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Indiana Buck

shannerdrake

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Joined
Feb 14, 2017
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Indiana
I bacd been meaning to post this for awhile.

With Wyoming point creep screwing up my western plans this year, I decided to focus on the Indiana season more than usual. Between work and family obligations, I slated 9 days to hunt. I decided it was a mature (3+ yo) buck year or bust and was prepared to eat my tag before shooting a young buck. As luck would have it, this year we had a pretty bad EHD outbreak in the area and our mature buck population was at a 12 year low.

We always put out numerous trail cams at the end of summer to more or less inventory our deer and there was exactly one buck that fit the criteria (normally we have 3-5). Heck of a year to up my standards.

All of my hunts were prime rut hunts between 11/3 and 11/16. After 12 hunts in our traditional best spots, I didn’t see anything approaching what I wanted. I drove home from the gun opener after a near all day sit with temps in the 20s and 5in of wet snow. I was soaked, frozen, and frustrated and knew I needed to change things up.

After two days at home, I drove back knowing that switching from a bow to a gun changed things. So instead of a tried and true stand, I still-hunted a swamp with the wind in my face and say on a stool in a blowdown. I saw a lot of sign, several does, and a coyote chase a dawn within 7 feet of my blind.

That hunt got me thinking so I spent a bit of time thinking about unconventional spots on the farm. We have an old shooting house that looks over a picked bean field. It has traditionally been a dud spot and is nearly impossible to hunt with a bow. But a gun changes everything. The weather forecast predicted another cold rainy evening and I decided the covered shooting house sounded good.

I got in early before the rain and decided I’d pass the time and read a CJ Box novel unless things got interesting. I didn’t even finish a chapter before I saw a deer. Then another. Then another. By 4PM I’d already seen 3 deer and another group of 4 entered the field. I needed a doe for the freezer and a nice plump one gave me a perfect 200yd broadside shot. Down she went. I quietly reloaded and decided that would settle things down for awhile. I was wrong. I was covered up in deer all night. I saw a couple marginal shooters, but decided they were 2yo bucks and I let them go.

Right at last light I heard grunting, but between the overcast sky and rain, I couldn’t see anything. But with my binoculars I made out a small buck, a medium buck, and bigger buck all chasing a doe. It was way too dark to shoot so I silently packed up my stuff and waiting for them the clear the field. They group went into some thick cover. I cursed myself for shooting that doe knowing I had to get her out and risk screwing up the hottest spot on the farm. I took the long way out away from the three bucks and doe. Instead of a nice 1/2 mile walk down a tractor path, driveway, and road, I had a 1.5 mile hike through woods and an overgrown pasture.

I decided to eat dinner and give the spot an hour to calm down. Luckily after talking to the landowner, he told me I was fine to drive the field with my truck. There is a driveway that runs one side of it so deer see vehicles back there all the time. So I drove down the drive then cranked it at the last minute and drove straight to the doe and tossed her in the back and was out. In and out under 5 minutes.

C4B57DFE-6869-4F61-967A-17BDEE506034.jpeg
 
PART 2

The next morning I was up extra early and wanted the get back in the same spot. I couldn’t shake those three bucks on that same doe the night before. Not to mention seeing 19 deer in one evening from that that stand.

I took the same 1.5 mile loop to get in clean and was setup an hour before light. Daylight broke and I didn’t see anything in the field. Twenty minutes later I see a buck trotting at 400 yards. I couldn’t tell much other than he had a rack. And a rack you can see at 400 yards is usually pretty good. I let rip three loud grunts. He stopped dead in his tracks. I gave him two more softer grunts. He turned and came in like he was on a string. I got my gun and ready and binos on him. He was the best buck I’d seen all year! But the closer he got, the more I noted his legs looked long and thin and his butt looked small. I decided he was just a really nice 2yo. I put my gun down and pulled my phone up and got a video. 92592B6D-2E9D-4262-9666-035825559988.jpeg
 
PART 3

After watching him for awhile I knew that was my season. I honored my goal and let a nice 2yo walk. I was actually really proud of that and decided I’d just enjoy the morning.

That lasted all of 3 minutes when I see more movement from the woods behind the buck pictured above. One hand on my binos and one on my gun I get ready. A little dorky comes busting into the field ready for action. He goes all over the place grunting and looking for whatever made those grunts (me). I decided it would be a fun video to get if him and I start to pull my phone out and he freezes in his tracks and starts looking into the woods. But I can’t see what he sees. So I pull my binos up and watch where he is watching. I finally see a big body and a tall rack. I decide I need my gun more than my phone.

As soon as this third buck steps into the field, the forky pulls a 180 and runs for his life. I realize I want to get a good look at this buck but he is right on the edge of my scent cone and is clearly looking for the source of the grunt. He turns his head, I get a good look. I want to shoot him. He looks right at me. I freeze. He turns his head again. I grab my gun and drop my binos. He looks at me. I freeze. He starts walking broadside at 80 yards. I move my gun out the window. He looks. I freeze. He starts walking again. I get on him and get the crosshairs on him. He stops. I shoot. He takes off. I work the bolt. He stops right at 300 yards. I take a deep breath and shoot again. He does the bulldozer right into the woods at the field edge.
 
I guess that works. You already had your meat hanging. May as well hold out for a big fella and let that guy grow into something special ... hopefully.

Edit: This was posted as you were posting Part 3. Waiting for pictures of the big one!
 
PART 4

I take a deep breath and sit back. What just happened!?!? My phone rings. My buddy is 1/2 a mile away. He says “what just happened?!?” I said I think I just killed a nice buck. We decided he’d hunt longer and I’d go make sure my buck was down and then wait for him at the house and we’d do a formal recovery together. I’m halfway to where I saw my deer go down and I hear a boom about 1/2 mile away. I call my buddy and said “what just happened?!?!” He said “I just shot at a buck. I’ll meet you at the house, we will pick up yours and then go look for mine.”

39BBA314-5BE8-47AA-BB62-82C70CA018FF.jpeg4CD614E6-3B89-490C-8675-0783AA89EA33.jpeg
 
Last edited:
PART 5

He’s a freaking tank. We never got a pic of him and none of the neighbors had either. his right side is obviously broken off. There is a chance he survived EHD and that caused his antler to sluff off. More likely he just damaged it in velvet. As you can see it’s balled up at the end. He weighed 180 dressed and with his forelegs removed. Our biologist aged him at 5. If his right side matched his left he would have score 144”.

But things get better still. We then go look for my buddy’s deer. We follow a blood trail that looks like 811 marked for power and sitting at the end of the trail is the one big buck we had on camera and were all targeting. We shot the only two mature deer on our property 1/2 mile and 10 minutes a part. What are the chances!08372CE1-EDCB-4FF5-BF46-8F10B30DB164.jpeg
 
Yeah dude he’s got some mass! I’d be jacked!!!! Nice buck both of you and how cool to have gotten them back to back like that! Big congrats!
 

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