sn.outdoors
Well-known member
Damn you got some ugly feet! 
Average Joe's 2020
- Thread starter sn.outdoors
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I'll post about Kansas tonight!
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After Iowa I made my way to Kansas. My friend has been sending me pictures of the bucks from the farms all season so I was SUPER antsy. We had the most bucks running around that we had ever seen and there were some dandys!
Unfortunately for the first couple days we had very intense south winds bringing in warm temps and preventing us from sitting areas near some of the bigger deer.
I saw lots of deer and passed on a few.
Unfortunately for the first couple days we had very intense south winds bringing in warm temps and preventing us from sitting areas near some of the bigger deer.
I saw lots of deer and passed on a few.
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Then on November 10th my luck changed.
Overnight we got some nice cool winds in from the north and dropped temps about 35 degrees from the high the day before.
How was my first chance to sit an area that help a buck I was super eager to see and hopefully shoot. What’s crazy is we had many bigger bucks running around this year, but one buck had my attention the whole off season. In that area we have two stands we can sit. I picked the one that my gut felt was right and went in.
Legal shooting was at approx 6:30 and look who came walking in at 7:10 behind 4 does....
14 yard shot from a ladder stand....
I can’t even begin to tell you the level of shot shock I went into after this all went down.
I have to be perfectly honest I didn’t know it was him at first. I was glassing into some thick creek bottom and saw 4 does and a buck coming my way. All I could tell when I saw the horns was that he was a shooter. So I instantly went to kill mode checklist instead of watching head gear. The buck came into me 14 yards and I pulled the shot a little and ended up spineing him. I sent two more arrows as fast as I could from the stand, then climbed down to make sure I didn’t need to put in another. When I walked up to it I saw the bucks brows and knew who it was. He was dead and I was hit with such an overload that I actually climbed back up my ladder stand and sat there because I didn’t believe I had killed him!
I even called my buddy and told him to come down with the ranger. I was too scared to get down because I was in shock, haha
Overnight we got some nice cool winds in from the north and dropped temps about 35 degrees from the high the day before.
How was my first chance to sit an area that help a buck I was super eager to see and hopefully shoot. What’s crazy is we had many bigger bucks running around this year, but one buck had my attention the whole off season. In that area we have two stands we can sit. I picked the one that my gut felt was right and went in.
Legal shooting was at approx 6:30 and look who came walking in at 7:10 behind 4 does....
14 yard shot from a ladder stand....
I can’t even begin to tell you the level of shot shock I went into after this all went down.
I have to be perfectly honest I didn’t know it was him at first. I was glassing into some thick creek bottom and saw 4 does and a buck coming my way. All I could tell when I saw the horns was that he was a shooter. So I instantly went to kill mode checklist instead of watching head gear. The buck came into me 14 yards and I pulled the shot a little and ended up spineing him. I sent two more arrows as fast as I could from the stand, then climbed down to make sure I didn’t need to put in another. When I walked up to it I saw the bucks brows and knew who it was. He was dead and I was hit with such an overload that I actually climbed back up my ladder stand and sat there because I didn’t believe I had killed him!
I even called my buddy and told him to come down with the ranger. I was too scared to get down because I was in shock, haha
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Here is a picture of the buck from last season.
We weren’t sure what the hole was from and if he was going to make it, but I think it’s from him being a fighter. If you look at one of the pictures above, you’ll see he has a flesh wound on his neck. That’s from fighting.
Tell me those pictures wouldn’t have you losing sleep at night over the summer waiting for the season. He’s such a beautiful buck!
To date this is now my largest archery buck!
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After I filled my tag I wanted to stay off some of the properties so our other friend could fill his buck tag. No reason for me to shoot a doe when he still needed them around!
Well the following day my buddy killed a buck.
Here is something kind of funny and we all know this NEVER happens.... but in a weird way both my friend and I “Babe Ruthed” our bucks.
Meaning I said “the only buck I’d love to kill is the tight 10.”
Well my buddy said something while we were hanging mine up “I’d love to kill a big mature 8.”
Well look what he did
Well check out this old lug
This guy had a super large body that dwarfed his 142” rack. Old gray face, hardly any teeth, and just ragged.
What was crazy is the buck was all wallowed up and covered in mud like an elk. Both of his eyes were also full of puss and was probably sick. (Might explain why he was wallowing to cool down)
He also had hardly any fat on him, but what a cool buck!
Well the following day my buddy killed a buck.
Here is something kind of funny and we all know this NEVER happens.... but in a weird way both my friend and I “Babe Ruthed” our bucks.
