Indiana Buck 2020....short season!

[Joe2Crow]

Well, if you're going to tag out early, that's the one to choose. Congrats on a great buck.

[huckbuck]

Congrats on one heck of a season! 

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Thanks guys!  Note to self : call Joe Lasch 2 hours before every hunt, he brings the cheeze!

I got back in and took a few pictures.  To save 10,000 words I drew a 'dandy' map to help with explanation.....



So the key here is that the setup is on an old cover transition area between an old-old pasture and bigger timber. The light dotted line that runs N/S past my stand then cuts to the west is an old fenceline.  In some places there is a wire or two of barb, but mostly its just the old rotted posts, some t-posts, and the trees that grew up in the fence.  The elderly lady that owns this ground talks about the "cow pasture" which is the area east of the stand marked "Thick" and the bedding area to the south between the old fence and the south county road.  There havent been cows in here for 40 years at least, and its grown up in thick cover, briars, and cedars.  The biggest trees are maybe 8-10 inches thru in this old pasture.  The more open timber to the north and west of the stand is cut up with draws and drainages, has some logging roads, and was selectively cut about 4-5 years ago, so  there is plenty of cover in there too, and acorns with other hard mast.

The deer trails I've represented are primarily doe trails that go from timber through cover into the ag field (beans this year) to the east.  The mail reason I set this stand originally is that there are light buck trails paralleling that old fence both on the east and west of the fence, where bucks cruise to check the doe trails during the rut.

The reason I set this stand is that when I went in a couple weeks ago to put the seat on it (the seat was off to keep squirrels from eating it) there were some nice rubs in the brush between the stand and the beans.  Also the heavy trail to the south was really being used.  My access is from the truck along the dotted line on the lane, along the edge of the field, then I have cleaned up access through the brush to the stand.  I really sneak in here, as the deer can be bedded very close to the stand.  The wind was W-N-W as represented at the bottom of the map, just enough W to keep it off the high ground bedding thicket.

The buck I killed was travelling from the high ground towards the open timber and I shot him at the "X" just south of the tree.  That trail is half way up the hill, so I'm shooting maybe 5 feet down at 20 yards, though my stand here is probably 16-18 feet up.  The stand is in an old maple tree that was part of the old fence line.  I'll show the stand in pictures. This is a typical stand setup for me in a multi trunk tree using the tree for cover.  The tree has a pretty good lean to it and is a gnarly old tree. This is a good example of why I like robust hang-on stands.  This one is an old Climax stand (best stands ever built IMO).  I'd love to see a guy get into this tree with a climbing stand 

Anyhow, maybe I didnt save 10,000 words, but I saved some with the map.......


[attachment=1]

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Here I'm in the thicker cover east of the stand, approaching it.  Stand is in the big tree in the middle (posted sideways

[attachment=2,msg2933391]

Here is the view of the deer trail the buck was on from the treestand.  The main shooting land is between the shagbarks.  He got through that and I shot him to the right of the 2nd shagbark.

[attachment=6,msg2933391]


Zoomed in - to the right of the tree half way up the pic you can see the arrow sticking up red, he was standing there when shot.  Shot was over the brushy limb coming in from the right.


[attachment=4,msg2933391]



Here is the deers view of the treestand (sideways


[attachment=5,msg2933391]


The reason this is the main trail in/out thru the fence....see to the right of the picture the old fence - and to the left even though there is no wire, the old fence line is higher.  I see this a lot on old fences, and in my pasture at home.  When the livestock walk around inside, along the fence, they compress the ground.  This leaves the fence line and ground outside the fence slightly higher by a few inches than inside the fence due to the compaction over years.  Over time too, brush, small trees etc grow up in the fence line and this raises the ground a bit more.  In a case like this, even the few inches makes a difference, and where the crossing is easy the main trail develops over time. I dont know why that last picture below is duplicated.

[Whip]

Great description of your set up. That's some high level stuff right there!

[Sky-chief]

Thanks for this Ryan.  Great account and photos of the logic behind your success.  Congrats again!

[TxSportsman]

Spectacular! 

[hessian]

Beautiful buck!

[Wudstix]

Sounds like a Doctoral Thesis good job at putting it all together.  Again congratulations on a fine mature buck.

[MnFn]

 Great looking buck, and thanks for the effort to share the hunt with rest of us.  I'm going out for the first time today.  I'd love to bring one like that home today.
Gary

[meathead]

Beautiful deer Ryan.  Nice when a plan comes together.

[JohnV]

Nice deer Ryan！

[curlis]

Super buck! Nice job.

[Huntschool]

Great deer Ryan and shot it with Dad's Widow...  WOW.  Keep it up man.  I would love to hear the score on that deer.

[Preston Lay]

Very nice, Well done Ryan. I know someone is smiling looking down. Thanks for the write up.

[Hud]

Congratulations, i agree he was a definite shooter.

[Friend]

Excellent story and wonderful harvest....Congrats!!!

Enjoy becoming intimate with your new property. The reward can be enjoyed now with grounded anticipation of next season.

[jonsimoneau]

Dang man that is a hell of a buck! Especially so early! Way to go man!

[Ron Haines]

Congrats on a great buck

[Bowguy67]

Congrats