here is a short slideshow of my Md buck:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p-X91tD1Ns
I wanted to share a story and a few pictures from my recent hunt:
Last week I hunted in Maryland with two long-time friends. One of these guys got me into bow hunting, and we have hunted together every year for the last 25 years with the exception of last year.
Before I get into the hunting story:
Two years ago I made the switch to full time traditional archery. For the prior 13 years I had split my hunting between compound and traditional bows. This set of hunting buddies only knew me with a compound in my hand. They knew I owned a recurve but that's about it. Last year I was not able to hunt with them, and they didn't know about my shift to full time trad-bows. When I pulled my long bow out of the truck, it was a novelty to say the least. The verbal jabs and questions ensued. "What are you going to do if a monster walks out and you miss?" "The same thing I did when I missed with my compound." After some friendly banter, the wheelie boys came around and showed respect and appreciation for my commitment to traditional bow hunting. It was an interesting exchange because from my perspective I was "bow hunting" and for them it was a very foreign concept.
Back to hunting....
We were hunting on a horse farm that had 75 acres of hay fields and a 100 acres of woods. This is a rural area that is made up of farms that are inter-connected via wood lots. Its perfect deer habitat. (And no I will not provide directions or GPS coordinates)
I hunted this farm three years ago, and I was vaguely familiar with a couple of areas. As my buddies and I stood around discussing where everyone was going to hunt, I picked the area that I had last hunted three years ago. My hunting spot was a low area with standing water and thick cover. It was heavily wooded but there were obvious trails running through it. I remembered that there was an existing hang-on tree stand in this area and sure enough the old stand was still there, so I knew I was in the right area. I found a tree about 10 yards from the old stand that was situated between two large Holly trees that afforded perfect cover. Trails ran on three sides of this tree.
The first day was slow for me. I had two small bucks walk within shooting range but nothing else. Both of those bucks walked on the trail next to the tree with the old hang-on. (Note: the farmer didn't want us to shoot small bucks) By the end of the first day one of the guys had shot a nice buck. Everyone ended up seeing bucks either roaming or following does. The rut was on but it somewhat subdued.
On the second morning of the hunt I heard deer coming from behind me. I looked through the branches of the Holly, and I saw a doe being followed by a buck. They were on a trail 15 yards to my left. The deer were not running but they were moving with a purpose. I planned to stop the buck in the one and only opening....this is where I almost messed up. After the doe passed through the opening, I came to full draw and grunted as the buck came into view...he stopped but his vitals were blocked by a tree. I stayed at full draw as the buck stared in my direction. I had excellent cover and the sun was just peeking over the tree tops behind me. He continued to look in my direction for a few seconds and then as he took the next step his vitals came into view. I released the arrow and watched the yellow feathers disappeared into the vitals. I was fairly certain the shot was good as the buck ran out of sight. Within a few seconds I heard a crash. Everything happened very quickly. From the time I heard the deer to when I heard the crash was less than a minute. Shortly afterwards a small 4 pointer came down the same trail. I was planning on waiting 30 minutes, but I couldn't take it any longer. I climbed down 15 minutes later, and I walked to where the buck stood. I couldn't find a speck of blood or the arrow. I walked down the trail a few yards and continued to look for any sign and still nothing. At this point I'm starting to doubt my memory of the shot. I knelt down looking at leaves when I glanced to my left and there the buck was laid out facing me. I found the arrow broken just below the feathers with the two halves held together by the crest wrap. I walked to the buck and the exit hole still had frothy bubbles coming out. You will see the exit hole in the pictures. I'm amazed me how fast the buck expired. I paced off the buck's final steps. He went 10 yards, turned left, and went another 15 yards and expired.
I took a quick selfie with the buck and sent it to my wheelie brothers. Seconds later my phone blew up with "are you kidding?" "Holy crap!" The wheelie boys were extremely congratulatory. I sent text messages and the pictures to several of my trad brothers. It's not as good as being in camp with them, but it still amazes me you can share these hunts in near-real-time with your friends who live around the country.
Shortly afterwards everything sunk in, and I got a bad case of delayed buck fever. I couldn't type anymore, and I sat down next to tree. After I calmed down, I gutted the buck and went back to the barn to get the JD Gator.
I regret not taking more pictures, but I was in a hurry to take care of the deer. The guy that shot the buck the day before said he and the deer were swarmed by the flies in the barn. I wanted to avoid the flies if at all possible, so my main focus was to process the deer before it warmed up and the flies came out. I was done with shooting, dragging, moving, and cutting up the deer in under 3 hours. With everything done I had a time to process the morning, and it's difficult to describe the elation I felt.
In two days we had three bucks down and continued to see bucks every time we went out. In spite of the warm temperatures the rut went into full swing by mid-week and it was a sight to behold. I ended up seeing another big 8 pointer with a funky sticker the last evening. I had to pass on this buck because Maryland has an earn-a-buck rule which was okay with me.
My gear:
Stand: Lone Wolf hang-on with LW climbing sticks
Bow: 60" MOAB Thunderstick 49lbs @ 28"
Arrow and Broadheads: Grizzly Stik Sitka arrows tipped with 150gr. Stinger broadheads
take care,
Craig
WOW! Great buck, story AND pictures.
Congrats to you! :thumbsup:
Congrats again Craig! Nice buck and great shooting buddy! :thumbsup:
You need to get out this way soon for the rut. I can't hunt, but can be your camera man.
:clapper:
Congrats that's a solid buck.
Congrats again Craig!! Sweet when it all comes together. Heck of a buck brother!
Congratulations!
Nice deer, congratulations!
Very nice!
Way to go Craig! That's the way to show them wheelie guys! Lol
Kenny :clapper:
Great buck!
Very nice buck !!! Congratulations :thumbsup:
Wow! That's an awesome buck!
Congrats,
Bisch
congrats
Very nice buck. Congrats to you.
Horse Farms, standing water almost sounds like my area of woods lol.. Congratulations on a really nice buck. :thumbsup:
Congrats!
Great deer congrats
Holy moly that is an awesome buck.
Beautiful buck! Congrats!