Well last year I finally pulled the trigger and bought a place of my own. After lots of research, comparisons, looking around etc. I settled on Northern Missouri and started seriously looking for a piece of ground. With lots of support from my wife I closed on a small farm (86 acres) early last November and became a "Landowner". I wouldn't get to hunt the place last year due to drawing an Iowa tag and spending my vacation time hunting up at Dad's place.
After of lots of planning, work, and travel (7 hour drive from home to the farm), along with some ups and downs including a visit from a local ne'r-do-well meth-head that broke into my cabin last summer, the first Fall Hunt on my own place finally rolled around.
I traveled out there on Halloween, and spent a wonderful first week of November ending up by shooting the first deer on my own place!
He's no monster - but there is something special about killing one on your own ground. This guy was pretty local, and I have a hundred or so pictures of him, mostly through the summer on a mineral lick......
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/setcam3_zpse90027fc.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/setcam2_zps3afbea67.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/setcam1_zps60a76d61.jpg)
Yeah, I'm one of "those guys" that doesn't bother to set the time/date stamp on the camera!
Notice the sticker burr points in front of the brow tines.
There was a buck or two around similar to him, a bit better, but I figured those deer had better future potential, so this was the deer I really wanted to kill given a chance. I figured him at 3 1/2 yrs old for sure.
Last Sunday morning (Nov 10) I was sitting on an oak ridge/old logging road that connects a thicket on the neighbors (70 yards away) to a hinge-cut section I made last spring that is about 2 acres and has already shown a lot of deer use. Around 7:30 a party broke out on the neighbor's with deer running, grunting, trees breaking, brush flying - sounded like a D-12 dozer going through the timber! Up the hill came a VERY harried looking doe with 3 bucks lined out behind her - all going like the devil was after them. The middle buck was grunting every time he hit the ground and was significantly bigger than the other two - as they passed me about 40 yards uphill I got the glasses on him and got a quick glimpse - there were the burr sticker points!
The party went on past and into the hinge cut area a hundred yards or so north of me - I couldn't see anything, but could hear them moving around and a grunt once in a while.
After about half an hour I heard a deer coming and here came the doe again - full tilt with her tounge hanging 6 inches out of her mouth - down the ridge and right under me....
I could hear brush crashing and grunting coming from behind, so I got ready and here he came - full blast. As he went into my shooting lane at 12 yards I yelled "Hey!" - no response. He entered my second lane an instant later and I yelled "HEY!" really loud - no response. He made about 3 more jumps then skidded to a halt with a funny look on his face - fortunately in an opening. As he paused for a couple seconds I let him have it and when he peeled out I could see about 6 inches of my arrow sticking out...placed a couple inches high, but right on....
Now it is time for oscar to track him down :)
Sounds great! Congrats. Looking for the picture with your hands around that ruttn buck.
Congrats on your first home grown buck Ryan. I hope your luck improves with all the other things an absenty land owner has to put up with.
And a hundred yards later....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/RyanRothhaar/2013MOBuck_zpsadaae2af.jpg)
I've been fooling around with a longbow some this year - shot him with my 63 lb/29 in Northern Mist Shelton string follow bow. I had Steve build it with the locator grip and 68 inches long (which is about 2 inches longer than I am) - and its a beauty - rosewood handle, black glass back and white belly. 2216 and a big Snuffer - pretty long shot for me at 23 yards. He was pretty stout - about 210 live wt - I'll be sending in a tooth for cementum analysis so it will be interesting to see if my age guesstimate is right.
I'm just tickled to kill a decent one on my own place!
Best of luck to all
R
great stuff ryan.
wow, what a difference the rut makes to their necks!
Ryan, awesome all around. NICE buck. Those NM sheltons are pretty special. BILL
Love the falls in the midwest...Great bow, great wool and one awesome specimen.
Steve makes a no frills working mans bow.
Very classy sir!
One question...Those core lams look a bit bright for American Elm. Bamboo?
~CB
Congrats!
NICE BUCK!
Congrats.
And isn't it amazing the summer buck vs. the fall buck. Looks like two different animals altogether. It's goes to show you what testosterone and good eatin' will do to a tail chaser....
Congrats on a great buck.........killed on your own place!
Bisch
Congratulations!! Thanks for sharing!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Chromebuck - bamboo - its a smooooth one!
R
Good for you....nice bow, nice deer and I bet we will see more from your place!! :thumbsup:
Very nice deer! Way to go Ryan! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Ryan, very nice buck for sure. Seems like the longbow is working for you rather well. Congratulations.
Shick
Nice deer Ryan! Congrats on a fine deer on your own ground. I became a landowner this year as well. I am so looking forward to doing what you did. Congrats!
