Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: SAM E. STEPHENS on November 20, 2018, 02:09:00 PM
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This is probably going to be long winded so I hope y’all can stick with me for a bit as the ending is fitting to the title. So far this season I have been fortunate enough to kill 2 really nice bucks with both having a wide spread in the antler department. So it’s been an outstanding season for me could it in anyway possible get any better , I will spoil it now and just say it can and did. Like I say it’s been a awesome year here in Texas so anything else is just over the top at this point. My best friend Donald has also been having a good year with his longbows and has taken a nice wide buck and a few doe and hogs. So I called him up the other night and said the new deal for us was to finish up our season with one piece longbows and wood arrows , so the new challenge was set for us..
Ok we are going to backtrack now on the events that have got us up to this point so here we go. If you don’t know me and the guys I hunt with are pretty hard core 24/7 Trad Bowhunters , me personally I’m eat-up with it pretty bad. The opener of our whitetail season had us at a ranch that has become a tradition for us to hunt every year on the opener. Temperatures were hot and the hunting not so good but I managed to take a nice old wide racked whitetail buck. I did a story here on tradgang on the hunt , he is just a hair under 20 inches wide on the inside spread. Now I can give two craps less on what an animals score is , I just know when I see one I like I shoot it. I do like a wide set of antlers....
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Opener buck ......
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Just the first buck is a good year!
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:campfire: I'm along for the ride Sam
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I will switch back and forth with longbows and and recurves but seems like over the last several years it’s been mostly recurve. Along back in the summer I decided I was going all longbow this year for a change. I ended up with some cheap Galaxy bows and have stuck with them as they shoot very well for me. Matter of fact I now have 8 of their longbows and will probably buy more.
I carried my longbow and wood arrows I made on a 33 day backpacking trip in Colorado last September to start off my longbow season. The longbow came through for me and I was able to bring a nice bear home from that trip....
,,,Sam,,,
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I'm in Sam! :campfire:
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As our deer season continues the weather is all over the place with record rain fall and temperatures and winds from every direction. Made the hunting tough but we were seeing some good deer and hogs on a regular basis. Oh yea before I headed out on the Colorado adventure I did manage to take a Aoudad ram , pretty good hog and a turkey with my longbows....
,,,Sam,,,
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Damn Boy! How many freezers you got?! :biglaugh:
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Maybe I should have titled this my longbow season but the ending is about a wide whitetail buck I might have shot the other day. So our deer hunting is going pretty good with sightings but no shooting getting done. The doe have a free pass for now so we are waiting on the rut to kick in that’s when we usually get our shots. While waiting on the magical time of year I was fortunate enough to shoot a monster boar with my longbow. But before I shot him we had some close encounters with a few rattlesnakes , and they ended up on my bow limbs. Both the skinned bow limbs and monster boar had a story on here from me. And just for public knowledge tradgang is the only place I share my hunts...
I don’t fit in well in other places I guess....
,,,Sam,,,
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Donald needs on the board so he shoots a nice hog with his longbow then several days later he gets an arrow in a nice buck. Story I got on his buck was he was in the stand and the buck was all of the sudden magically appeared like 2 yards away underneath him. The buck worked his way in front of him and he was able to get a shot off into his chest and he watched the deer go out of sight. Upon tracking he found the buck dead down in the creek....
Donalds pictures need some work but here is what I have , it is a great buck also with a wide rack....
,,Sam,,
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Donald’s hog and buck...
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I'd say you had a darn good year. Congrats.
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Well, I'm ready for a good story........
Carry on my friend!
:campfire: :campfire: :campfire: :campfire:
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go ahead rub it in deep, your a killer! :biglaugh: ….go on..
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Good stuff as usual Sam. You still have my attention
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Next trip I made back to hunt I brought along a deer decoy to try out I started a thread on here and got some good info on hunting with a decoy. Had several close encounters but no shots at a buck. Many bucks would come fairly close but nothing to shoot an arrow at as far as deer go. A group of hogs did come by and I shot a big sow out of the group. Most of my hunts in the last few years I have been able to get on a little cheap action camera that I have on my hat. Might have a guy to help me get it all edited so I can share it all with y’all soon....
,,,Sam,,,
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Some decoy fun...
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Big ol sow.....
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Last week I had to spend a day at home when I got back from work doing house chores , I really don’t like doing that crap during hunting season. With the house in order I headed back out for hunting , I invited one of my best friends Tom to come join me. Tom hasn’t shot a deer in ten or so years so I’m hopeful he will get a chance at something. I was to meet Tom in town at noon in town on Friday so I was getting in the morning hunt before heading to town. I was up hours before daylight and carried the decoy with me. I did a story here about the hunt , it was a great hunt on another wide racked buck....
Tom ended up killing a nice doe , Donald had also came back out and also killed a doe. Both were taken with longbows also...
,,Sam,,
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Love reading your threads. What at terrific year. Congratulations. Gotta ask, why the velcro strip on the front of the longbow grips?
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Here is the decoyed buck..he is just a shade over 20 inches inside....
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Tom and Donald’s longbow killed doe...
