I got home from work about 5:30 and was debating whether or not to hunt for the last hour of the day. The weather was pretty raw last night here in southeast Pennsylvania. The temperature was 39 degrees, the wind was blowing steady from the northeast, and it was spitting rain. :( It was just the kind of weather that bigger bucks like to move around in, but I was finding myself not so motivated to sit in such lousy weather. After I milled around a bit, I decided to go and hunt for the last 45 minutes of the day. I got back in the woods without jumping any deer and slipped up into a stand with great cover and the wind was perfect for this stand. Initially a doe fawn came cruising in and offered several shots but I just didn't have the motivation to take her and good thing. About 30 seconds later this beast of a buck comes strolling in behind her. As it came in, it looked as though it would circle behind me and not offer a shot. My heart was about to leap out of my chest at this point. Fortunatley, the buck turned harder and stopped at 10 yards quartering away. I drew back and released. The buck began to trot up through the woods for about 20 yards. At this point I could see the blood pumping out of it's side and flowing like a river. The buck then sensed there was a problem and began it's death dash through the open woods. I knew it was a good hit but chose to wait a few hours before tracking it. Normally in the rain, I would have started tracking as soon as reasonably possible but luckily my good friend Steve has a 9 month old Dachsund that just loves tracking so I figured waiting a few hours would never hurt. Those dogs are an amazing creature to observe. She hit that scent and followed right where the buck ran through the woods. Here's what we found! :)
(http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9ce36b3127ccef8364bf39c7900000030O08AaN2rJs0ctAe3nw8/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/)
The buck turns out to be a 13 point which grossed 138 6/8.
He was taken with a 45lb Adcock ACS, cedar shaft tipped with a Wensel Woodsman.
The shot center punched the liver and went through the far lung and stopped in the farside ribs. The total distance traveled was about 120 yards.
(http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9ce36b3127ccef837c5e33d5200000030O08AaN2rJs0ctAe3nw8/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D720/ry%3D480/)
Below is a picture of Steve and Ruby. Thanks again Steve, it was a great night, especially when the Oktoberfest starts flowing! :D
(http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9ce36b3127ccef837ec5b7d6600000030O08AaN2rJs0ctAe3nw8/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/)
Great googly-mooglies!
That's a beauty & it's just motivated me to go sit in very similar conditions!
Awesome job Joe :clapper:
never know what will happen when you get out there. GREAT Buck good job.
Very nice! :saywhat:
Great deer Joe!
Nice buck, congrats :clapper:
Wow, Congragulations to you! :clapper:
Nice mature buck, love the palmated beams. Good tracking dog work too.
Man he's a Dandy for sure...Congrats on a very nice buck... :thumbsup: God Bless, Keefer's <")))><
wow,that sure is a nice buck.congrats!
Great job. Was the trail easy to follow, or did you have to rely on that great looking dog?
WOW,
What beutiful buck! Way to go and great shot!
Super PA buck to say the least!!!
Great tracking job too it sounds like. Handy dog to have around camp.
Congrats again!!!!
Great buck, Joe!!!!
Congrats!
I stopped by Joes' this morning and saw his buck first hand and believe me it's a "Monster". Now Joe just has to decide what pose he wants for the mount. Congratulations.
Jake
Nica Buck!!! :clapper:
great buck wow!!!!!!
Great buck Joe....Congrats....Mike
Very nice buck, congrats!
That is a great buck congratulations!
Beautiful buck.
Awesome buck and great story. Congratulations!
Awesome buck! Good job! :notworthy: :notworthy:
Great buck way to go!!!! :thumbsup:
Man thats a nice buck!
Awesome deer Joe. Glad you made it out of the house.
Just goes to show you can't shoot'em from the couch. Sweet deer.
Man nice buck. Congrats. Great looking dog too! I'd love to have one well I'd love to have that buck too!
Well done, Joe! :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Now, Ruby did OK, but if she would only retrieve.... :goldtooth:
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Great job !!
GLENN
Dandy buck Joe!!!!!Congrats!!!!!
I am curious, I hear alot about those dogs. A color blind guy like me could use one of those.
That is a stud! Great job!
Great buck!Good for you.
Nice Deer!!!
Thanks for the story.
Awesome buck Joe! :clapper:
BEAUTIFUL BUCK Joe! Congratulations on a Trophy Buck...Don and Skyler
Wow! That is a beast!!
Congratulations Joe - way to stick with it under poor conditions and make it pay off!
Absolutly terrific! What a buck, congratulations!!!
Way to go!!!!
How the heck did you pull that off? All my family back in PA keeps saying there "ain't no deer left".
:thumbsup:
Start clearing space on the wall!!! Congrats Joe
Awesome buck nice heavy rack!
CONGRATS ON A REALLY NICE BUCK!
Congratultions! Way to go Joe, Steve, and Ruby!
Claudia
Nice buck, congrats.
Beautiful buck my friend!
:thumbsup: :campfire: :archer:
WOW. What a nice buck. Congrats, you did good.
Thats awesome, congrats on a great buck!
WOW! Thanks for all the accolades!
QuoteGreat job. Was the trail easy to follow, or did you have to rely on that great looking dog?
It was a real easy tracking job! It took a total of 15 minutes to find the beast. Even after four hours of rain there was still plenty of obvious blood on the ground. We probably would have recovered it without Ruby but as you know in bowhunting you can never assume anything. Ruby was the insurance policy!
QuoteHow the heck did you pull that off? All my family back in PA keeps saying there "ain't no deer left".
Dave, it's true that there are less deer in Pa but the quality of the deer has risen dramatically. 10 years ago you would see 10 does for every four pointer or spike. The last year or two has been amazing, as it's not unusual to see several nice bucks at a time. Thanks to Gary Alt for finally putting together true deer management in Pa a few years back. We are finally starting to see the results.
Nice story. Motivates me to go out when the weather is nasty.
Charlie
That is one heck of a buck! Especially for PA! Way to go you should be very proud. They don't come along like that too often.