Crossbowguy
Well-known member
Congrats on a beautiful buck!
Fall 2019 Iowa Deer and Turkey
- Thread starter Pucky Freak
- Start date
Gellar
Well-known member
Beautiful, symmetrical Buck!
Hunting Wife
Well-known member
Nice buck! Glad your efforts paid off.
WildWill
Well-known member
Congratulations on your buck!
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
A buddy of mine who's never hunted in Iowa asked if I'd take him deer hunting during gun season, so my focus this year is putting him on a public land buck. I did a little scouting this evening and brought along my shotgun for good measure.
BrentD
Well-known member
heck I would just focus on keeping him alive. Public land shotgun season is too scary for me. Hell private land is to scary. Even my own private sometimes. Good luck, BE CAREFUL.
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
Thanks. I hunt way, WAY off the beaten path where I hardly ever encounter anyone else. Even so, I've thought long and hard this off season about hanging it up for good and buying a muzzleloader.
BrentD
Well-known member
Muzzleloader is what I did. More my speed anyway. Made a few of them to suit.
I'm unaware of any place that is "way WAY off the beaten path" in central Iowa anyway.
I'm unaware of any place that is "way WAY off the beaten path" in central Iowa anyway.
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
I hunt spots that are a mile plus hike in, require a paddle in or chest waders or crampons, or otherwise cross thick nasty terrain that no one wants to bother with. There are a few places like that around here on public.
BrentD
Well-known member
I know of only one or two, but people have easy access from private on all of those and they use it heavily that way.
Over on the east coast, maybe. But here in central, not so much.
Over on the east coast, maybe. But here in central, not so much.
TheBenHoyle
Well-known member
Nice bunny. I would go after one of those, but my wife has told me I better eat it before I get home...
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
My wife was trying to usher my 2-year-old away from the kitchen, but the little one kept coming back. She pulled up a chair to the counter and touched all the animal parts while chattering away "ears!" "Teef!" "What's this?" (Kidneys), and my favorite "daddy hunt bunny!"
TheBenHoyle
Well-known member
That's fantastic. My kids like to see the turkeys and birds I bring home and even the deer. But Bunnies are kinda sacred to my kids and my wife and my sister in law. Delicious bunnies...
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
Today the forecast was 20 mph wind in a good direction for my treestand. However, wind turned out to be gusty, and blow in all different directions. After the snow started to fly it became clearly evident how terrible the wind was. Had 5 deer bust me with their noses. First was a forky at 10 yards who caught my scent and spent the next ten minutes picking apart the trees until he finally saw me. Next was a doe left of the center tree (below) with a fawn and another antlerless deer obscured behind her by the trees. She winded me shortly after I took the picture, and the three of them bounded away.
The 11-pt I saw earlier in the year was the last deer to come in, and he decided to stick around for some pictures after winding me.
I had originally aged him at five years old, which I still believe to be accurate based on the drooping brisket, slightly swayed back, and short-looking legs. The only doubt in that regard is a straight bottom line (2nd pic), which could indicate a four-year-old, albeit one with ample headgear. Nice to see he survived peak rut. Hopefully I can recover his sheds, and also make a play on him next fall.
The 11-pt I saw earlier in the year was the last deer to come in, and he decided to stick around for some pictures after winding me.
I had originally aged him at five years old, which I still believe to be accurate based on the drooping brisket, slightly swayed back, and short-looking legs. The only doubt in that regard is a straight bottom line (2nd pic), which could indicate a four-year-old, albeit one with ample headgear. Nice to see he survived peak rut. Hopefully I can recover his sheds, and also make a play on him next fall.
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
Skull cleaned and ready for the wall.
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
Friday before gun opener: glassing a sanctuary where I've seen big bucks hole up the last 2 seasons. Saw a lone doe. Everyone and their cousin is out scouting too - I counted 10 rigs. Cross that spot off the list
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
Saturday - hike in the dark to another glassing spot. 17 degrees and 25 mph wind. 3 hours on the binos and turned up 2 does and 2 fawns. Met up with my buddy that afternoon for an evening sit and saw/heard nothing.
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
Sunday very cold and did some still hunting with my friend where we could move quietly through some feeding areas for the first couple hours of daylight. No dice. Next up were some long hikes to some buck sanctuaries where I hoped to call and get one to stand up. Several yielded nothing, but one did have an old bruiser right where I'd hoped he'd be. He stood up in some brush about 80 yards away and he was well hid except the white throat patch and bleached antlers sticking out towards me like a flashlight in a sea of grey-brown. I motioned for my buddy to come move a few more steps towards me and get ready to shoot. He looked and looked but couldn't see it. I described what to look for and where, but a few seconds later the buck had had enough of the commotion and melted away into thick cover.
My friend felt bad he was not able to capitalize and told me I should have taken the deer. I told him my goal was to get him on one so not to sweat it, I was not going to shoot that deer if it had stood there for 5 minutes.
My friend felt bad he was not able to capitalize and told me I should have taken the deer. I told him my goal was to get him on one so not to sweat it, I was not going to shoot that deer if it had stood there for 5 minutes.
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
Sunday night I got floored with intestinal illness and spent the next couple days puking my guts out and enjoying the cold bathroom floor. Monday was great conditions to hunt - an inch of new snow and cold, but it was not to be.