Meaning I said “the only buck I’d love to kill is the tight 10.”
Well my buddy said something while we were hanging mine up “I’d love to kill a big mature 8.”
Well look what he did
Well check out this old lug
This guy had a super large body that dwarfed his 142” rack. Old gray face, hardly any teeth, and just ragged.
What was crazy is the buck was all wallowed up and covered in mud like an elk. Both of his eyes were also full of puss and was probably sick. (Might explain why he was wallowing to cool down)
He also had hardly any fat on him, but what a cool buck!
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Well now that both buck tags were filled it was doe time.
I picked a property where I know the land owner requests we take does and I wanted to hunt from the ground.
I picked a key spot I know where does always hit.
Call me crazy, but I went in and hunted no blind.
I cleared out some leaves next to some draw points that overlooked a trail that came off of a pasture deer always played in.
Around 6:50 that morning I saw a doe coming in.
She got 10 yards away and started sensing something. I drew and shot.
Happy land owner, happy freezer, and third animal taken from the ground of the season!
I picked a property where I know the land owner requests we take does and I wanted to hunt from the ground.
I picked a key spot I know where does always hit.
Call me crazy, but I went in and hunted no blind.
I cleared out some leaves next to some draw points that overlooked a trail that came off of a pasture deer always played in.
Around 6:50 that morning I saw a doe coming in.
She got 10 yards away and started sensing something. I drew and shot.
Happy land owner, happy freezer, and third animal taken from the ground of the season!
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Kansas was an absolute blast.
Both my buddy and I got to take some beautiful bucks and spend time with friends.
We lucked out majorly with the bucks we killed, but you’re also looking at someone who would have shot a 100” animal and been just as happy!
Iowa^ buddies buck ^ and tight 10^
Both my buddy and I got to take some beautiful bucks and spend time with friends.
We lucked out majorly with the bucks we killed, but you’re also looking at someone who would have shot a 100” animal and been just as happy!
Iowa^ buddies buck ^ and tight 10^
Crossbowguy
Well-known member
Those are slammer bucks and I’m jealous!
JShane
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I hung out in Kansas until my buddy filled his doe tag and then realized I had about 30 hours I could kill in Oklahoma on my way to Florida!
Interestingly enough I messaged CJ randomly and he told me he was going to be in Oklahoma too, this just got fun!
I arrived in Oklahoma Friday evening with enough time to get to one of my “go to” spots.
That evening I saw a decent mule deer that I tried to make a stalk in on, but I was never able to cut the distance.
I also saw a beautiful 8 point about 100 yards out that got pulled away by a doe.
Interestingly enough I messaged CJ randomly and he told me he was going to be in Oklahoma too, this just got fun!
I arrived in Oklahoma Friday evening with enough time to get to one of my “go to” spots.
That evening I saw a decent mule deer that I tried to make a stalk in on, but I was never able to cut the distance.
I also saw a beautiful 8 point about 100 yards out that got pulled away by a doe.
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We woke up Saturday morning and got straight to work because I only had the day before I had to head home.
Both CJ and I saw deer that morning and attempted some stalks, but no dice.
That evening I made an aggressive move and sat next to a little point I saw the most amount of bucks come from. Again..... no blind. I just sat next to a small juniper.
With about 30 minutes left of legal light, I saw a buck moving my way. Again a bit aggressive I sprinted behind some blind spots to cut my distance closer to where I expected the buck to cross.
I got to a point; waited, and drew while he was behind a bush..... with him to then come out broadside at 20 yards.
The rest is history!
It was cool to have CJ there because he was able to use his camera gear to get some pictures and help me pack out!
We finished with a celebratory Denny’s visit, hit the hay, and I made my way home Sunday morning.
The small WhitetailVaca was complete and I think very successful!
Now it’s time to hit Florida, Alabama, and maybe a few more states!
Both CJ and I saw deer that morning and attempted some stalks, but no dice.
That evening I made an aggressive move and sat next to a little point I saw the most amount of bucks come from. Again..... no blind. I just sat next to a small juniper.
With about 30 minutes left of legal light, I saw a buck moving my way. Again a bit aggressive I sprinted behind some blind spots to cut my distance closer to where I expected the buck to cross.
I got to a point; waited, and drew while he was behind a bush..... with him to then come out broadside at 20 yards.
The rest is history!
It was cool to have CJ there because he was able to use his camera gear to get some pictures and help me pack out!
We finished with a celebratory Denny’s visit, hit the hay, and I made my way home Sunday morning.
The small WhitetailVaca was complete and I think very successful!
Now it’s time to hit Florida, Alabama, and maybe a few more states!
