So there I was, taking cool pics of the sunrise. Little did I know, this would be the most incredible morning ive had in the woods yet.
(http://i.imgur.com/NK1d5RD.jpg) (http://imgur.com/NK1d5RD)
More to come!!
:campfire:
Can't wait to hear the story Dalton!
To bad this did not happen when you had Hope in your hands!
In for more!
Bisch
Well done Dalton!!
He'll drag this out for a couple days. Dont blame him its a dandy. :bigsmyl:
Jeff
:campfire:
:coffee:
What a tease....
Um .. patience and I don't get get a long ... but for a good story I'll force myself :)
:wavey:
Congrats again Dalton!
Come on, man! Out with it! :campfire:
Great News Dalton, I will have to read the rest after they pry my frozen body off the tree this weekend.
This should be good!
:campfire: :campfire: :campfire:
:coffee:
So this story really starts back in the spring. After finding out my dad had pulled the trigger on a lease in Ohio, I start doing some research. I'm a bit of a wanderer and didn't like the thought much of being confined to 91 acres in the rut, in one of the best buck states in the country.
Hours and days of cyber scouting later, I had a handful of spots circled on some different public land areas (as well as spots on the lease) and told dad we needed to get up there and see what we could find.
He agreed, and late may found us trouncing around the most God-awful briar thickets anyone has ever seen, daydreaming of November and trying to find somewhere we had confidence in.
You'll have to bear with me, we are still in Ohio and I have been designated full time "guide" since I no longer have a tag in my pocket.
:campfire:
:coffee:
:campfire: :coffee:
Oh c'mon man.... :campfire:
Tell me about it! I'm such a poor hunter that half the time i "hunt" through these great hunters articles! It's like waiting for the morning when you know you've got all day and the weather is gonna be perfect with a great wind for your spot. This is like the night before THAT!
We will wait with as much patience as this crew can muster....
:knothead:
I'm sure it will be worth the wait!!!!
:campfire:
Just made it back to the hotel for the night. Had to stop by the store and get a tag, everyone has there little niches at the moment, so I figure ill try to take a doe before we leave on Monday.
Our findings on the lease were mixed, while we found evidence of a lot of deer, we didnt find too much evidence of the kind of buck folks drive to ohio to chase.
We put out cameras anyway, hoping for the best.
Meanwhile, i was wearing a pair of keens out on public land, trying to expand the options.
(http://i.imgur.com/pj56tIb.jpg) (http://imgur.com/pj56tIb)
:campfire: :coffee:
???
So covering as much ground as possible I continued to scout this big piece of public ground. I began to see the evidence of the kind of deer that we were looking for. I was specifically looking for funnels and pinch points, as I knew the meat of the time I was going to spend in Ohio was going to be in the rut. I always seem to do the best in those types of areas.
This continued for 3 more trips to the Buckeye state. I have come to realize that I honestly enjoy that part of the hunt as much as actually hunting itself. I geek out trying to figure out where he is going to walk, and why that is the case.
I guess I get that from dad because he was digging it as much as I was.
We came back up in early October to do a little hunting and a lot of scouting. I knew this would be the last chance I got to scout before it was go time so I tried to put it in another gear.
On the last morning, we were going to hunt, trying to take a doe to fill the freezer. But the forecast was bleak, it was supposed to get up to 80 that day, and it was already humid the night before.
I told dad we would be better off to spend one more morning scouting and we should punt on that hunt, he agreed and we headed out. I wanted to go up one more road, it was way at the top of the public piece and was carved up and surrounded by private ground. I really liked the fact that it wasn't well marked.
I went one way, dad the other. When I got back to where I figured I was far enough back to ditch the crowd (if there was one) I started looking for sign. It didn't take long.
I found a good bit of sign, and noticed one ridge that connected 3 finger ridges and a thicket. When i got to it, i found that it couldnt be any more perfect. There was a 50 yard wide strip of cover on the top of it, and an old road bed going down the middle of it. It was littered with rubs. Even better, right where a ditch came up the hill and topped out on one side, directly across from that an old pine tree had just fell and blocked the roadbed, and the deer were detouring around the top of that fallen tree.
