I had a pretty unique day of deer hunting today( 1st day of muzzle loader season). Day started off at 3 degrees and we decided to drive the deer instead of sitting still in the stands because it was so cold, figured youd only be able to stay for 45-1hour the most. So the plan was to have me get up in my stand on the top of a ridge and they were gonna push(2 guys) towards me. Well, nothing eventfull happened in the drive and when my buddy got to my stand i got down and we were gonna head back and make a new plan to drive along a creekbed/thicket next.
At that point I said i will walk over on this side of the valley and you walk the opposite side, so we head off. About 2-3 mns after that I hear some brush and stuff breaking, look around didnt see anything, then happened to look back and 3 deer run behind me and over the hill down into the valley below.
(( I am hunting an old strip mine so the valleys have ledges or we call them "flats" going horizontal to the hills))
2 does and a buck, looked like a nice buck for sure but they were running down the hill, into brush and grapevines,etc., they went over the first flat down. I headed down there and peeked over to the 2nd flat, the little doe looks up sees me and blows the alarm snort, all 3 deer take off running in front of me to my right now, I see the buck dead last and he is a dandy.
No shot presents itself all though I had them in my scope while they were running up the hill...lol
The 3 deer run up the hill to my right, and over the flat, headed to the top, I almost get a shot squeezed off on the buck, as he kinda side skirted the does at a slight angle,but not fast enough on the trigger.
I then run with eveything I have straight up the hill over the flats to try and cut them off at the top and get a shot, pure adrenaline to get up there. I get up there and see tails going over the front edge, dang...
too slow to get up here. So I catch my breath and figure just follow the tracks real slow and might sneak up for a stalking shot again. I walk along about 50 yards in there tracks and there laying on the ground is 1 side of the bucks rack! Little bit of blood on the snow...really???. I stopped and held that rack laughing, this is my luck....lol
I put the rack in my backpack and continue on the tracks, about 50 more yards right under a grapevine is the other antler......LMAO!!! whats the chances you have a buck dump both antlers while your chasing him...lol!!
I didnt catch up to the deer but I brought half of him home anyways...he woulda been a mounter for sure, he was a nice one, heres his antlers, held by my kid.
Never had this happen before in all my deer hunting days....LOL!!
rack is a 10 pointer,about 18 1/2" inside spread.
At that point I said i will walk over on this side of the valley and you walk the opposite side, so we head off. About 2-3 mns after that I hear some brush and stuff breaking, look around didnt see anything, then happened to look back and 3 deer run behind me and over the hill down into the valley below.
(( I am hunting an old strip mine so the valleys have ledges or we call them "flats" going horizontal to the hills))
2 does and a buck, looked like a nice buck for sure but they were running down the hill, into brush and grapevines,etc., they went over the first flat down. I headed down there and peeked over to the 2nd flat, the little doe looks up sees me and blows the alarm snort, all 3 deer take off running in front of me to my right now, I see the buck dead last and he is a dandy.
No shot presents itself all though I had them in my scope while they were running up the hill...lolThe 3 deer run up the hill to my right, and over the flat, headed to the top, I almost get a shot squeezed off on the buck, as he kinda side skirted the does at a slight angle,but not fast enough on the trigger.
I then run with eveything I have straight up the hill over the flats to try and cut them off at the top and get a shot, pure adrenaline to get up there. I get up there and see tails going over the front edge, dang...
too slow to get up here. So I catch my breath and figure just follow the tracks real slow and might sneak up for a stalking shot again. I walk along about 50 yards in there tracks and there laying on the ground is 1 side of the bucks rack! Little bit of blood on the snow...really???. I stopped and held that rack laughing, this is my luck....lolI put the rack in my backpack and continue on the tracks, about 50 more yards right under a grapevine is the other antler......LMAO!!! whats the chances you have a buck dump both antlers while your chasing him...lol!!
I didnt catch up to the deer but I brought half of him home anyways...he woulda been a mounter for sure
, he was a nice one, heres his antlers, held by my kid.Never had this happen before in all my deer hunting days....LOL!!
rack is a 10 pointer,about 18 1/2" inside spread.
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like he knew what you were after..weird.
Devilin AblueDress!
New member
And now for the rest of the season he may be mistaken as a doe!
madzx2
Member
Thats a dandy set of antlers don!!
Shoot him next year! Nice rack...
you'll have to unless you have a doe permit.
