badlandbucks
Ten Pointer
I know this post will make MoBucks start google image searching until his fingers bleed...but I'm pretty happy today. This has been by far the most insane hunting season of my life. I have been trying to learn how the deer use my farm, and it has been an incredible, humbling experience. I shot my first deer on Oct 2, a doe, on my very first hunt on the farm. Oct 1st the wind was bad and I hunted nearby public land. I followed that up with another doe the following weekend, while there were 40+ deer in a large 5 acre food plot. I didn't hunt much again until I thought bucks would start moving during daylight. Oct 21st I had my first encounter with a mature Iowa buck. An ancient (7-8 yrs old I'm guessing) 8 pt with matching flyers on both g2s chased a doe in a standing cornfield and came by at 35 yards, but was in the corn and offered no shot. Oct 25th I hunted a small nearby farm I gained permission to where I had trail camera pictures of two different booners. I saw several 2 year old bucks cruising, and right at last light I had a doe and fawn come to the base of my tree, where the doe proceeded to blow for ages but wouldn't leave. She made me mad so I shot her...doe #3. Oct 29th was a phenomenal day for buck movement. I had 5 bucks cruise past my stand within the first 10 minutes of shooting light, the last of which was a beautiful 4 year old 160" 10 point I had many velvet pictures of. He stopped at 25 yards, and I shot. My arrow deflected off of a horseweed and struck him in his back ham. I was disgusted. I watched the deer for 3 hours from the stand, during which time I watched another 10 bucks cruise past another of my stands, one being a big 170 class deer I call chainsaw. I tracked the buck I hit for over a mile, and grid searched a huge block of the neighbors timber the following day. I came to the conclusion he was not dead. Three weeks later that was confirmed, as he showed back up on my trail cams. Nov 3-8 I saw and passed up over 25 bucks from 120-145." Rut movement was the most incredible I have ever witnessed. I made the commitment when I moved out here that I will not shoot another 3 year old again, and all the bucks I saw over that span were 2 & 3 year olds. On November 9 I hunted a hay bale blind next to a clover plot that always has a ton of does in it. an hour before dark a lone estrous doe hopped the property line fence and had a magnificent specimen of a buck behind her. Absolutely 100% over 200 inches...not one doubt in my mind. I drew and shot...and somehow I shot high, scraping hair off of his back. I have never felt so sick in my life. I didn't even hunt the next 2 days because I felt so bad. The next encounter I had was November 27th, right before shotgun season was going to open. I was hunting the same bale blind I missed the 200 from, and had my wife with me. I almost closed the deal on a 145" 4 year old 8 point I now call the "Never say never Buck." He was cruising the edge of the plot checking all the does. he never came closer than 60 yards. First shotgun season I did not have a tag, so I let the farm rest. On Dec 8th, during the second shotgun season, my wife had a tag and we were hunting a ground blind next to fence jump on top of a hill with food plots on either side. I have never seen so many BIG shooters in one day. The second rut is a real thing here! Exactly a month after peak rut there were does coming back into estrous. I attest this to the very high deer numbers in my area. That evening we saw a 7-8 year old typical 12 point I have tons of pictures of, who wouldn't stop long enough for a shot. Then we saw the never say never buck again...running full bore after an estrous doe. Then we had the 200 incher I missed chase an estrous doe literally 10 feet behind the blind. He stopped behind a cedar tree and didn't give us a shot. Right at dark we saw another 160" 9 pt several hundred yards away chasing a doe. My wife shot a doe the following day while I was at work. The last weekend of shotgun season we went out again and set up hiding in some haybales close to where a lot of deer enter the field. we had 20 fawns and button bucks come out I a group, and I held my wife off. Finally a group of 3 adult does jumped the fence. it was nearing the end of shooting light and they were at 150 yds. My wife did not feel comfortable shooting that far so she handed me the gun (party hunting is legal during shotgun season) and I dropped the largest one to fill her second doe tag. Mature buck movement tapered off, but the 1-2 year olds we saw every night with the big doe group hitting the main food plot. Muzzleloader season opened Dec 19th, and I took 4 more does up to Jan 7th. On Jan 8th, I sat a stand on the opposite side of my clover field from my bale blind. I had a group of over 30 does come past my stand at 30 yards. 10 minutes later I see a small doe fawn coming over the hill...and right behind her is the never say never buck! Behind him is a 3 year old 8 point. the doe fawn was in heat...on January 8th! There are so many does here I guess the bucks just cant breed them all. the doe fawn was headed down the same trail the big group had walked, and I had my muzzleloader ready to shoot the buck when he cleared the tree branches. All of a sudden the deer all froze and started over the hill...then took off into the timber. I turned to look and see the neighbor going for a stroll...I was UPSET! I couldn't believe what happened, and was pretty dejected. I got to thinking about that doe fawn though, and figured if she was in fact in heat, those bucks are not going to leave her. So yesterday I went back to the same spot, but stood among some haybales closer to where they came from. 45 minutes before dark, a doe fawn appeared..and you guessed it...the never say never buck was right behind her, as well as a 120" buck, and following behind was a true giant, a massive 180 class deer I have seen a couple times but have yet to get a picture of. A dump truck rattled down the road and it spooked the giant and he trotted back across the fence onto the neighbors. But the never say never buck stayed glued to his doe. They disappeared over a ridgetop in the field so I grabbed my gun and rangefinder and ran...literally...after them. right before I crested the hill I crouched down and peeked over. The buck was following the doe away from me. I ranged him at 147 yds. I popped open the bipod on my gun and layed down on the top of the hill. he was quartered away really hard. I fired and instantly saw him drop. My bullet struck right in front of his back ham and came out I the opposite front shoulder. The Never Say Never buck is down! Today is the last day of deer season in Iowa, but the weather is nasty and I was not going to be able to hunt today, so last night was my last chance, and I killed him with 10 minutes of legal light left. What an end to me first Iowa season! Awesome 4 year old 8 point. I won't soon forget this one. Pics to follow
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