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2020/2021 Hunting Thread


Both Tacos

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9 hours ago, Lat22 said:

I freed a doe several years back.  When she was finally out, she was too exhausted to run. She just stood right next to me and stared.  Very weird feeling.

That’s what kinda upset me a bit about the young buck I posted earlier.  He had been hanging out around the feeder and trough a lot last month, and it got to where when I took the hose down to fill the trough, and set off the feeder he’d stand about 100 yards off and watch me.  Then he’d walk up when I was done and get a drink, while I sat on the porch 30 yards away.  Hoping someone didn’t take advantage of his friendliness and end up wounding him like that.  

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On 10/21/2020 at 7:32 PM, Izhmash said:

Had some fun this past weekend. Made it out to the lease to get some prep work in before season starts in a couple weeks. Anyhow...found this big bastard dilly dallying on a highline on Saturday morning. When first spotted, he was about 650 yds away (across a pretty deep drainage) and all I had on me was my little AR. He looked like a damned cow...extremely long legs and just covered in mud. I remember first thinking "you big bastard", then, "shit, I gotta go get him"!  I loaded heavy and took off on foot.

I followed the treeline on the highline (to obscure some quick movement) and the big bastard didn't give much time...he quickly moved into the woods and disappeared to the north. I got to within 100yds of his last known location and went into stalk mode. As I approached, you could smell his stench but he was nowhere to be seen. I started wondering if he was bedded nearby, just listening for me. I was cautious and entered the treeline. I followed the ridge which I knew loops around towards a feeder which is about another 300yds off the highline. After about 20 minutes of relatively slow movements "stop, listen, proceed", I got to within about 100 yds of the feeder....on a downwind approach. I finally got the clue I was looking for when about 10 deer started running directly at me. I just laughed, and waved them off...they scattered to the side and exposed the big bastard fartin' around at the feeder.

The stalk is in full motion now. My goal was to close another 50 yds or so up to a group of trees, and take a rest on one of them and put some lead into him (actually copper, I use handloaded TSX bullets). I keep a few trees between the two of us, stop n go for about 5 minutes. Then he turns, and just starts heading my way. I slowly "melt" into the ground hoping he doesn't spot me...I'm still a good 20 yds from the group of trees and I'm in the middle of a fucking right of way. Now my heart won't stop pumping...he's closing distance quick. I sit motionless, frozen. He rounds some trees and is now 15 yds from me. I let fly...(pck-cheeewww), and yell out "fuck you big bastard!", followed by (pck-cheeewww, pck-chewwww, pck-cheewwww). He made it about 5 steps and I even put a finisher in him after he hit the dirt...my nerves had gotten the best of me.

Anyhow...I had a blast. Reminded me how much I love the stalk. I love how the world slows down around me, and my senses create a hyper-awareness of critical measures, checking boxes while not letting the noise break through. Concentrated focus with zero yield.

 

IMG_3883.jpg

For a while, I was reading that like a Penthouse Forum letter. 

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11 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

My thoughts exactly.  Need some more pics.  But if you are looking to cull him because he's not what you want at 4, then there's something too that too.  

Our place isn't huge and is low fenced, but we still try to be selective.  We have bigger, younger deer, but it's always a crap shoot to balance between watching them grow and getting them before a neighbor does.  I'll try to get more pics this weekend when I'm up there.

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If you have better bucks that are younger, and this one would make a kid happy, the I'd be for taking him this season.

Takes a mouth off the range and there is little or no gain in waiting another year, since he isn't likely to get that much better.

It's a game of value guessing really - What do we gain by giving him another year, vs. what we can gain this season (happy kid, meat, less competition for another buck).

 

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That same buck and doe circled us three times. Driving through the neighborhood, if I see a doe running across the road, I slow down or stop. I had a buck run right into the side of my truck before. Chasing pussy, and no fucks given is the way they roll.

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41 minutes ago, CHIEF said:

That same buck and doe circled us three times. Driving through the neighborhood, if I see a doe running across the road, I slow down or stop. I had a buck run right into the side of my truck before. Chasing pussy, and no fucks given is the way they roll.

I once shot a doe during the rut.  Was about 300 yards away.  A buck was chasing her.  He stood there about 30 yards away and watched me gut her and drag her off.  Thought he was going to charge me.