I have 1 of each permit yet, but I would hate to shoot him or any other mature buck with no rack. In Ohio our permits are good for either sex,but you can only shoot 1 antlered buck a year, the meaning of antlered buck is 3 inchs or longer, so if you shoot a buck with 2 inch spikes, he is considered antlerless.
It was a very unique day, pretty cool! ( hopefully this buck will live to grow even a bigger set next year and i catch him while the antlers are still glued on....lol)
going back out tommarrow at a differnt place.
It was a very unique day, pretty cool! ( hopefully this buck will live to grow even a bigger set next year and i catch him while the antlers are still glued on....lol)
going back out tommarrow at a differnt place.
staggs65
Moderator
He dropped em on purpose to distract you. lol
Great story and an experience to be remembered forever !!!
Many years back my cousin shot a 200+ (gross) 14 point buck and both antlers fell off when he went down. He went ahead and had it mounted but the score doesn't count. Had about 30 deduction points for typical because it is 6 x 8. Strange how some bucks keep their antlers all winter and others shed at the first really cold snap.
Many years back my cousin shot a 200+ (gross) 14 point buck and both antlers fell off when he went down. He went ahead and had it mounted but the score doesn't count. Had about 30 deduction points for typical because it is 6 x 8. Strange how some bucks keep their antlers all winter and others shed at the first really cold snap.
it worked...lol must have a rip cord he pulls like a chute, dump them off and keep goin....he says-" no one wants a doe"...........LMAO!!
horkn
New member
Wrote, that was Weird. I know in winter, they can drop them at any time.
tripplec
New member
That's what I was think. Deer camouflage, you want a buck but I am a Doe. Or so it would appear from a distance. LOL Sex change ha ha
Smart buck, he'll be around a while.
staggs65
Moderator
"Silly human stopping to pick up my antlers, I'm getting the hell out of here" ...lol
Icing on the cake:
went out hunting this evening behind my house in a small strip of woods, there is still some standing corn the farmer hasnt picked yet. Friend of mine was with me, we bumped 2 doe right off the bat walking into the woods. Couple seconds later up pops a small rack buck, little guy.
We each got situated along the corn field edge about 125 yards apart and about the last 10 minutes of light a big doe popped out of the corn and headed down thru the woods. She was trotting along pretty good pace, so I took a shot, well, I missed after all the smoke cleared, she started on a good run then down towards my friend, couple seconds later....BOOM.....
I waited and called him he said he thought he hit it. So I walked down and we find the doe pretty easily with the snow on the ground and the blood all over, he put a perfect double lung shot on her. We are checkin it out and about 5ft away theres a ditch, I look down in the ditch which is snow filled and said" that looks like a deer antler".....
Jump down in there and grab it, guess what..?? theres a whole buck someone shot in gun and it died in the ditch, a decent 7 pointer...LMAO, I will post a pic of his head tommarrow...LOL ( I chopped it off with a hachet...lol like a horror movie!!..LMAO)
damn..... the antler hound is on the job this year...LMAO!!!
went out hunting this evening behind my house in a small strip of woods, there is still some standing corn the farmer hasnt picked yet. Friend of mine was with me, we bumped 2 doe right off the bat walking into the woods. Couple seconds later up pops a small rack buck, little guy.
We each got situated along the corn field edge about 125 yards apart and about the last 10 minutes of light a big doe popped out of the corn and headed down thru the woods. She was trotting along pretty good pace, so I took a shot, well, I missed after all the smoke cleared, she started on a good run then down towards my friend, couple seconds later....BOOM.....
I waited and called him he said he thought he hit it. So I walked down and we find the doe pretty easily with the snow on the ground and the blood all over, he put a perfect double lung shot on her. We are checkin it out and about 5ft away theres a ditch, I look down in the ditch which is snow filled and said" that looks like a deer antler".....
Jump down in there and grab it, guess what..?? theres a whole buck someone shot in gun and it died in the ditch, a decent 7 pointer...LMAO, I will post a pic of his head tommarrow...LOL ( I chopped it off with a hachet...lol like a horror movie!!..LMAO)
damn..... the antler hound is on the job this year...LMAO!!!
YooperMike
New member
Same thing just happened to a friend of mine, last day of the U.P. muzzleloader season. Actually it was his 14 yr old son. They had a dandy 9 point on camera, and it came in about an hour before dark. His kid shot it, and where it dropped to the ground both antlers had fallen off.