Trad Gang

I just had two great days of big buck encounters. Our late season kicked in Monday morning so I can now hunt with my bow again. As most of you know, I'm pretty selective in what I shoot at. No buck tag punched yet this year. I've had a super season with lots of big bucks sighted, great video footage, passed up some that would make some people break out in a cold sweat and had close encounters with some real studs. Monday started slow. About 3pm I had a 140" class 4x4 step out of some cedars to bed down in a grassy area where the snow had melted about 125 yards from me. He laid there for a few minutes before jumping up. Four more bucks emerged right next to him. A December bachelor group of one forkie, two 2 1/2 year old 4x4s and a 150 class 5x5. The two biggest sparred a bit before they all walked back into the woods. It was a good show. At 4:30pm, a buck I named Chester (after the Gunsmoke dude) walked up the drainage to the south. He has one big antler on the left and a freak antler on the right. Very unique deer. When he looked like he was moving up the wrong drainage, I wheezed. He immediately looked at me, walked over to a tree and thrashed the overhead branch, then made a scrape that made the snow fly. I filmed it. When he finished, I wheezed again. He had to cross an old fence to get to me and showed his laziness and age by hesitating. About that time, a doe hoped the fence and walked right to me, passing me at 15 yards followed by her yearling not far behind. He then hopped the fence but paralleled her and walked past me at about 35 yards. Too far for this guy. I just rolled more film. Yesterday started slowly too. Not much movement in the morning. About noon I had to go into town. When I got back, I discovered a flat tire and had to go back in. Figured I better get it fixed before the holidays. It caused me to run way late. We had a big weather front rolling in and were supposed to have a rare east wind. I wanted to hunt a stand we call Ringside where Barry and I witnessed a wicked buck fight two years ago. I haven't sat Ringside but once in two years due to the rare east winds there. The stand sits on a hillside with a drainage header right in front of it that funnels deer movement. Several runs converge right there. The stand is in a giant heavily limbed red oak that needs a ten foot chain extension. When I got there at almost 3pm, I discovered the wind was out of the NE, not the east, which was bad news for one of the sidehill runs but fine for the others. A half hour later, several does walked downwind to the right of me and nailed me but luckily they just ran back down and didn't snort. A few minutes later I heard footsteps in the crunchy snow that turned out to be a very nice 5x5 buck that needed one more year. I passed him at 14 yards or so but got great video footage. He sniffed a tree for a couple seconds. I thought I was going to film him rubbing the tree but he changed his mind before moving off. As light started to dwindle, I saw moved in the cedars to my left. Out stepped and VERY massive old 5X4 buck. I had a hard time passing this buck up two years ago, and here he was two years older and even bigger. Incredible mass. His bases are like pop cans. His photo is on page 159 of my new book. He walked the run right to me but stopped at 16 or 17 yards, offering nothing but a frontal shot. Then a doe walked up the hill behind him and he did a 180 to follow her, again offering no shot. So close. As light began to fade, again I saw movement in the cedars. Out stepped Hurley, the same buck Barry was hunting over a half mile away in November. He is a grand old NT buck. He too did the slow walk right to me but for whatever reason stopped at the exact same spot on the trail at 16 or 17 yards and offered only a frontal shot. He stood there for what seemed like forever, not jumpy, just cautious. I really don't think he saw me nor smelled me, as I had good cover and a perfect wind. It kept getting darker by the minute. Finally shooting light passed and he still stood there until I could just see his form. About that time, what appeared to be a doe and yearling (one bigger body followed by a small body) walked up the hill behind me and eventually hit my vapor trail. She snorted once and it was all over. I climbed down and got out of there quietly. I really don't think he was spooked that bad so I'm anxious to see if we get a rare wind again starting this weekend. Time will tell. Anything from SE to NE will work. I'll see if my buddy Steve can post some pix for me. Stay tuned. Merry Christmas to one and all on this great site.

Great story... thanks for sharing an amazing sequence.  

Uh...I saw 2 does, two doe fawns, and two button bucks last evening.  It was a good time, but didn't carry quite the same thrill factor!!