Ryan,
Congrats on a nice buck, and on your farm! That sounds like it was a very exciting hunt!
It IS nice to take a deer on your own property, buck or doe, big or small, doesn't matter!!!
Beautiful buck and congrats!! Glad to see you close the deal on your property that's great!
Great job!!! Thanks for posting!! :thumbsup:
great deer and a well told story... thanks
Well done as usual fellow Hoosier!
Congrats on a great buck and from your own land makes it all the more special for sure. Man his neck is about twice as big as it was in the summer on the trail cam pic. :thumbsup:
He does it again - congrats
That is pretty cool Ryan.
Good for you bud!!
Always amazed at the transformation a buck makes from summer to fall...
Great story and pics! Congrats!
:archer:
Nice!!!
Nice buck, congratulations... :thumbsup:
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :archer:
nice buck Ryan, congratts! on your own place. :thumbsup:
Very nice deer, congrats.
Very cool! Congrats.
Great Ryan! congratulations man!
Nice buck!
Thats one good looking deer and a great story Ryan! Bet your heart was thumpin' big time with all that commotion!
Great buck!
Great job Ryan, as always! Congratulations on a beautiful buck from your own property. The bow was the first thing I noticed in your picture; I wondered if Jack Howard had made some long bows that I wasn't aware of, ha!
Beautiful buck Ryan! Congrates! :thumbsup:
Great buck Ryan!!
Nice job Ryan, them SNUFFERS is sweet!!!!!!!!!! :thumbsup:
Excellent job Ryan!!
Nice buck, congrats!
Nice buck!
Great job, Ryan. I am glad you were able to get your own place to hunt.
Nice job Ryan, there's something extra special about getting one on your own land.
-Jay
Congrats Ryan!!! Are you going to become a MO resident anytime soon?
Hah, pretty soon you will be cutting down trees there and making bows out of them for the complete landowner experience! Good for you buddy :thumbsup:
Well done Ryan! That first one on your own property is especially nice. Congratulations! :thumbsup:
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
Congrats on a fine buck and a great shot!
Great Buck Ryan, I'd say the first one on your own place is pretty Specail. Congrats!
Outstanding, Ryan! Congratulations!
Atta boy Ryan!!!!! Super good buck, and..........on your own place to boot. That's a great feeling, huh? Good luck here at home.
A place of your own......pure bliss.
Nice buck too.
Congrats :thumbsup:
Steve makes a sweet bow and you shoot some awesome buck! Congrats on taking him on your property. My first buck off land I owned was a huge thrill for me - albeit, no where near as nice as yours.
Congrats Ryan!
You're in for it now. Having and hunting your own land will be all you want to do, for a while at least. The interlopers (meth head) take some of the fun out of it, but hopefully that gets sorted out.
Congrats on the first from your own property, definitely special. Many more to come, no doubt.
That's really good stuff Ryan. The only surprising thing about it all is that 23 yards is a longshot for you. It is for me too so that makes me feel better!
23 yards is a par 3 for me! Great job Ryan...gotta love the no stand approach!
A very nice Special memory, congrats!
Yeah, Jon - I'm a "low and close" guy when it comes to shooting deer. I'm deadly at like 5 yards! Last year I killed 4 deer (buck and doe in Indiana and buck and doe in Iowa) and the total distance for all 4 ADDED TOGETHER was 22-23 yards.
R
huge congrats on an awesome buck Ryan. glad you put it all together and brought down a great buck on your own place. I know it makes it more special, because my dad bought some great property about five years ago, and before that...I had no real good place to hunt, and it is just so awesome knowing it is yours, and the deer are more special as well, great job!
Congrats Ryan! The Rothhaar Snuffer has put down 5 deer so far this year for my son and I.
Tell Katia and Oscar hello for us.
Seeing any good ones around your place in Indiana. I had my worst year ever in Indiana. My son saw a solid 180" at 50 yards, but as you know might as well been 500. EHD seems to have hit.
Great shooting. That must be one heck of a feeling to take a buck like that off your own place. Really cool. :thumbsup:
Great shooting Ryan!! You going back late season?
Terry - nothing here to shoot yet, plenty 1.5 and 2.5's around.
Bob - thanks, and congrats, I saw you got a nice one this year! Yeah, I'll be back out some later this year, not gonna shoot another buck unless its a pretty good one. Might or might not shoot a doe, didn't see a lot of them during the rut, but it will be interesting to see what shows up late on the cut beans, its the only ag field around.
R
That's a fine buck anywhere! Congrats
Nice deer and great story. I own 80 acres and when you kill one on your own place it really is special!
Congrats on another beautiful buck and a great hunt! :thumbsup:
Awesome Ryan!!
Congrats Ryan, Great Buck!