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Really awesome read!! Congrats on the great season!
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The strip of Velcro on the front of my bows is for a pressure switch for a red light I use for hog and varmit hunting at night...
Now I have a day and a half before I head back to work and the weather is turning for the better , going to be cold and a little wet. This is where the end of this story is about to happen so here it goes. I decided to head out to my in-laws place and spend the night at the cabin in the woods. I have a great north wind stand that I have made a mock scrape at about a month ago. Every time I go out to the place I go visit the stand and I pee in the scrape , my father-in-law always makes fun of me for doing it. But it has been being used by deer because it’s always fresh when I add my scent to it...
Like I was saying back at the start of this I had called Donald and told him the new challenge for us was use a one piece longbow and wood arrows to finish the season. The night before I headed to the cabin I spent about 4 hours picking my bow and quiver and arrow combo. I settled on my Galaxy BlackRidge 62in RD longbow 52@30 with some dug-fir arrows , little tuning and it was shooting great. So I headed out and stopped and visited with my in-laws for a while before going to the cabin , side note they are the greatest people in the world. The cabin is in the middle of the property and sits just off a nice pond of water , the hunting is great and I’m the only person that hunts it.....
,,,Sam,,,
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Here is the cabin...
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View off the porch...
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The cabin is a awesome place to go spend time , no electricity and furnishings are all early 1900s for the most part. Fresh spring water down at the tank and deer and hogs to hunt can’t ask for much more. Right on time the north wind blew in and the temps started dropping , I was having a very good feeling about the morning hunt....
I wake up to cold temperatures and a very stout northwest wind witch is perfect for where I want to go. Get me some coffee going and start getting layers on and I’m feeling good as I head out the door....
,,,,Sam,,,,
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:campfire:
Great stuff so far Sam...keep it coming!!!!
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Lovin’ it so far, Plenty to be thankful for this season :archer:
I’ll have a fresh :coffee: in the morning to go along with the conclusion to this
fine tail :goldtooth:
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Another great story Sam!
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Dressed for the conditions was a good thing cause it was definitely going th be a blustery day. I made it to my stand a good hour before shooting light and got settled in to watch the world come alive. Around light it started misting rain and the wind was stout from the north-northwest the temps were in the mid 30s. Everything is perfect for this stand and I’m feeling good because I can see the scrape has been tore-up and I can already see some deer around. Now it’s been light out for half an hour and a small buck checks the scrape then goes off after a doe. Life is good and the plan is working out then out of no where a deer starts snorting off to my right and I have no idea why. The wind is perfect in my favor and no chance I was seen so I have no idea what the problem is but it dominos. Next thing I know every deer within 10 miles is snorting and stomping and I can see some running. So looks like this well oiled machine is now falling apart and rusting before my eyes...
,,,Sam,,,
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Ahh the cabin from last years duck hunt.....making plans for a bow-duck hunt myself real soon....
Keep it comming Sammy and thanks for the inspiration
Tim B
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:campfire: :coffee:
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I've hunted with Sam and Donald quite a bit and I can tell you that I've never seen two guys that "12 ring" more deer (or whatever they are shooting at). It's one thing to hit a foam target consistently but these guys seem to shoot better on fur than on foam. Very unusual but a wonderful quality to have....wish I had it! :pray:
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:campfire:
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Sam...Not sure what your plans are for all your hunting videos but I'd buy one.
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Will end up just putting the videos on YouTube , figure I will get rich from them and retire and just hunt all the time....
Not really sure what happened with all the deer going crazy but after a while they shut up. So I’m thinking it’s all over for the morning but I talked myself down and and figured it was early yet. Deer started popping out here and there again and settled down. Could see several off in the distance and a few working my way also. The wind is blowing pretty good , so it’s really noisy with everything shaking from the wind.....
,,,Sam,,,
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A few doe work in and are running around cause a small 6pt buck is pushing them around they would head out of sight then back. It was turning back it to the perfect morning in the woods. As my longbow was swinging around in front of me the small 6pt stopped right in my shooting lane and has the oh crap look on his face. I lean out and look to my right and see a buck that is the biggest deer I have ever seen on this place ( dam he is a tank ). I generally get worked up after the shot but a split second after seeing this guy my leg started doing a little shaken and wasn’t no stopping it. He worked his way in and under me then over to my mock scrape and worked it over pretty good...
When he went under me he was no more than 7yds away , I got a good look at him but no chance for a shot because of the limbs. He is sporting a wide and heavy set of antlers with a giant body and his neck is massive. After he finished doing his thing at the scrape he stiffed legged around and let it be known he was the man....
,,,Sam,,,
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:o :o :o
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When he was going under me I noticed he is just a 6 point ( witch I don’t care ) I have never seen a 6pt buck this big. Along about the time he finished the scrape I remember I have a camera on my head so I get it turned on or at least hope I did. I get stood up and am waiting on the perfect shot angle , if I was to say I wasn’t nervous I would be telling a big lie. This tank of a buck is about 15-17yds away and like I say he is a monster for central Tx. So longbow in hand wood arrow on the shelf and in my eyes the best buck that has ever been on this place in range is almost now or never time...