Go get 'em, Gene.  Here's to East winds!

Man do I love big bucks, that gets me all fired up, can't wait till next year. Love the snort wheeze, have had some very good success with that call. Sounds like one of those magical nights in the woods, love it, thanks for sharing.

Boy... I sure hope he doesn't get Hurly after I missed him. I'll never hear the end of it. 8^) BW

Thank you for sharing with us.
God bless and Merry Christmas
Mudd

Great action,  Thanks for sharing. Good Luck the rest of the late season.

I think you're just afraid you're gonna mmmmmiss........

Just love this "game"!  Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas to you also.

Thanks for sharing, Happy Holidays!! Big Ed

Thanks for sharing Gene. Keep us posted. Good luck!

Nice to know other just come close to.

Good luck Gene, thanks for sharing your hunts.

WoW, Gene, that sounds like an incredible evening of just plain old deer hunting fun. Thanks for making me feel like I was there with you....have a great Xmas and good luck this weekend.

Wow!  That is an incredible couple of days.  For most of us that many encounters with big boys would be a pretty incredible decade!
Sounds like your on 'em.  Good luckk closing the deal.

Looking forward to seeing the pics.. Thanks for telling us the story. Getting close is just "fun"!

Great story wish I had one to tell.Merry Christmas

Seems like Christmas came a couple days early! Congratulations on setting up for such great encounters.

I wish all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Barry- you mean just like Woody?

Thanks for sharing Gene! Merry Christmas!

Thanks for sharing...

With all the great footage, it`s just a matter of time before there is another great DVD similar to Primal Dreams...right?  :D

Thanks for taking me along.

Love the detail and excitement of the story.  Thanks for sharing and good huntin'.

Thanks for sharing---Ahhh the East wind, still trying to figure out how to hunt that! It typically means I sleep in in the morning  :)

Sorry for the delay gents.  These were coming in from the Godfather late, late last night.  Santa comes to our house early, so we had to get our gifts ready for the kids too and we've just gone thru all the excitement of Christmas morning.  Tomorrow is a day full of family commitments, so today is the fun day!

Uncle Barry, you may be the kindest, most thoughtful brother out there.  Who else would pattern a burly buck like Hurley all season to leave him for his brother   :D  

The famous "empty ladder stand" picture:


(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/Wensel%20Photos/HurleyEmpty.jpg)

Here is a photo from 2007 of the 5x4:


 (http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/Wensel%20Photos/20075x4.jpg)


And  THIS photo from August shows why someone could slightly, possibly, may be in their right mind to pass up a buck like that one above:


 (http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/Wensel%20Photos/Massive5x4August.jpg)

Good Luck Gene, If you get Hurley are you gonna let Barry keep the mount at his house? That would be funny...

Good read. Thanks for sharing.  Merry Christmas  Joe

And now we have "Chester".  For some reason, I think this is the one Gene wants.  Out of all the great bucks he's seen this year, he talks about Chester the most.  I think he'd take him over Hurley!


Chester in November:
 (http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/Wensel%20Photos/ChesterinNov.jpg)


Chester "posing" for Gene Tuesday:
 (http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/Wensel%20Photos/Chester122210no2.jpg)


My favorite; this really adds life to the story Gene tells of what seems to be his favorite stand this year:
 (http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/Wensel%20Photos/Chester122210no1.jpg)


Now, enough looking!  After Christmas it is going to get cold and these big boys might start dropping their headgear.  Time to let the string drop and send the Woodsman on the way!

Nothing BUT east winds here in Northcentral Iowa.  Saw 15 racked bucks on Tuesday night.  3 good 'uns and 6 up and comers.
A couple of does took a pounding that night.
 Merry Christmas!
 Gene Hall

"Hearing" stories like that is one of the rare times I almost feel I live too far north! Thanks for sharing.

THANKS!!

You guys are in whitetail Mecca!  Love the stories.

Merry Christmas and the best of the new year to you and your families.

