2022 buck

[chefrvitale]

Hi guys,
I was able hit the woods this past weekend for the first time all season and wanted to share my hunt.
My buddy Ryan from SC drove up to hunt with me Saturday and Sunday but between the EHD outbreak and crazy weather we were not confident.
Saturday started off very promising with a doe encounter walking in.
Unfortunately that was the last deer we would see all day.
We sat through a long hot morning that turned into the worst wind storm I have ever had the pleasure of sitting in the woods for.
With ash trees snapping and walnuts flying by as if they had been launched from a potato gun I felt lucky to have made it out alive.
The best part of the hunt was the single barrel EH Taylor I opened back at the house.
We enjoyed a glass and chuckled about other near death adventures we have had together.
After reassuring ourselves that Sunday was "the day" we turned in.
Morning came too fast and the effects of my bourbon were still evident.
I attempted to make coffee but after careful consideration of this sizable undertaking I microwaved what was left from yesterday.
We split up for our morning hunt then would hunt a ground blind in the afternoon together.
Roughly 10min after Ryan turned off down his trail I could hear the familiar sound off deer blowing out  of the area.
I continued on slowly down my trail trying not to make the same mistake he had.
I could hear a small group of does foraging through the leafs ahead on my trail.
To prevent bumping them in the same manner as my counter part I balled up and pretended to be a rock.
With very low morning light and wind in my favor this seemed to be working.... but they were headed straight for me.
Ultimately the lead doe almost stepped on me before jumping out of her skin and blowing into the next county with two others close behind.
Assuming my hunt was ruined I made no further attempts at a stealthy entrance to my stand.
An hour went by without so much as a squirrel in bow range when I saw a nice buck 75yds away with his nose down.
He was on the same trail the doe group had been on and was coming in hot and bothered.
I clumsily put my phone away and stood up in anticipation of a shot.
Sure enough he stopped at 12yds broadside and started destroying a sapling.
I let the arrow go and watched it pass through both lungs, the buck walked 30yds and fell.
As I approached the animal I realized there wasn't a knife in my pocket, I considered making the 700yd drag without field dressing until I saw the size of buck.
A broadhead would have to do.
I hung my bow on a branch, unscrewed a broadhead and walked over to dress the animal.
As I knelt down next to my buck I heard a snort that made my hair stand up.
The noise was coming from a thicket 20yds away.
A noise like this had to either be the world's most aggressive buck or Bigfoot..... either way I was armed with a single broadhead and my bow was 15yds awat hanging in a tree.
In a truly heroic act of bravery I climbed under a log trying not to pee my pants as this creature stomped around plotting my demise.
I suppose this display of manhood was too much for the beast because it eventually walked away.
This gave me the opportunity to efficiently dress my buck in record time with nothing more than a broadhead.
I grabbed an antler and attempted to sprint the 700yds back home.... stopping only to puke in a bush a few time out of exhaustion.
Meanwhile Ryan was feeding a fawn an apple and enjoying his peaceful morning.
Later we hunted the blind and saw absolutely nothing.
I attached some pics, thanks for reading

[rastaman]

Awesome animal sir and great write up!  You need to post this on Powwow also if you haven't already.  A lot of the "Gang" don't frequent the highlight section.  Most do visit the Powwow section and would love to read about your adventure!
Congratulations again!

[Terry Lightle]

Great buck!

[Friend]

Mighty fine buck....

[chefrvitale]

Much appreciated guys! Have any of the other Ohio hunters on this forum noticed a huge drop in population? I'm pretty sure EHD did a number on the heard in my valley.
It's typical for me to see 20 doe and fawn on a long sit if I'm hunting a ridge with a good vantage point.
This year I was only seeing a handful of doe.
 

[GCook]

Congratulations on a good one!

[bowhawk archer]

Congrats on a great buck.

[krist003]

That was a fun read, thanks. I sense a little Pat McManus coming through in that story, too funny. And congrats on the great buck!

[Bvas]

Congrats on a dandy Ohio buck!!!

[RIVERWOLF]

Beautiful Buck Richard ....(aren't they all 

On the Ohio deer herd....been down for many yrs now, but  this season seems   really bad .  I saw deer and had opportunity....that is all we can ask, but numbers were way down even from early summer scouting.  In heavily hunted private lands it is bad.  Between trespassers/poachers and blanket regs selling wayyy to many deer tags for a given population . With very low numbers in many areas due to over harvest & poaching =any ailment can and will be devastating to any species.  So yea...very low numbers in my area......



On a good note....how about adding some specs of the hunt Richard...type bow-arrows etc for those that like to know

Congratulations on a fine animal !  Enjoy the many gifts given.......

[chefrvitale]

Definitely, I'd love to share that Riverwood.
Despite building several very nice shooting bows that Kenny M has helped with on supplies and technical questions, I can't walk into the woods without my Tomahawk woodland hunter 70# @28".
I'm a little superstitious and that bow has brought me too many amazing memories to leave at home.
As far as arrows go I shoot gold tip traditional 340's cut to 29.5" that I dip and crest.
I don't feel right killing anything with an ugly arrow, not sure why.
I use a steelforce single bevel 175gr with a 75gr insert.
I never hunt the same tree twice and have two light weight sets that I alternate.
One lone wolf the other is xop, I recommend both.
I don't use cover sent but I leave my clothes outside and take chlorophyll drops during the season.
Besides that I trust the wind and past experience to guide my hunts.
Everything I harvest is under 20yds, this particular buck gave me a 12yd broadside shot.
The arrow passed through and the deer never flinched.
I felt very blessed.

[RIVERWOLF]

Riverwolf 

Good stuff Richard !

Let's all "HOPE" that our state (and all the others) get it together with a better quota / harvest in conjunction with actual numbers. This takes a LOT MORE field work & hunter particapation ....not just in surveys /records , but also with "self restriction"  beyond  the limit . As in  take 1-2 deer even though the law states you can take 6 .  Self restriction isn't a strong characteristic of most hunters or people in general sadly.   


Lot's of reasoning behind all this....outside pressures from insurance companies & many farmers to reduce the deer numbers. Some of which is just...most  not so much .   We are talking "Free Range" animals...not livestock .

Our DNR is also severly under-personed for actual field work . This is why our poaching-tresppassing - atv abuse is out of  control....Sorry for the long post , but I use every opportunity  when asked to air mho on the subject @ hand.


Best with your season Richard & hope for all of us and our wild places and wildlife that things improve in all aspects.


sincerely,

Ralph"Riverwolf"Webb
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