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Very lucky!
Also very lucky Oklahoma has so much public land!
sn.outdoors
Well-known member
Welp.... That was fun. 
Crossbowguy
Well-known member
Nice Buck! looks like an old warrior!
duckhunt
Well-known member
You guys are having a great season as always.
sn.outdoors
Well-known member
I can't believe I forgot to post this hunt 
My coues deer hunt was about as short as it could have been. Opening morning I hiked up a fairly large hillside that I thought would give me a good vantage point.... But I was very very wrong. I couldn't see nearly as well I had hoped. I didn't see any deer, but heard several gunshots on the valleys below me. I watched several different groups of hunters glassing from the bottom of the valleys and then attempting some stalks.
I learned real quick that getting up high wasn't the recipe for success in this specific spot.
So I hiked down the mountain midday and relocated to a spot with a good mix of mahogany and oak scrub and less juniper. I found a group of bucks almost immediately. These were the first coues deer I'd ever seen in the mountains. They looked like they were a long ways away through my 15 power binoculars, but when I looked up the hill to get a reference, I realized they weren't all that far away. I thought they were closer to a mile away, but when I ranged them they were only 800 yards away! Damn... Coues deer are TINY!
I only needed to move a few hundred yards to get within range. Fortunately the terrain allowed for an easy approach with plenty of cover. I was able to setup above the deer about 250 yards away. None of the bucks were mature enough to be anything I wanted to shoot, but I figured there might be a bigger one somewhere in the brush. So I waited and watched.
After about 45 minutes I was fairly certain there wasn't a larger buck in the immediate area, so I just watched the 6 bucks that were in front of me. Then... Out of nowhere... BOOOM!! A shot rang out and one of the smaller bucks in the group rolled down the hillside.
Then I heard a conversation from the 'lucky' hunters.
"Dang dude. You shot the wrong one."
"What, really?"
"Yeah, man. Great shot, but you killed the wrong buck"
Through my complete surprise (almost shock from having a rifle go off so close without knowing it was about to happen) I managed to laugh a little.
I guess I could've been upset, or angry that someone would stalk the same deer I did and shoot them out from under me, but I wasn't going to shoot any of them anyways. So I was actually happy for them. (A little surprised they didn't see me, but still happy for them.)
I hiked off the hill and managed to glass several other groups of deer as the light was fading. I knew where I was going to be at sunrise.
------
Day 2.
I parked my truck at the end of the road and hiked 400 yards to my glassing spot. The valley was full of mature oak trees that had recently dropped their acorns. The valley floor was covered in deer sign.
I spotted somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 deer, spread across about a mile of hillside. There were a few small bucks, but nothing that excited me. It wasn't until about 830 that I finally spotted a buck that actually looked big. After closer inspection through the spotting scope I determined he was easily mature enough, and definitely a buck I was interested in. Only problem was that he was 1200 yards away and moving into a thick, steep north-facing hillside. I didn't have much time to cut him off.
(My apologies for the low quality, handheld phone/spotter picture.
I need to get a real digiscope setup)
He wasn't the only nice buck in the group, so I felt like my chances of finding a nice one were pretty good.
Of course, by the time I made the climb and got into an overwatch position, the deer had already made it into the thick trees. I could hear them moving around, but the was no way I could see them from my vantage point.
I glassed as hard as possible hoping to find the buck in the shadows, but it was impossible to see through the oak canopy.
After looking for about an hour, a random buck stood up on the opposite side of the drainage. He was wide, had good mass, but his tines were almost completely broken off. I looked at him for about a minute before convincing myself he was mature enough.
So I took the shot...
And just like that, my first coues hunt was over. Since the rut was so far away it didn't make sense that his antlers were so broken up. After closer inspection of the buck, I found that he had bite marks and scars on his hind legs, his entire back was bruised, he had portions of scar tissue and fur under his hide on his hips. It was pretty obvious to me that he had to have gotten into a tangle with a predator of some kind, most likely a large cat, and he most likely fell a decent distance and got away. He's an awesome buck, it's too bad I blew a gigantic hole in his cape. Guess I'll need to go back to shoot one for the wall. 
--------
As far as my overall thoughts of the hunt go, I really can't wait to go back! It was great to be able to save some vacation time, but retrospectively, I wouldn't have minded spending a few more days down there. I have a lot to learn about these mini whitetails. They sure are neat!
Now I have more time to help my buddies hunt OTC deer and chase javelina later this month.
Next hunt is the 4th annual Hualapai Bow Bash. Covid is gonna make it a little more interesting, but we'll all be there. We even made t-shirts!
