I've never been one to pick a particular deer and stay after him all season.  I'm not a big trail camera guy and still don't own one.  I rarely spend any time glassing fields in the summer and often let the cards fall where they may when the season opens. I guess I would refer to myself as an opportunist, whose "big buck" pursuit dwindles a little bit each day into the season.  I will say, I do start off each year with great intentions..... but a trophy hunter I'm not.

This year I promised I'd do things a little different.  I wasn't sure what exactly that different would be, but I would know soon enough.  I believe the day was October 7 when my big plan came together.  I sat a stand on one of my farms that I refer to as the swamp stand.  Not a real original name and not really a swamp, just a low, kind of wet area thats been pretty darn good to me over the years.  It was an evening sit and one that I would remember over and over for many weeks to come.

   

Keep it coming!  

I like to hunt edges..... edges of fields, swamps, thickets, brush piles.  You know what I mean, stuff that funnels deer my way.  The swamp stand is basically the edge of an alfalfa field, the edge of a swamp and the edge of a briar patch.  It just a place deer feel comfortable before they walk out to feed.  The area 50 yards above me is thick, real thick.  One of those places that just tear you and your clothes all to hell if you even think of walking in.  That area I refer to as the "no fly zone"!  No one goes in there for any reason but to recover a deer.  That's their safety zone, and the reason it holds deer all season long.

Half an hour before sunset I had a couple does work their way out of the thick stuff into a small strip of alfalfa that leads to the big field.  It was early October and everyone was relaxed and enjoying the cool night.  A few minutes later a pair of young bucks joined the ladies.  The young guys would browse a bit and look back, browse and look.  Not long after a beauty of a buck steps out.....

I understand that some folks like white racks, some like wide racks and some like high racks.  I for one love dark color phases in my antlers.  Deep dark chestnut bases with lighter tips.   I'm also a sucker for perfect symmetry and that's exactly what this guy had.  In my eyes he was what I was looking for and believe me, he was one good looking deer.  

He also sported one characteristic that I have yet to add to my photo album and that was 10 points.  Yes my friends, he was a perfect 5x5 and something I've been on a quest to tag for many years.

It's about time you put something up!  

That's the night I talked myself into hunting one particular deer.  I'm not saying I wouldn't entertain others but I really wanted a crack at this guy.  

For those that didn't notice, I live in Pennsylvania..... land of a million hunters, land of the trespassers and land of the crossbows.  Deer, even with restrictions rarely reach quality caliber.  So saying that you're going to hunt one buck, and that particular buck being a nice one, is setting the bar pretty darn high.  I never realized how my passion for this deer would grow as the season progressed.

   

Still waiting.

   

That first night ended without much excitement.  I snort wheezed at him once, he acknowledged my presence and walked out into the field to feed.  I sat there in the dark letting him melt away into the field as I conjured up my plan.          

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Congrats, Tim! Now finish the dang story!!
Jed

Tuned in here

October 12, 2015 -  Sighting number 2!

We had an east wind that night and the top stand is the only place to hunt a wind of that direction.  It was a great night with a stream of does and young ones filtering by.  I had a doe tag in my pocket but I promised to leave them be, not wanting to leave any more scent than necessary in the area.  At dark I slipped down the tree and out to the edge of the alfalfa.  150 yards down into the field I saw my buck feeding contently.   Nice....he's still on the property!    


I hunted the farm here and there for the next two weeks, carefully playing the wind.  Deer activity was not bad, but not great.  Where I had been seeing 15 does, I was now seeing only a few.  I was careful not to over hunt any spot and spent quite a bit of time on some of my other properties shooting a couple doe for the freezer.  

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I'm sorry Jed....it's just my nature to draw you in!!!              


I sat the farm several more times over the next few weeks.  He was gone or at least he appeared to be.  

The farm I'm hunting is 50 acres with about 20 of those acres being half hearted woods, no oaks or beech trees, mostly maples, green briar and walnuts.  The deer are there because for the alfalfa and the security the area provides.    

November 3, 2015..........my third sighting.

I slipped into a new stand that had some decent cover along with some scrape activity.  It wasn't too far from the property owners barn and had a neat eerie feeling.  Some high grass, white pines and again a real nice edge.

I had my stand facing down towards the alfalfa field.  I planned to let the deer walk past me, providing a good shot angle as they moved through.  Again, I passed on a few does hoping he would be along.

I'm not sure whether I heard something or just felt a presence but I looked over my shoulder to find "him" slipping quietly past at 20 yards tending a doe.  He had no urgency to his pace.  She'd move, and than he'd move.  He was one smooth dude....

I let him get 30 yards away and gave a soft snort wheeze.  Again he acknowledged my presence and than melted away.

Here's a picture of the area I was hunting.

 

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Tim, you keep stretching this out and I will have our mutual Italian friend send his leg breakers!

TAP TAP SIGH SIGH TAP TAP. BEING A TYPE A PERSONALITY IS REALLY TOUGH SOMETIMES.

Not long after our encounter I took a break from PA and headed to Kansas.  My time away gave the farm a nice chance to calm down and allowed the bucks to do their thing.  Ten days later I would be back in the game with a new plan and high hopes.  

I was back on the farm November 18th.   I still had some time to catch the bucks moving but again, he was gone.  I was careful not to over hunt, but persistent.  Most of the doe where locked down and all I saw night after night where small bucks looking for love.  

This is when I really started to have some lows.  I had logged in 60 sits so far this year between Colorado, Kansas and PA.  It had been a year of "almosts".....and frankly it was getting old.  I'm very picky on which I shots I take and it just seemed like I had a black cloud over my head and this silly quest to kill a "certain" buck was constantly on my mind.  

December 11, 2015..........Sighting #4                

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Sighting #4 was just last night.  I caught a glimpse of what I thought was my buck a good 150 yards away.  I only saw him for a second and he was gone.  What he did give me was his secret.  That secret would cost him dearly in the morning.

The rest of the evening I sat quietly as 3 young bucks walked past me.  I climbed down at dark with good intentions for the morning.

It's gun season here in PA, so my choices of where I hunt and if I hunt are based on my daughters work schedule.  I knew she was off in the morning but I wasn't sure if she'd want to get up early.  As is played out she slept in and I was on my own.  

The buck had made a big mistake the night before showing himself just prior to dark.  I knew if he was left alone all night he would most likely be looking to bed in the same vicinity in the morning.  I planned to come in from a neighboring property and catch him in route.  

I slipped into my stand a good 30 minutes before shooting light.  I didn't have a stand hung, so I took my climber along, finding a tree not 20 yards from the edge of bedding area.  I felt this would be his travel route back down, knowing he would want to take full advantage of the morning thermals coming up the hill.

I had only been sitting for 15 minutes when I saw a shadow move 40 yards out in front of me.  I slowly brought up my binoculars.  It was him!!!  He was standing perfectly still, nose in the air.  It was still very dark and my thoughts of this thing playing out were not very good.  

15 minutes had passed and he had not moved an inch.  He just stood there staring in my direction.  Another 5 minutes passed and I noticed two more shadows to his right.  Not 15 yards in front of him were two does.

No one was moving, just standing and staring.....

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