Looks like you had a great hunt Gene! Thanks for sharing, we love reading about your adventures.

How often do you shoot does in your area?

Merry Christmas!

Nice story, Thanks for sharing.

Hey Gene, thanks for sharing your stories with us.  I hope you come back online and report on which one you killed.  Best of luck!

Great story Gene, thanks for taking us on the journey...

I accidentally put this one in with Chester...close but bad angle and another great buck doesn't know how lucky he is!
 (http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/Wensel%20Photos/10pt122209no1.jpg)

Thanks for sharing with us, you write a great story.

Thanks for the story Gene!  And thanks for the pictures Steve.

I'm thinking you're gonna have a couple days of southeast winds coming up right now.  I saw the radar loop today talking about the coming snow storm and it was all out of the southeast.  As the arctic temps come down and the storm moves east, we might get more east/northeast winds from the counter clockwise rotation.  Hope it all works out!!!

Gene, thanks so much for the story. I sure would like to hear more. Merry Christmas to everyone!

Craig

Not a bad tale for an old fart!
Thanks for sharing gets one motivated a bit Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Thanks for the great story Gene....ain't seen a deer the last 6 times out...so I need the encouragement.

Very cool story and pics!!! You know it is going to be good when Gene Wensel has a thread titled "Incredible 2 days of big bucks".  :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:

Wow another great story and awesome pics..

Great story Gene, looking forward to the rest of the story soon, Good Luck and A very Merry Christmas to you and Barry and family. Mark  :)

Gene- That black buck you guys were after should show up great against a snow-white background. What ever happened to him? Mike

I would be very happy with Chester!!!
Thanks, gene.

Ya I've been wondering the same thing as Mike. Good luck on the rest of the season Gene.

As always, a good read...

Tell us more !!

                   PB

PS: Biggie, I didn't think Gene ever mmmmissed!

Mike, Tyrone got blasted a mile from where the pics were taken. Such a shame, a buck like that deserves an arrow instead of a hunk of lead..

Biggie: No.. Tyrone got killed apparently fair and square by a N/R bowhunter from VA. A big 6x6 moved into the area we were hunting him the first of November and pushed him out, a mile in the wrong direction. The bowhunter apparently had no idea what he shot. He said to the landowners son, "He's kinda dark." The landowner's son said, "DARK? DARK? the SOB is BLACK!" Ha. BW

I know Gene has hard-horn photos of Tyrone, but I like this one. Gene or barry never saw him this year due to too much standing corn, and apparently he headed for "the dark timber!" Mike
  (http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff289/MittenM/hero/034.jpg)

Gene, with late season action like that, I have no doubt you will seal the deal on a beautiful buck!  Barry arent you able to hunt again now?  These stories are great.  I normally print them out and save them in my folder called "memories"  Please keep us posted.  These stories help keep the fire lit in all whitetail enthusiasts!

Great pictures. Thanks for sharing the stories.

Barry, Well I feel a LITTLE bit better about it then....guess I was thinking of the unicorn buck..

I anxious to hear the rest of the story in a few more days.....  Thanks Gene for sharing.

To anyone on this thread.. How many deer like Tyrone have you ever seen or even heard about?

Gene , I think I was in the same situation once. Then the damn alarm went off and woke me up. LOL
Keep those stories coming and good luck .
Bob

Jon: Just to answer your question, yes I can still shoot another buck with the bow on my muzzleloader tag (I don't own a ML) but we only take one buck each per season from that farm. My prediction is Gene will get a nice one before the end of season... if he chooses. BW

I've never seen a melanistic (black) buck, but I've read that they are even more rare than albinos. And the guy didn't even know what he'd shot!

John3- The melanistic buck that Gene and Barry saw is more rare than an albino. They saw him and passed him up for a few years. This year he was 4 1/2 and after he showed up on some of the late summer set camera photos, he's all Gene thought and talked about. But once the season started, Tyrone proved just how hard it is to hunt for only one buck. Odds go to the buck! Ha!
I'm glad they captured video footage of him in his younger years to be shared with all in our next production. Rumor has it a black doe has been seen. Stay tuned! Mike

we've got a melanistic doe on our place in SC as well....she stands out at least as much as a white deer would- you can see her coming a 1/2 mile away sometimes.