This means they were all walking through a 25 yard stretch on woods, which had every tree in it rubbed. I had found a killer spot, and instantly got that feeling i love so much.
I quickly marked it and headed back to the truck, i was already 30 minutes past when we agreed to meet back. Dad had completely struck out on his side of the road, but nearly scored anyway.
Turns out that on my way back out i had bumped a couple does from bedding and they went right by him, he shot right under her chest, but was all smiles. He said it had gotten him tore up, and that was the point.
After that, we headed south back to NC to a month of grueling school and work, dreaming about the possibilities that Sweet November might hold.
:campfire:
:coffee:
:archer2:
So we drove up on the 7th. Ethan couldnt get off work until nearly 9pm so we made it around 130am. It didn't matter, the forecast had us so jacked up to get in the tree we rolled in with a smile. That forecast was awesome, lows in the 20s and highs in the 40s. No rain, and no major wind. Thats a forecast that is hard to beat in November.
The first morning was a slow one for me. We sat on the lease, mainly to check the cameras and see what all had shown up. I never saw a deer while in the tree, ethan had saw several little bucks pushing some does, and Dad had a similar report.
I noticed that the scrape i had put my camera on was being wore out, so I was excited to see what the card held.
Good Stuff Dalton! :coffee:
:readit: :knothead: :campfire:
Sorry guys got hijacked by an SOS call! Another publicand buck down. It was with a wheeled contraption so i cant post pics, but it will be on my facebook page!
There was several good bucks on camera including one massive bodied 8point we named "goonie" because his face was lopsided. No monsters, but some mature deer for sure. This lead me to go back to the same scrape, even though i was the only one that didnt see deer that morning.
During the middle of the day, i made sure to make a quick run to that public land funnel to make sure it was still hot, this is what i found. That is my size 11 boot in the bottom of the pic...
(http://i.imgur.com/9e8XVMi.jpg) (https://imgur.com/9e8XVMi)
About 430 I had a nice 9 point come by, in NC he would have been headed to the house, but not up here. He came by at 8 yards and gave me all kinds of shots. After he got through torturing me he headed ethans direction. Not longer later i get a text saying that the buck had made a B line for his scrape and tortured him as well.
Here he was...
(http://i.imgur.com/lVrbn8e.jpg) (https://imgur.com/lVrbn8e)
So after dark we headed for supper, and i couldnt decide if i wanted to head to the public land or back the lease on thursday. I had been talking to Logan Glassburn all day, and i asked him WWLD...What would Logan do? He laughed and said he would head to the public land, he said there was just something about a big public land buck.
So i decided i would head to that funned i had found
Daylight came early, i had finally felt the effects of that real late night getting in the day before. But i was still pumped, i had a great feeling about the morning.
I got in the tree right in time, the tree was perfect. I had tons of cover and really felt like i was going to be seeing deer all morning. I was wrong. Didnt see a single deer until after 9am, a little buck came through, with about 30 turkeys behind him. Wasnt what i was looking for, but hey, at least it was something!
About 20 minutes later a spike stolled by and i began to think it might just be a late starting morning. It was then I heard a couple steps down to my left, i looked over and finally saw the deer making the steps, i knew right away i was going to shoot him if he came my way.
What happens next took 22 seconds. I know that for a fact, because its all on camera.
:campfire: On the edge of my seat!
:campfire:
Ok, it's time to see the pics bud.
:archer:
Getting closer!!! :goldtooth:
So i got stood up as the buck was trotting my way. He looked just like a beagle on a rabbit, nose glued to the ground darting back and forth. He came through the funnel just as planned, and when he stopped he was at about 10 yards slightly quartered away.
I was at full draw, but there were some little limbs between me and him, knowing how thick it is all aroubd him i decided to try and squeeze one through them. After that i went black. Id like to say i aimed, picked a spot, or anything really, but i didnt. O simply webt into auto pilot. Next thing i knew that black eagle arrow was buried to the label perfectly behind the shoulder a d he was tearing off. Up until this point i wasnt nervous, never had time to before the shot, but boy i lost it afterwords. I knew i had made a great shot on a good, mature buck, what kind of buck i had no idea. I honestly was sure i had shot a 120in 8point.