My coues deer hunt was about as short as it could have been. Opening morning I hiked up a fairly large hillside that I thought would give me a good vantage point.... But I was very very wrong. I couldn't see nearly as well I had hoped. I didn't see any deer, but heard several gunshots on the valleys below me. I watched several different groups of hunters glassing from the bottom of the valleys and then attempting some stalks.
I learned real quick that getting up high wasn't the recipe for success in this specific spot.
So I hiked down the mountain midday and relocated to a spot with a good mix of mahogany and oak scrub and less juniper. I found a group of bucks almost immediately. These were the first coues deer I'd ever seen in the mountains. They looked like they were a long ways away through my 15 power binoculars, but when I looked up the hill to get a reference, I realized they weren't all that far away. I thought they were closer to a mile away, but when I ranged them they were only 800 yards away! Damn... Coues deer are TINY!
I only needed to move a few hundred yards to get within range. Fortunately the terrain allowed for an easy approach with plenty of cover. I was able to setup above the deer about 250 yards away. None of the bucks were mature enough to be anything I wanted to shoot, but I figured there might be a bigger one somewhere in the brush. So I waited and watched.
After about 45 minutes I was fairly certain there wasn't a larger buck in the immediate area, so I just watched the 6 bucks that were in front of me. Then... Out of nowhere... BOOOM!! A shot rang out and one of the smaller bucks in the group rolled down the hillside.
Then I heard a conversation from the 'lucky' hunters.
"Dang dude. You shot the wrong one."
"What, really?"
"Yeah, man. Great shot, but you killed the wrong buck"
Through my complete surprise (almost shock from having a rifle go off so close without knowing it was about to happen) I managed to laugh a little.
I guess I could've been upset, or angry that someone would stalk the same deer I did and shoot them out from under me, but I wasn't going to shoot any of them anyways. So I was actually happy for them. (A little surprised they didn't see me, but still happy for them.)
I hiked off the hill and managed to glass several other groups of deer as the light was fading. I knew where I was going to be at sunrise.
------
Day 2.
I parked my truck at the end of the road and hiked 400 yards to my glassing spot. The valley was full of mature oak trees that had recently dropped their acorns. The valley floor was covered in deer sign.
I spotted somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 deer, spread across about a mile of hillside. There were a few small bucks, but nothing that excited me. It wasn't until about 830 that I finally spotted a buck that actually looked big. After closer inspection through the spotting scope I determined he was easily mature enough, and definitely a buck I was interested in. Only problem was that he was 1200 yards away and moving into a thick, steep north-facing hillside. I didn't have much time to cut him off.
(My apologies for the low quality, handheld phone/spotter picture.
I need to get a real digiscope setup)He wasn't the only nice buck in the group, so I felt like my chances of finding a nice one were pretty good.
Of course, by the time I made the climb and got into an overwatch position, the deer had already made it into the thick trees. I could hear them moving around, but the was no way I could see them from my vantage point.
I glassed as hard as possible hoping to find the buck in the shadows, but it was impossible to see through the oak canopy.
After looking for about an hour, a random buck stood up on the opposite side of the drainage. He was wide, had good mass, but his tines were almost completely broken off. I looked at him for about a minute before convincing myself he was mature enough.
So I took the shot...
And just like that, my first coues hunt was over. Since the rut was so far away it didn't make sense that his antlers were so broken up. After closer inspection of the buck, I found that he had bite marks and scars on his hind legs, his entire back was bruised, he had portions of scar tissue and fur under his hide on his hips. It was pretty obvious to me that he had to have gotten into a tangle with a predator of some kind, most likely a large cat, and he most likely fell a decent distance and got away. He's an awesome buck, it's too bad I blew a gigantic hole in his cape
. Guess I'll need to go back to shoot one for the wall. --------
As far as my overall thoughts of the hunt go, I really can't wait to go back! It was great to be able to save some vacation time, but retrospectively, I wouldn't have minded spending a few more days down there. I have a lot to learn about these mini whitetails. They sure are neat!
Now I have more time to help my buddies hunt OTC deer and chase javelina later this month.
Next hunt is the 4th annual Hualapai Bow Bash. Covid is gonna make it a little more interesting, but we'll all be there. We even made t-shirts!
sn.outdoors
Well-known member
Back in paradise for the fourth year in a row. I only have a javelina tag, which starts on the new year. But my buddies have deer tags and we're after them now. Wish us luck. 
sn.outdoors
Well-known member
It's been tough hunting so far. There's a lot more people hunting this area this year, but at least it's still beautiful.
