for the shot I noticed that they kept looking into the woodline a few yards to the left. A minute later, a brute of a buck sporting a dark chocolate rack stepped out and began checking them out. Aside from his body and rack size, the lack of distinction between his neck and brisket, the sag in his belly, and the roman nose suggested he was 4.5-5.5 yrs. old. Thinking the does were too young to be of much interest to him, I decided the shot needed to come quick before he dismissed them and stepped back into cover. Fortunately, when he stepped out of the woodline he came right into the frame of the video camera, otherwise I would have never captured the footage of the shot... the thought of the video camera had long escaped me by this point. I settled the crosshairs in for a high shoulder shot, let out a breath, broke the shot and watched as his legs collapsed from underneath him. He hit the ground and thud of the impact came ringing back. I racked another round and watched to make sure he was down. He wiggled for a minute and then stopped, so I cut the camera and started to gather my gear. I checked him again a second later and to my surprise, saw the grass around him periodically twitch. He lifted his head several times trying to throw himself up but despite his efforts, the 130 HVLD had shut down the rest of his equipment. I didn’t want him to suffer so the second I saw the white of his underbelly through the grass and could tell where the base of his neck was when he lifted his head, I sent one more round through the boiler room.
When I got up to him, I couldn't believe how big he was. His hocks looked like black tennis balls and his nose and neck were riddled with scars from fighting. This guy was a bruiser! I'm having the skull cleaned for a European mount and they're saving the jawbone so I can get a more certain age on him. Whatever it turns out to be, this was a monumental day in my life as a hunter. My first true buck in 20 years... it could be another 20, but as long as the next is as mature or more so than this one, it'll be well worth the wait.
307 yd Buck - YouTube
Before the start of this season, I decided I would dial back on the number of does I would harvest this year and would focus on a couple of our long shot spots. One spot I wanted to hit was the hay loft of the barn or as I like to call it, the Gentleman's Stand. We usually spend a couple days shooting targets from here in the off season, so I'm familiar with the ranges available and we had tons of pictures of deer moving through the corner of the field. During my first set there I watched as a spastic 3.5 yr. old 10 pt. ran through the field, leaping around like he was getting stung by bees. Temps dropped down to the low 30's this past Saturday and I made the trip out to the farm by myself to give the Gentleman's Stand another sit. Right at first light, two young does came out and started feeding around the 300 yd. target stand. I watched them for a little while and when nothing else followed, I decided I would send a 130 gr HVLD out to visit one. I turned on the video camera and as I settled in for the shot I noticed that they kept looking into the woodline a few yards to the left. A minute later, a brute of a buck sporting a dark chocolate rack stepped out and began checking them out. Aside from his body and rack size, the lack of distinction between his neck and brisket, the sag in his belly, and the roman nose suggested he was 4.5-5.5 yrs. old. Thinking the does were too young to be of much interest to him, I decided the shot needed to come quick before he dismissed them and stepped back into cover. Fortunately, when he stepped out of the woodline he came right into the frame of the video camera, otherwise I would have never captured the footage of the shot... the thought of the video camera had long escaped me by this point. I settled the crosshairs in for a high shoulder shot, let out a breath, broke the shot and watched as his legs collapsed from underneath him. He hit the ground and thud of the impact came ringing back. I racked another round and watched to make sure he was down. He wiggled for a minute and then stopped, so I cut the camera and started to gather my gear. I checked him again a second later and to my surprise, saw the grass around him periodically twitch. He lifted his head several times trying to throw himself up but despite his efforts, the 130 HVLD had shut down the rest of his equipment. I didn’t want him to suffer so the second I saw the white of his underbelly through the grass and could tell where the base of his neck was when he lifted his head, I sent one more round through the boiler room.
When I got up to him, I couldn't believe how big he was. His hocks looked like black tennis balls and his nose and neck were riddled with scars from fighting. This guy was a bruiser! I'm having the skull cleaned for a European mount and they're saving the jawbone so I can get a more certain age on him. Whatever it turns out to be, this was a monumental day in my life as a hunter. My first true buck in 20 years... it could be another 20, but as long as the next is as mature or more so than this one, it'll be well worth the wait.
307 yd Buck - YouTube
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