Whew!!!!

25contender

Twelve Pointer
Whew!!!! Updated***

That's all I can say right now!! Story tomorrow!!

Whew was all I could say about this season so far! Everyone knows that you always go into the start of deer season whether you Bow Hunt or Gun Hunt with high hopes to better your previous deer hunting season. I wouldn't say that last season was not a good one but for me last season was one of letting a lot of younger bucks walk. I wanted to pinch off a arrow at a few deer but I did hold back. I did take the unicorn buck and he was one of only 2 bucks we took in 2016. I did enjoy taking a few does which needed to be done and took lots of great video.
The one buck that eluded me last year was this buck. I never saw him till the end of the season even though I had lots of photos of him on trail cameras. Finally on December 26, 2016 I had him come by my stand. He looked worn down and was bleeding from one side of his mouth. It looked like he had been in a good fight with another buck. Even though he was a good looking buck I decided to give him a pass in hopes that he would make it through the winter.

You cant see me in the tree but I am just above the top edge of the Trail cam pic in the group of pines 30 yds behind him. My nephew thought I was crazy but I will leave it at that.

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Fast forward to 2017. At the beginning of the season I was wondering if he survived. As always I leave cameras up on a sanctuary field we have planted for the deer which we don't hunt. To my pleasant surprise he did survive his wounds and looked healthier than ever on into February. I was hoping he would stick around for 2017.

Here was the first pic I got of him after hunting season in 2017.
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It was a longer wait after the antlers were shed in the spring and it was impossible to know if he was still around. The last pic I got of him was in February 2017. So life goes on and I do as I always do. I do what has to be done to maintain the fields as well as stands and think about turkey season. But as everyone knows there is always a thought tucked away in your memory bank about the deer season to come and about deer you might have seen and hope to see again. With over thirty years of bowhunting experience it really never gets old even though some seasons are better than others. You just hope that the bucks you let walk the previous years will grace you with their presence in the future.
Well turkey season rolls on through and the bucks start to grow their racks but out of the thousands of photos he never shows. Granted there are other nice deer on the cameras but not him. May rolls into June and June into July and August with many hours of pulling TC cards and using a spotting scope to see if I can locate him. Nothing.......... So I set my hopes on another big eight point in hopes of taking him.
Finally Archery season rolls around and it starts out with a bang. I bought a new stand at the DDC which would allow me to be more mobile in some of the cutovers. I could now access many spots I couldn't before as this stand allows me to sit in trees up to 24" in diameter which I could never do before. I have a few personal codes that I adhere to when bow hunting. #1 is to be as mobile as possible. #2 don't go to a stand you cant get out of without spooking deer. #3 always hunt a place only when you have the right wind #4 never hunt the same tree more than twice a season if at all possible. I have always thought doing these few things will free yourself to finding more deer and the right deer no matter what size property you are able to hunt.
I was seeing lots of deer and getting some really good video footage. During archery season I was on a killer persimmon tree pattern. It was neat watching from a vantage point I was never able to before. I could pattern these deer going from persimmon tree to persimmon tree like clock work. There was one buck that intrigued me. He looked like a minny me of the 10pt from 2016. He was young and I let him walk a few times as I moved into a closer location on a few persimmon trees he and a few other bucks were keying in on.
You can see by the screen shot from a video I did how similar he looks to the buck above.
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Anyway fast forward to October no sightings of the buck from last year. I had found some great sign along a creek and even found a spot where two bucks had been locked up. I found two good trails and found a great pine tree to climb. I had two doe come through and then another. After another 30 minutes or so I heard some movement on the downwind trail about 40 yds away. All I could see were horns going through the thick stuff and it was getting late. Finally the buck steps into a clear area and gives me a 40yd shot. It felt like a good shot but since it was late and I couldn't see where the arrow hit I backed out for a few hours. Upon my return I found him only 40-50yds from where I last saw him. When I walked up on him I thought it was the 10pt from last year but it wasn't. I had never seen this buck but was grateful for him passing my way and giving me a shot.
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Things slowed down a bit the rest of October through the first of November. I still hunted hard because after the time change I knew work wouldn't allow me to be in the woods much during the week. I didn't see much till this past Friday and finally noticed some better buck movement. I had this buck come in about 30 minutes after a few doe walked down the rd. I gave him a pass for the season.

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Then yesterday rolled around and I hunted the morning just seeing a small buck, doe and fawn. It was chilly and felt better about the rest of the day. As I do normally. I made another move down near a trail that I watched some deer use the afternoon before. The trail was going from where they bed to one of our field over 400yds away. I sat up hill from the trail along the creek but between it and a tiny oak flat. So I had a trifecta going on trail, oak flat, field. I could hear the acorns dropping out of a few pin oaks and noticed a doe and a fawn heading my way to the oaks. They walked right below me and went out of sight towards the field. A little later I heard some serious splashing down in the creek. A few minutes go by and I hear what sounded like antlers crashing together. I heard lots of running and limbs breaking down near the creek. By this time I was already standing and grabbing my bow out of the bow holder. By the time I had the bow out and the release on I could see a large doe soaked from the creek water heading my way. Then out of the thick stuff a nice 8pt came screaming up the hill with the 10pt I hadn't seen from a stand since last year tight on his tail. He was wearing the 8pt out and trying to fend him off by staying between the doe and the 8pt. The doe slowly headed my way with the 10pt right on her tail. He tried to mount her but the 8pt was getting to close and he ran him back down to the creek. The doe was now passing my 40 yd mark and I was ready. If he followed her I could bend down and shoot through a opening trough a small oak tree and make the shot. He was coming fast the doe had already passed the opening. As I bent down while drawing the bow back she stopped and looked my way. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him headed her way but he stopped. I had already drawn my bow and it felt like 10 minutes had past. The doe finally started walking and he behind her. When he hit the hole I could shoot through I grunted and he stopped. I put the 40yd pin on the knuckle behind the shoulder and gently squeezed off the shot. The shot felt perfect as I watched the arrows white fletching disappear perfectly behind the shoulder. He ran about 20yds and stopped not knowing what had happened! He tipped over in slow motion and it was over. I sat down in the stand shaking as I knew this was the biggest buck I have ever shot. All the hard work had paid off and once again I was grateful for him gracing me with his presence one last time.

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25contender

Twelve Pointer
Appreciate it everyone. Just got through cleaning skinning and quartering him up. I saved the cape as well. I swore I would never get another Whitetail mounted unless I shot a NC Whitetail that made P&Y. Well I don't think he will have any problem doing that!
 

Justin

Old Mossy Horns
Mark, I believe I said it a few years ago, while you were still a "sleeper", that my money is always on you to kill the most inches of antler in NC every year. Love your posts and the information they contain as well, even if I don't hunt the wood goats any longer, even love the saltwater posts as well! Congratulations to a most deserving guy.
 

25contender

Twelve Pointer
Thanks everyone I appreciate it. I have been bow hunting a long time. Ever since I started to bow hunt over 30 years ago I always wanted to take a P&Y buck in NC. It is not as easy as one might think. Friends say go to the Midwest if you want to take a P&Y buck. It would not be the same as taking one on a piece of property you have worked hard on to make it happen.
 

Moran

Four Pointer
I like reading you're post love that you don't shoot every thing walking . I do more watching myself I always take deer but I take the older ones and bigger bucks always giving the smaller ones time to live and grow
 
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