Really cool. I'm hoping she drops some little bucks for us.

"Woody" "Tyrone" "Hurley"

Who names these things?

Good story. good luck on getting him.
Dave

I knew the Tyrone type whitetail must be rare as rare can be. Until I read Gene's book I cant remember ever hearing about a melanistic deer. COOL !!

If a doe exists I would let her walk hoping for another Tyrone buck in a few years.

John III

Wow, thanks for the stories uncle Gene.  I cant imagine the feeling going in to sit those stands...just knowin what might show up at any minute.  Good luck the rest of the way.

Thanks Gene. Sounds very promising, good lick, our season is over until 2010, I'll live my post season through you and others exploits until then!

That's it, I'm moving to Iowa in the morning!

I flat out love hunting and love hearing about other's experiences in hunting even more!  Merry Christmas!

Great story so far

jer Bear

Outstanding pictures of some great deer!!

Thanks so much for sharing this story and all the others over the years.

Merry Christmas to all!

I sure hope this thread has a Happy Ending!

Merry Christmas Fella's

What Marty said   :pray:

I always get excited when i see a post on here with Wensel out beside it.

Oh, gotcha Barry.  Well good luck to the both of you and let us know how it goes!

Thanks for sharing -- glad to hear some positive hunts it has been very depressing in Wisconsin the DNR / preditors ( wolves, now cougars)have really depleted our deer density. Unfortunately our DNR feels the perfect deer density for our state is one deer per 40 acres of huntable land. The good news for our neighboring states is it should be a wind fall in the economy as we travel to enjoy our love of quality hunting. Please share more positive stories the hunters in Wisconsin can use the hope of better things to come!!!

Always good to hear whats going on in Wensel land.

Well dang.... I'm a little bummed about Tyron.   :(   I was really pulling for you Gene. It would have been cool to have the hero picture of the two of you in the Highlights section of this site.

There went my Christmas.   :rolleyes:  

Soooo...    :saywhat:   is Hurly fair game?

Enjoying the read.  Can only dream.  The storm that just left here should help keep the deer moving.  Rightminded

Thanks for the Story and Steve thanks for the pics!!

Thanks for sharing. Waiting for 'the rest of the story'.    :campfire:

Thats why i love bowhunting,you never know what might happen.Great story gene and i hope you get that shot your looking for.Looking forward to seeing pics.  :thumbsup:

I always enjoy the great stories and Gene is one of the best tellers around.  Looking forward to hearing the rest and seeing the two brothers at the Kalamazoo show.

My new hardback book, "Once Upon A Tine" is 350 pages of Wensel bowhunting stories. It's finally finished and is due to be sent to me via commercial trucking tomorrow morning (12/28). They couldn't tell me the exact delivery time here but I have the envelopes all addressed and I'll be mailing them out immediately when they get here. Thank you all for your patience in this delayed printing. Happy New Year to all. BW

Hey, Barry, Love both you guys' writing and photos. Whose idea was the ad for Biggie hammock in the PBS magazine. Laughed myself silly

Can't wait to see the next movie!

Great stuff guys. Thanks for sharing.

Hey Barry, I'm sure your book is going to be well worth the wait.  The both of you are so informative from all your experience combined that it is hard for some to comprehend.  Can't wait to get your book and to see you guys at the show in Michigan.

Thanks for sharing Gene and Barry. I haven't seen a live deer in December in Ontario. I will get copies of your books in Kzoo in January as long as the weather is okay to drive. 5hours. Take care and have a Happy New Year.  :archer:

Great story, thanks for sharing

Gene,
Great story, keep us posted.

thats another amazing story

thats another amazing story Gene, also kinda nice to read about someone else missing, sorry Barry. Have a happy new year.

