Just unreal........   :eek:   I wouldn't know what to do with all that action.

Day 3 same stand.

Colder, no wind. at first light I spot 3 does walking along the mowed fire break that runs along the strip of woods below the log road. Today they have reversed course and are going North to South ( down hill).

30 minutes later the lesser of the 2 big bucks is following their trail. I get him to stop and look my way with a soft snort wheeze. He starts to move off and I do it again, a little louder. He turns and flees and runs down the hill, across the field, county road and onto the adjacent property. The bigger buck never showed .

today started very windy after an on and off again rain. I elected to give that ladder a rest
and will hunt it again in the A.M. I will get some pictures then of the stand and trail so you have a little better idea as to how this all played out.

to be honest, my hunt this fall despite misses has been the best of my life.

thanks for giving my tale a read.

Wow Jim, that's what rut huntin dreams are made of!!!!!

Good stuff Jim!  Waiting on the sequel!

Incredible Jim.  I have been eagerly waiting your report!

All your hard work on your land has paid off, I know you will reap the rewards......well done.      

I feel your pain. I've had one of my best seasons ever, but have missed two different bucks in the 150" range.
Congrats on your encounters. I always enjoy your posts.

 Its going to come together,      keep at it...  

Jim,

Thanks for sharing your hunts with us.  Eager to read more.  Ken

Jim, I am going to have to pick your brain a bit about food plots and such, some day.

My grand daughter and I watched 15 does and fawns on my hayfield Saturday, and not a single buck showed up.

Gary

Since it's way to windy to hunt safely from a tree today , I will update you with one of this past weeks crazier hunts.

I continued to sit in the stand where I watched the breeding take place, except this time I had inserted a buck decoy into the hunt.

Here are pictures from the stand .

this is the view looking straight ahead (East).


down and to my left ( North)


the decoy is about 25 yards from the stand.

Normally I do not decoy like this. even though the woods looks open enough , it is still hard for deer to see the decoy since there is no movement to catch their eye.

But I was feeling sort of desperate with all of the close calls with big bucks moving very fast past me in this spot and I hoped it would at least cause one to just slow down a bit.

I'll spoil the story here by just saying this came back and bit me hard in the butt.

I had 5 females feeding on the hillside above me and to my right. They were feasting on the acorns. I kept expecting one of them to wind me since the wind was out of the North.

It was about 8 am when I saw large, heavy dark antlers appear about 60 yards due East from me coming my way.

A great 10 point was coming straight down the trail that goes by the tree on the right. It appeared I was going to get a point blank shot.

Suddenly he cuts to his right towards the log road. I quickly gave a grunt , hoping he would see the decoy in the road.

Instead I suddenly see several females on the log road also on heading my way. That's what got him to turn and he cuts the lead doe from the group. First she turns to run back up hill and away from me but he cuts her off and back she heads.

In the top picture above , if you look close you will find the rub and the brush pile on the ground to the right of it. She was passing thru this gap and he was right on her tail.

The doe sees the decoy on the road and I am guessing here, thinking she has another big buck to avoid  veers to her left. She runs between the end of my arrow in the picture and the double trunk tree.

I am poised for the shot , but the buck goes behind the double trunk tree and stops! now I have a great buck at about 12 yards and at least 8
does all stopped and on high alert! The buck starts to stomp his foot. I have no shot! only his neck and head and tail are free of the obstruction the tree has created!

Sensing one of the does on my right about to bolt, I prepare to draw, hoping the buck will take a step or two before running. No such luck. When the does bolts he does the same and again I watch a real cranker buck run out of my life.

I am sure had the decoy not been there I would have had a walking shot at 6 or 7 yards.

Making the day even worse, two hours later a doe and her fawn are coming my way from the East but too far up the hill to my right for a shot. But some how she spots the decoy and starts to head down hill. She gets on one of the trails that goes  by me above and to my right. This one is about 20 yards and puts her even with my eye level.

I take my time and make the shot. She spins 180 degrees and I see the arrow fall out the off side.
Waiting about 1/2 hour, I climb down and head back to the yurt to get my buddy who is also hunting with his recurve. We will need the 4 wheeler to carry in my nice doe.

Some how when we were walking in the direction the deer ran , we missed my spent arrow laying in the leaf litter. The first blood we find is a great big splash , red with bubbles . We both comment that this will be a short trail. Good splats of blood and then drops and then pin pricks then nothing.

We ended up picking the lost trail several times and by the time we completely lost it we were on the other side of the farm.

Back tracking from the first big splash of blood , I find my arrow, covered end to end in thick brown stomach residue. It appeared then my hit was behind the diaphragm when it entered and exited out the far side lung.  Had I known this we would have never started tracking until late in the day. But my eyes had told me a different story.

So 2 large errors cost me a shot a great buck and also some prime eating venison. There is nothing worse than losing an animal and knowing you have caused it pain and a rotten end to it's existence.

I vow once again to be more careful and to take more time in shooting and tracking so as to not repeat this sad situation.

The weather and holidays this week , will interfere with hunting, hope to be back at it this coming weekend.

Dang Jim, sorry to hear that.....

That hillside stand has provided you with plenty of excitement this year  

Sorry about the doe!  Keep trying Jim, I hope you get another taxidermy bill this year.

Keep At em jim unfortunately it happens to us all take the good with the bad and get  back after em!!

Great effort, Jim. Sounds like they have you surrounded.

Sorry for the result.

it has been a pretty uneventful last 10 days. Between the gun season ( still open) overly warm temps and an approaching full moon there has not been much day time deer movement.

But tonight just before dark a solid  5X5 was following 4 mature does about 60 yards below me in the tall prairie and apple trees.

The final push is on . 31 days left in our archery season. Sure hope Mrs. Littlebigman hangs in there with me!  

Thanks for the report Littlebigman.

As a fellow Minnesotan (Deer River), I like to know what's going on rut wise in other parts of the state.

I broke out the muzzle loader and saw a small buck working a scrape this past Mon. eve. right at the end of shooting light and the next morning I saw a spike chasing a doe.

Good luck and I know what you mean about the Mrs. hanging in there with you!  

My better half is really, really, really wanting me to get a deer.  LOL

Brian