UPDATE; Youth Weekend

[fitch270]

I’m 95% certain I saw the buck my daughter hit during the youth weekend. The Kid and I went up about 3:30 for a short sit, he stayed in the new shack and I sat in the original we had moved to another location. About 4:15 a deer comes straight in but hangs up. He seems to check out the shack for a bit then starts to make either a scrape or rub. Afterwards he starts coming again but turns to my right and then circles back up. It takes him 10-15 minutes before he finally disappears above me. I didn’t recognize him at first because I’d only seen him a few times through the binos, broadside. Closer up and head on he’s bigger than I thought, but the way the Kid described him pretty much matches what I was looking at.

Ten minutes before legal time was up two stepped out in front of the Kid. A doe with a button buck so they got a pass. I walked to him to bump them out easy.

He was cleared today from COVID quarantine but my daughter has to stay put due to being unvaxxed. Our plan is for her and I to hunt tomorrow morning, hopefully she’ll get a second chance at him.


Cell phone pics aren’t great but shows just enough antler to get an idea.


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[dewman]

Saw a small buck this morning but this season is does only. Around 10:00 two does were walking down the opposite ridge in and out of sight. Too far with a reflex, scope would have been a go. Close to 5:00 another small buck came by then I called it good and started walking out while it was still light enough to walk the trail without a flashlight. Bumped a small doe within 50yds of truck but I passed, just too tuckered out. Rain tomorrow so giving hunting a pass. Stay safe. Good luck to you guys.🤞

[dewman]

Wanted to ad it's pretty rare to get reassured of a non fatal hit by a bucks reappearing. Hope your daughter finds much comfort and relief from it, I know you do. Wounding and losing a deer can cause a lot of agonizing and soul searching, especially teens who are doing that over every thing anyway.(Oh the drama of youth) Have 3 girls myself. Hoping she gets back in the saddle at full speed but whatever she decides is her level of hunting /shooting I know you'll be right there with 2 thumbs up. Stay safe, and again good luck to all of you.

[FirstBubba]

Best of luck to the young lady!

[fitch270]

No deer sighted but we did have 30 turkeys come in a short time after we settled in. They stayed for close to two hours, I got a good head count through the binos and only picked out one jake in the entire batch.

They didn’t come in together but once bunched up they did stay in a group. One of the bigger flocks I’ve seen in quite some time.


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Heading back up this afternoon.

[fitch270]

I haven’t been paying much attention to the trail cams, the Kid has been running them and only shows me the good pics. I did just check what he’s saved to get a better look at the buck in question. I’m still quite sure it was him last night the only thing is I didn’t notice how close his main beans come together. At the time I wasn’t really looking. The Kid had him up close and personal several times the first week and knew him from the cameras. With the light last night it wasn’t obvious but the antlers matched in size and overall shape. If we’d sat in opposite sheds he’d had him pegged and possibly would have shot him at this point. He’s definitely legal even though he’s just a 1.5 year old.

Here are some early pics before he was done growing this summer.



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[fitch270]

Now a couple after velvet shed.



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Every look I had at him through glass was a side view like the bottom picture. Head on without glass you could easily pick him out at a reasonable distance from the forks over his ears. I just never had a good straight on until last night and wasn’t checking him out with glass. Hopefully we’ll get him back on the camera if we don’t see him again in person.

[fitch270]

Odd thing is we stopped seeing this one the same weekend and haven’t caught him on camera since. He’s kinda cool, we can’t quite tell if he has an extra long brow tine on the one side or if it’s actually a split main beam.

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He’s another legal 1.5 year old that had been hanging with the 6pt. No idea if something happened to him or if he ended up running with his bud somewhere else. Maybe now we’ll get a look at him again if he’s still alive.

[fitch270]

Wanted to ad it's pretty rare to get reassured of a non fatal hit by a bucks reappearing. Hope your daughter finds much comfort and relief from it, I know you do. Wounding and losing a deer can cause a lot of agonizing and soul searching, especially teens who are doing that over every thing anyway.(Oh the drama of youth) Have 3 girls myself. Hoping she gets back in the saddle at full speed but whatever she decides is her level of hunting /shooting I know you'll be right there with 2 thumbs up. Stay safe, and again good luck to all of you.

Appreciate this Dewman and you’re spot on.

It’s been eight weeks since youth weekend, near as I can figure he’s possibly returning to his core area now that hunting pressure and the rut are starting to wind down. The deer last night was in no hurry to get anywhere and certainly was checking out the shed. He’ll be a smart 2.5 year old if he makes the winter.

[fitch270]

Just after 4:00 the 3pt we’ve seen a few times stepped out and stayed for about 45 minutes. I doubt he left a ten yard circle for most of the time, gave us numerous broadside opportunities at 50 yards +/-. She held off hoping for something bigger but nothing showed.

One weekend left of regular season.

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[FirstBubba]

She's a better "man" than I am Gunga Din! LOL!
With the hiccups she's had, I'd be chomping at the bit for a "do-over".

That's okay. Don't force her to do something she's not ready to do.....but you know that.