Incredible and depressing! Most in my home area wont let a 1.5 year old walk much less those bruisers.
Thanks for sharing the excitement of your hunt so vividly.Thank you to the gentlemen who posted the pictures!
Magnificent animals!

I remember some years ago telling the boys that I was psyched to get out the next day or two here in Nebraska, because as I put it, I had the feeling that "today might be the day."

And one of the twins responded with, "EVERY day is the day in Iowa."  

Ha, there are some people you just can't take for granted, aren't there?   :)

Well, I pretty much called it a wrap for bucks this season as of yesterday afternoon. We are experiencing brutally cold temps with chill factors well below zero daily now, with not much relief in the forecast. I sat for two to three hours at a time before I felt what I suspected as being rigor mortis starting to set in. Between icy stands, drifting snow on top of what we already have, shelf ice crossing creeks, frigid temps, lots of bucks shedding their antlers, lots of standing corn, frozen trail cameras and camcorders, fogging optics, hard to start vehicles, etc. it kind of took a bit of the fun out of it for me. Its been a very memorable season with lots of fun, many close encounters, some very nice bucks passed up, great camcorder footage and trail camera photos. I'm already looking forward to October 2010. Plus I still have several doe tags left to put some meat in the freezer when and if this cold spell passes next week. I picked up another fresh shed five point antler the day after Christmas. The buck had kicked it off rather than waiting for it to shed normally. Almost an inch of his skull plate came off with the antler. According to sightings and trail cam pics, I would say about 30% of our bucks already shed at least one antler by New Years....even year and a half old bucks. They seem to be shedding much earlier than they used to only a decade or so ago, I suspect due to stress from the cold compounded by better sex ratios and age structure in the herds with lots of competition among bucks. I did pass up another really nice buck day before yesterday. I had a hard time letting him walk past me at fifteen yards this late in the game. He was a mature buck but just fell short of my 160" minimum for this season. Gray muzzle with a dark forehead. I'll have Steve O. post a photo, as I had a camera on the trail right by my stand. It was interesting how he happened by. I heard a deer snort from almost 300 yards upwind of me in some open CRP. I glassed to find a nice buck snorting at my pickup truck. He had walked up a ridge and bumped right into my parking spot. He snorted twice and then ran right to me. So much for strategy! He slowed to a fast walk after a hundred yards or so and then walked even slower as a doe appeared from a draw he went into. He actually walked right past the doe and continued on toward the gap above the header where I was sitting. Like I said, it was a tough call but I can live with it. And so can he :>) There is still a lot of satisfaction involved for me in passing up nice bucks for one reason or another. According to the trail cameras, there has been a lot of nocturnal activity with the full moon this last week. The hours around dusk and dawn saw most movement. This has been one of my best seasons. When you hunt with a recurve bow, limit shots to inside the 25 yard line, shoot only at 160" class mature bucks, etc. I suspect one can expect to eat a buck tag or two no matter how hard you try. As a wise man once said, the satisfaction is all in the journey. Happy New Year folks!

" the satisfaction is all in the journey" Amen brother!

Superb post, Gene...

Great stuff Gene

Jer Bear

Here you go my very, VERY picky friend...


(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/Wensel%20Photos/GeneFishookDec.jpg)

How far away was the stand with you in it in that picture???  15 yards?  


Here is a picture of the same buck from October:


(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/Wensel%20Photos/GeneFishookOct.jpg)

Gene,

Please visit this sight:  www.LaserEyeCenter.com (http://www.lasereyecenter.com)

8^)

I know you guys are in a different realm than most of us but...seriously...you guys need help.  Theres something wrong with you passing on that buck.  Maybe a "sports psychiatrist"???  :bigsmyl:
Are you positive you grew up in Vermont???  :D  
Seriously Gene, thanks for the stories of your season.  Awesome read.

If you can pass up a buck like that, then you are there truely for the love of the hunt.

Good luck on taking some does. I hope the weather becomes a bit more mild for you first.  ;)   It`s the dang wind that will get ya!

Here`s to October 2010!!!  :thumbsup:  

Thanks for the play by play!