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2 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

I once shot a doe during the rut.  Was about 300 yards away.  A buck was chasing her.  He stood there about 30 yards away and watched me gut her and drag her off.  Thought he was going to charge me.

I think this was the literal story for Bambi....;)

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4 hours ago, Johnny Sack said:

I once shot a doe during the rut.  Was about 300 yards away.  A buck was chasing her.  He stood there about 30 yards away and watched me gut her and drag her off.  Thought he was going to charge me.

Had the same experience about 15 years ago except the onlooker was her fawn. 

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Sitting in the tree stand with my youngest to see if we can arrow something before youth opener tomorrow. 1dc3069a392033a181dad251de366b1e.jpgc0d6557088310114c7713889d6ebab7f.jpg
Well, we missed this one by about an hour. We had to get to the ranch and have my daughter shoot the .243 she will be shooting tomorrow. It was her first time shooting a rifle so we took our time, which put is behind the peak time at the feeder.
Hope he shows up in the morning.62d597c6f7bb173b9bb288c85d54fb7d.jpg
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One thing I've never been good at is evaluating deer on pictures. Their horns turn up so much "thinner" on pics...its crazy! Case in point: BothTacos daughter's deer above. He's got good mass...but the live / game cam pics make him appear almost spindly. We always get fooled by this. How do you guys calibrate?

PS - Anybody getting stoked to head out this weekend? I can't wait to get in the woods!

Edited by Izhmash
clarification: game cam pics
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7 hours ago, Izhmash said:

One thing I've never been good at is evaluating deer on pictures. Their horns turn up so much "thinner" on pics...its crazy! Case in point: BothTacos daughter's deer above. He's got good mass...but the live / game cam pics make him appear almost spindly. We always get fooled by this. How do you guys calibrate?

PS - Anybody getting stoked to head out this weekend? I can't wait to get in the woods!

Pretty sure the first pics are a thinner 8, vs a 7 with more mass. 

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One thing I've never been good at is evaluating deer on pictures. Their horns turn up so much "thinner" on pics...its crazy! Case in point: BothTacos daughter's deer above. He's got good mass...but the live / game cam pics make him appear almost spindly. We always get fooled by this. How do you guys calibrate?
PS - Anybody getting stoked to head out this weekend? I can't wait to get in the woods!
It's the same 7 pt. The game cam pic is a cell camera that doesn't transmit the highest quality so checking on mass is kind of hard to do with just a couple of pics because of angles too. It helps to have a deer on cam several different days and angles to check them out.
Myself, I don't pay much attention to mass. I'm looking for at least 13" spread, to be legal, and age of the deer.
Below are 3 pics of him that shows what I knew he was certainly wide enough, old enough and a good size body. I hadn't paid attention to his mass, but in the last pic it gives a better indication.3c09e63305ecb8b2ce1428b23f7c06ef.jpgf1c7ce6ae80b15a187dea3f50aee4e10.jpg1f30db3d447bf9d8a325263c7857aed6.jpg
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20 hours ago, Both Tacos said:

It's the same 7 pt. The game cam pic is a cell camera that doesn't transmit the highest quality so checking on mass is kind of hard to do with just a couple of pics because of angles too. It helps to have a deer on cam several different days and angles to check them out.

You are not talking about post #527, correct?  I’ve counted that deer 50 times now.  That’s the one I was responding to, being a 7 vs 8.  
 

*sometimes counting is difficult for me. 

Edited by fattyflattie
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It's the same 7 pt. The game cam pic is a cell camera that doesn't transmit the highest quality so checking on mass is kind of hard to do with just a couple of pics because of angles too. It helps to have a deer on cam several different days and angles to check them out.
Myself, I don't pay much attention to mass. I'm looking for at least 13" spread, to be legal, and age of the deer.
Below are 3 pics of him that shows what I knew he was certainly wide enough, old enough and a good size body. I hadn't paid attention to his mass, but in the last pic it gives a better indication.3c09e63305ecb8b2ce1428b23f7c06ef.jpgf1c7ce6ae80b15a187dea3f50aee4e10.jpg1f30db3d447bf9d8a325263c7857aed6.jpg
Have no idea why it pulled up the same pic 3 times. Here is what should have been included.793c856f5675f7f2ab521b687ab1b036.jpgecf92ec94dd987ba72b31837b2d58a5e.jpg

d9785754e335be80388bbb4546787a4a.jpg
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