Hello Once Again,
This year brought three conditions together that I don't believe I have ever been able to hunt with. #1, we had a
new moon to minimize the activity at night. #2, the rut was in full swing, and #3, we had 20 degree weather! I
made the bold prediction Friday night that someone was going to shoot a big buck on Saturday. Little did I know that
I was going to be the lucky one.
Saturday morning dawned cold and frosty in the low 20s. Quite a change from the 70 degree days we have been experiencing
the past few years. Kyle was the first to spot some larger bucks while sitting in Northwest House Stand. The first
one was a nice 5x5 which he thinks is the one I shot a couple hours later. It entered an opening and began walking straight
towards his stand. At 100 yards, a doe passed through the opening behind the buck and the buck quickly turned and followed
her into the trees. Kyle didn't feel comfortable taking the shot and passed on it. That is not an easy thing to
do and he is already showing great respect towards the animals he hunts! I am proud of him for that. Shortly afterwards,
another nice 4x4 showed up for Kyle, but just across the west fence. It also moved south just like the last buck.
I was positioned in Powerlines Middle House Stand and soon saw both bucks pass through the powerlines. Both of the bucks
were on the other side of the fence and both continued towards the river and Con, who was sitting in the Southwest House Stand.
Around 10:15, Con saw a nice buck working his way back off the river and back to the north. He was unable to get a shot
as it quickly melted into the trees. It continued towards my stand. At 10:30, I was watching 5 antlerless about
350 yards to the east of me in the powerlines. All of a sudden, this large 5x5 that I had seen earlier in the morning
across the fence pops out of the trees and into the powerlines 130 yards east of me. He spots the 5 antlerless and immediately
begins watching them. I try to bleat and grunt at him to get him to turn his head, but he will not look away from the
does. Finally, he turns and trots towards the trees. I had about 2 seconds to make my decision. I saw
that he was a 5 pointer and had tall tines, so I squeezed the trigger as he stepped into the brush. He kicked and jumped
into the trees. He left a carpet of red for about 60 yards and expired within seconds. He is my largest deer I
have ever shot and is our new #1 at the lodge. He gross scores 139 3/8 and nets out at 136 2/8.
On Sunday, Bob shot a nice 4x4 that netted out at 117+. He shot this off of the South Channel where he has permission
to hunt. This is one of his largest that he has ever shot. Koz shot a "Loup River" 4x4 over on his ground on Sunday
morning.
Con and Jay did not see much activity on Monday or Tuesday. Con, Jay, and Kyle returned to hunt on Friday.
Once again, no large bucks were sighted. On Saturday morning, Kyle spotted a 3-legged doe out of Northwest House Stand.
Since we needed one more deer for our winter's meat, he took the opportunity to harvest her. I had seen this same deer
two years ago out of Southwest House Stand. At 7:15 on Saturday morning, Luke filled his permit with a small spike east
of Silver Creek. We nicknamed his buck "toothpick" in honor of his antlers. Mark finished off the season with
a doe off of the Loup River. We ended the season on Sunday by everyone staying in camp and helping clean the three deer.
A few interesting tidbits. . . .of our Top 10 Deer that we have harvested on our property:
#1, #2, #5, #6, and #8 have been shot on Opening Day;
#9 and #10 were shot on Sunday morning;
#7 was shot on Monday;
#4 was shot on Tuesday;
And #3 was shot on Thursday;
None were shot the last weekend of the season;
70% of the Top 10 Deer were shot in the first day and a half of the season;
All were shot in the morning except for #3 and #8;
And by the way. . . #11 was also an opening day morning buck.
Click here for the pictures.
