mauser06

ok...saturday i had an encounter with a nice little 8pt. 1.5 or 2.5yo buck. i blew it...15yds or so broadside..head behind brush...came to full draw and my broadhead hit the front of the riser...never put the arrow on the rest[:@][:'(]

we had a stare down...held my draw...he went back to walking...walked to the left and farther out..30yds or so..wouldnt take the shot without knowing the distance. i didnt think it was top pin shooting..i wont shoot an unknown distance unless its top pin shooting.

he walked left 10yds or so..thought for sure hed give me another closer shot if he fed on acorns infront of me but he turned around and walked away. never really looked back up at me...never even lifted his tail...never blew...


left there around 945..snuck down and snuck out quietly. buddy had one down a couple hundred yards away on the next farm and needed me.


that afternoon i snuck back in and hunted from my lock on 100-150yds farther down the ridge. groundhog hunter was setup and shooting like he was in a war in the field pretty much right below my stand...needless to say i saw nothing that evening except a gray fox. he most likely scared the buck outta there..they usually bed over in that general area...dont know for sure..who knows...better him spooking him by shooting groundhogs in the field than me bowhunting..


how long to wait before hunting that area again?? plan to pick a different tree..just incase he looks up...

what do you guys say?? this is my honey hole..he COULD be the only buck in there...but last year i had a bunch in there...just one of them spots that usually holds a couple bucks. i want to hunt it SMART and not blow it. week? couple weeks? blew it till the rut?? what do you guys say??

i dont wanna blow it this year...last year i KNOW i overhunted that spot.

popeandyoungchaser

It doesn't sound like you spooked him bad at all. Spots like this that i have i like to save for absolute ideal conditions. I don't take chances with these spots the wind must be absolutely perfect and the weather fronts must be working to my advantage. I would say wait at least a week and hunt it on the next available perfect day. I'm just throwing that out there to make sure that all your scent has dissapated, if you feel like it could be hunted before that by all means do!!! Post pics when you kill him!!!!

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mauser06

thanx for the input...

i didnt spook him bad...but he knew something was fishy i believe..although he walked a little ways left infront of me...dont think he seen me after that...just turned around and snuck away..didnt even lift his tail, stomp his foot..nothin.

the groundhog hunter was just bad luck lol. i didnt have that problem last year...heck, i dont know what he was shooting at so many times...i also groundhog hunt and getting as many shots off as he did at the close range he was, with the large rifle he was shootin just dont happen lol.


droptine...when i first saw him, my first thought was ahhhhh pass..first day, not even 9am...but i counted to make sure he was legal...and thought hed make a DANG fine first bow kill. i aint gunna be picky. exspecially after THAT. i know i NEED to get some under my belt and get used to the whole...shootin them with the bow thing...to tell you the truth, i would most likely had him mounted...just because hes my first bow kill, only 3rd buck ever...and would been my biggest. id want my kids to see that one and i dont own a deer mount....

and im not the only one that hunts there...actually come rifle season, it will get pushed out ATLEAST once a day by a group...maybe more. not too many legal bucks make it out alive...

man i cant help but to think...if i didnt spend 1200$ on a groundhog gun this summer, i woulda bought that qad LD rest i wanted to buy...and i would be singin a different tune live and learn grasshopper..live and learn....

just all happend so fast...one second i saw antlers..the next i was counting points..then i was at full draw...next time...

figuring on saturday morning or monday or tuesday morning. gotta see what the weather looks like...i might even wait till the following saturday if my farmer buddy gets me into some other spots...hes workin on it so i dont blow this spot again this year...im going to do my best to hunt the area SMART though...

Planter

I sorta have the same problem as you Mauser. I have alot of trouble passing on 2.5 y.o. deer. Chances are I will never see that deer again. I wish I had the luxury of waiting for deer to mature, but if you hunt public lands or heavily hunted pieces you just about gotta shoot.
I have hunted PA more than a few times and it istraditionally a state that shoots any legal deer that walks by. THAT is not a shot a PA but it sure makes it hard for deer to mature. Maybe by the time they meet the antler restrictions they will be smart enough to lay low during those drives. The ones that run are done.
IF you shoot a 2.5 y.o 8 point than you are doing better than just about 95 percent of hunters nationwide. KNOCK him on his butt!

mauser06

planter...your right on. alot of guys just dont understand PA lol. with ~1 million hunters and hard to get good hunting land in my area, passing is just HARD. exspecially at my young stage as a bowhunter.

my area is also tough because a good number of 1.5yo bucks DO meet the 4pt to a side restriction!! i will say it saves a few bucks...but then again i got alot of slobs...alot of my 1.5yos turn up "missing" after rifle season ive noticed. which would explain the LACK of older bucks. we get a couple smart ones...but they are still smarter than me yet

last year i had to pass a 2.5yo 6pt. he was 15-17 wide...good tine legnth..i had 7x binocs on him in bow range and couldnt put a 4th pt on either side. someone killed him first day of rifle. swore up and down it had 7...not from the area and noone knew him....but everyone got the story somehow...which was passed on to me since i seen him...