Very nice!  That buck will be a monster next year!

I believe that buck has a smirk on his facing, knowing full well that he falls short of your minimums. Next year, he won't be quite so smug...or cooperative. Can't wait to see who's wearing the smirk next year. Thanks for sharing the adventures.

Awesome story Gene.  I enjoyed reading all of it.  Those are some great bucks.    Makes me want to get back to Iowa....

Great story Gene...thanks for taking us along with you. Any idea when the next video will be comimg out. Worn out 2 copies of Primal Dreams...the greatest movie ever made.

Any sign of Hurly lately?

Bryan

Great read Gene.  I have to agree that this season was one of the best season for close encounters for I as well.  Better luck next year and I look forward to seeing you and your better half at the show this month in Michigan. Thanks once again, Dave.

I'm not going to say "Better luck next year" because you and Barry probably have long since quit the numbers game and have gone to the personal satisfaction element.

I'd like to know, from the game cam pictures you gather during the year, how many bucks you photograph would make it as bucks you would kill?

Mark........anything broadside, over 160" class, preferably 5 1/2 years old and inside the 20 yard line. Unless he is slightly smaller with a bad attitude or a really cool face :>)

Gene, that deer will scare 160 gross this year.

I suspect if he was a mainframe 5 * 5 his face may have looked a little "cooler" to you as well.

He'll be a dandy next year.

Mike  :notworthy:

Great stuff!!
Bucks of that magnitude seem foreign and weird to me. I would probably stare in awe and forget I even have a bow in hand.   :bigsmyl:

Gene- fess up- I think you have target panic so bad that you can't pull the string! Remember John Vargo when he couldn't do it? He switched to left hand shooting and it worked! Give him a call- maybe it'll work for you. If not -just make a video for the rest of us to enjoy.

Three Tradgang members have made me appointments with Dr. Phil....

Gene,

How about another book Come December, the later
years why I can't  do it anymore. Just kidding,
great stories, and pictures. Hope they survive
the winter so you can show us thier later years.
Good luck

Amazing, simply amazing!

Gene, passing that buck is truly a testament to your success as a whitetail bowhunter!

Congratulations!

I check out this thread every time I fire up the computer.  Thanks for taking us along Gene.  See you Nashville in March.  Jeff Harper

Nice buck - and he'll be a dandy next year!  I reckon I'll see you and the bearded one (Barry -beard; Gene - unshaven..right?) at KZoo "pressing the flesh" if the blizzard holds off this year.  I'll bring you a picture of the Old Man's rotator cuff recovery buck...he shot a 181 inch non-typical right before the shotgun season with his 42lb therapy bow.  I suppose he'll eat his other 2 tags unless he goes after a cull buck here late season.

later

Ryan

Damn Geno...You are a stud! Great story(s)!

Your still my hero.

Peter

"he'll be a dandy next year"....boys, that buck is beyond a dandy this year! Now I want to hear about Mr. Rothhaar's rotator recovery buck! And see pics.

Gene's thinking is flawed....see, I'm gonna draw a tag next year and I have a stand less than 100 yards from where that pic was taken  8-)

:notworthy:    :notworthy:    :notworthy:

Gene,
You and Barry are the coolest, Thanks for sharing.

Wish we had mentors like you both back here in PA.

If you cut off 9 of that deers points and cut him loose here in NC he still wouldn't have a chance.These boys here just won't let em walk long enough to get big,dissapointing when you are one of the few that do.Glad to see they live long enough somewhere.Good luck fellas.

Gene- The last buck you passed up looks like Hurley's father. Same genetics! Mike

Great stories and pictures. Definitely would take some self control to pass up a nice buck at the end of the season. Seems unusual so many are dropping antlers before Jan. I guess the only way they feel safe walking around is with one antler, when you two are in the woods. Barry

Come on Ryan, you gotta show us the pics of that one!

Mike
I think your right he looks an awful lot like Hurly, id say same genetic line too...Awesome  Gene and Barry seems like hunting heaven out there love reading the stories !