I gave the deer about 30 minutes. And by give the deer 30 minutes i mean i calmed down enough to get that summit climber down the tree safely.
Aaron met me at the bottom of the tree. He knew i had shot and beat me to the ground lol. We decided that we would look at the blood, if it was bubbly we would track, if not we would wait. We found the first blood and sure enough, all bubbles and sprayed on saplings.
The track wasnt a long one, actually had it not been thick i would have seen him go down. As i got closer to the downed buck i began to realize this wasnt the 120in 8 i thought it was, i had just killed my biggest buck ever.
(http://i.imgur.com/54SIi7C.jpg) (http://imgur.com/54SIi7C)
(http://i.imgur.com/hhi8d53.jpg) (http://imgur.com/hhi8d53)
(http://i.imgur.com/HQM9zhr.jpg) (http://imgur.com/HQM9zhr)
When we found the buck all aaron and i could do was stand speechless. I had absolutely no idea that buck was like that. I know thats hard to believe but its absolutely true.
Wow! Great buck. Congrats!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
After plenty of pics and video, we got introduced to the joys of dragging out a midwest buck...gooooddddness it was ridiculous, my back still hurts!!
What a week we had! My ribs still hurt from laughing.
Equipment notes: #41 Omega Native Black
Eagle Outlaws, tipped with a single bevel Grizzly.
Thanks for following along and being patient with me! As i said we are still on the road and that place had zero service. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i did reliving it!! Good luck to all you guys the rest of the fall!!
:campfire: :campfire: :archer:
What a awesome buck and a buck of a lifetime for most congrats to you Dalton!thxs for sharing your story
That's a real beauty, Dalton, congratulations!
Mighty fine buck brother ! Congrats ! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Well done!!!
Congrats on a beauty!!!
It's always nice to have friends and family close by when it comes time to drag one of those bruisers out of the woods ;)
Beautiful buck Dalton, congrats! :thumbsup:
Good one. Congrats!
WOW! Great buck man!! :thumbsup:
What a stud!
No, not you Dalton, the buck!
Great buck, great story, and great pictures. Thanks for sharing and congratulations!
Now that's a fine buck Dalton, and well earned! Congrats!
Very, very nice Dalton! You worked hard for this buck and that hard work really paid off! Congratulations on a great buck! :clapper:
Bernie
Well done Dalton! You are ruined now, time to pack up and move to Ohio? Just wait till you see your first Booner in the woods and it's headed your way. Talk about heart stopping! I see that in your near future.
Enjoyed reading that, well done and thanks for sharing....
Boy oh boy you shot a Bruzer!!!!!!
Congrats Dalton, cool pics and a well told story :clapper:
Glad to see all that hard work and persistence paid off. Congratulations on a great buck
Congratulations that's a stud we'll done
CONGRATS! What a great buck!
Wow! Dalton! What a great buck!!! Congrats to you!!
Very nice, well done :clapper:
Man, I know you are proud of that one! Great story and Pics. :thumbsup:
-Leonard-
Great buck , Congrats....
,,,Sam,,,
Well done Dalton, the experience of a lifetime.
Congrats Dalton! He's a beauty!
Awesome Buck, Sir!
Well done!
Beautiful buck, congrats.
Great buck ! Congratulations - smart move to make that trip!
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What a beast! Nice job man!
CONGRATULATIONS Dalton!!!!!
He sure is a handsome feller!!!!!
Congratulations, Dalton! That's a heck of a buck and I'm glad the Native performed so well for you!!
Way to go buddy! I was super pumped for you when you texted me that you just shot a big one, couldn't have happened to a better guy!
Dalton, congrats. Great buck...I think it's safe to say that he beats anything running around Ashe Co.!
Wow, congrats! Beautiful buck!
Thats a heck of deer!
Tedd
Great deer Dalton!
Congrats! That's a beautiful deer. Sounds like an awesome trip!
What an awesome deer! and on public land to boot! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
What a beauty! Congrats
Congrats on a Great buck, story and pics!!!
congrats
Dalton,
Congrats on an absolutely great buck!!! Thanks for the story, it was a very enjoyable read!