I’m about to come uncorked when he finally gives me a shot , I keep my shot sequence rolling in my mind as I draw. I remember hoping my little camera was running , locked on where I want my arrow to go I hit full draw and lock on him. I’m holding at full draw for a good bit then let her eat when I think the time is right , the big bright banana fletch arrow takes him right behind the shoulder. He bolts off and then stopped about 40yds away and is just standing , he looks back as to find out what hit him. I got the glasses up and can see the blood pouring out of him....
,,,Sam,,,
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Ok Sam “Uncle”! Now out with the rest of it :bigsmyl:
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Standing on my jelly legs watching him with the binos I can’t believe what just happened along about this time he got a case of the jelly legs also. He was down and is now the third wide racked buck I have taken this year. I figured I would sit a while and savor the moment....
I get down a little later cause 2 coyotes were about to go start chewing on him. I walk over and am in shock at the size of him , for Central Texas he is a true beast. He is a true 6 point buck and the best guess as of now is he is 6-7 years old a true warrior of the hill country. I don’t score any of the deer I shoot but he has lots of mass and is just over 21 inches on the inside spread..
I am a very fortunate guy to have a great family and my friends are the best guys on earth and to hunt as much as I do. Don’t get much better....
,,,Sam,,,
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He aint got the most inches of antlers I have ever shot but he is one of the oldest coolest bucks I have ever killed. I am very proud to have him...
,,,Sam,,,
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Very cool what a great season, his hind quarters are huge!! Congratulations
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Such a great hunting story! Congratulations on another great harvest.
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Man what a year, big congrats Sam on a a big ol sad daddy :clapper:
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Congrats Sam.
Looks like he's got a little Texas Long Horn blood mixed in with the Whitetail.
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Congrats Sam for everything the hunting the shooting and the sharing here.
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Way to go Sam!
Love how you keep the fire lit :goldtooth: :campfire:
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( happy thanksgiven) great story,great buck, congratts! :thumbsup:
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Such a cool buck!!! Congrats Sam!
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Great buck Sam! Congratulations! I always liked big 6's. His main beams run for the horizon and never look back. Just cool!
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Man what a great year!! Thanks for the share! Great stuff Sammy
Tim B
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Great buck :thumbsup:
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Great story Sam and a mighty fine buck too !! What a year you have had :archer2:
A coyote could live well just following you around and eating the gut piles :biglaugh:
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Congrats, Sam. Hell of a year.
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Thanks for making me famous.... all nice deer Sam, maybe I’ll catch up this week
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Seems like you have started the catching up just fine after this afternoon...
,,Sam,,
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Seems like you have started the catching up just fine after this afternoon...
,,Sam,,
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Yes! It was a good afternoon for sure, awesome weekend as always when Paul invites us out to his beautiful place. Had a great sit Saturday morning with a close encounter with Paul’s target deer. Saturday afternoon came and I set up Barney the decoy with some coaching from Sam on what seems to work. Y’all saw the results he had with one last week! I had Barney out around 30 yards off to my right. Anyway, about 30 minutes before dark I see movement off to my left around 70 yards. Just put glass on him and he was a perfect mature cull buck and was on a bee line for Barney. He closed the distance in what seemed like an instant and as he passed a bush about 15 yards directly in front of me I drew and as he cleared the bush I took the shot slightly quartered away. The wood arrow with a single bevel Zwickey found its mark and I watched the buck spin and run maybe 50 yards before going down. That’s a great feeling!
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Sam, always enjoy your posts and stories. You have mentioned the use of a hat camera. Would you please share what you use and provide some reviews on overall general use of them?
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Way to go guys...y'all have been blessed. Thanks :clapper:
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Great shot and a great job Donald! Great having you and Sam out (as usual).
Hope I can get on that 10 pt. before some rifle hunter shoots him on another ranch.
Paul
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Wow that is a monster six. Congrats Sam.
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The hat camera is a knock-off action camera it called a Ekin ( not sure I spelled that right) it’s only $54 on the big internet store. It comes with everything you need and works great. I just drilled a hole in the bill of my hat and found a screw that worked and bam you got it. I will do a thread on it...
,,,Sam,,,
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sounds good, thanks
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Saw the big 10 (target buck Donald referenced) yesterday afternoon...unfortunately, he was standing on the road on the way to the tripod I was going to sit in. He looked at me for about 30 seconds and then ran off. I think he and I have determined that he is smarter than me and now he's just having fun making me miserable. Saw the 130 inch 8 point this morning but passed. :knothead:
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What a trophy a 6 yo buck is Sam. Fantastic dude :clapper:
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Wow! what a great year you're having,.... I'm sure there's a lot of folks that would be happy to harvest that many animals in a lifetime!!
I could retire in that cabin, sweet setup
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Yes sir the cabin is an awesome place to spend time , I spent the night out in it last week and saw 14 deer while sitting next to the wood stove...
Thanks again everyone , I’m a very fortunate man to have good friends that let me hunt on their land...
,,,Sam,,,