Got deer meat to fill the freezer this past weekend.(pics added)

[Jmax]

Headed down to Arkansas this past weekend for a little R&R and to see about some deer meat for 2013. emoSmile Got there Friday afternoon at my camp and headed into the woods. I have been hunting at my deer camp in south Arkansas for about the past 32 years. I guess you can say I know the woods there pretty good. It did not take me long to find some locations the deer were using. Set up that evening for a little cross bow action. It was a little warmer then I like but not too hot. About two hours into sitting there I had a small three point come by. A good bow shot of around 45 yards but the rules in Arkansas are that the bucks have to have less then two inch horns or three or more points on one side. He was safe. emoRolleyes Not fifteen minutes later another small buck with spikes came by walking the same path. He got within about fifty yards and I think winded me. He was gone. That was it that evening.

The next morning was the first day of modern gun. I was up at 4:30, in the stand by 5:45, waiting for day light. (Central time) I was not horn hunting. Keep in mind I was meat hunting. Last year I screwed up and let a couple go by looking for something better and got bit. I never saw something better and came home with empty ice chests. emoDoh I told myself this year if I had a good doe or legal shooter buck I was taking it. At 6:45 I caught movement on the ridge above me about 150 yards out. I saw horns right off and got the scope on him. At first I did not see the rack, then I saw a fork. I then cranked my scope up to nine and saw the brow tines. I think he saw me moving with the scope and turned around to leave. Lucky for me he did one of those stop and looks back moves they are so well known for. It was his undoing. The ol'30-06 rang out and he dropped in his tracks. emoThumbsup I sat there still able to see him about 150 yards out but then the doubt started to creep in. I sure hope I saw what I thought I saw. I sure hope he was a legal buck. emoConfused I had to go look. Got over there and he was a nice deer but only had a small basket rack seven point. Still, meat in the freezer. emoDance

Went back to my stand and sat back down. It was so early I did not want to go in and the others would be out for some time still. I saw another big spike with about 8 inch spikes on both sides. Then I saw a doe and another deer I could not make out. Around 10:00 here came eleven female turkeys through the woods. They marched down near me and made a racket. I was watching them when I caught a glimpse of movement off to my left. Coming up through a draw was a deer going fast. Grabbed the gun and got the scope on him. With the one buck already down I had told myself I was not going to take a small buck. This one was bigger and had a bigger rack. I did not have time to think. My actions went into auto pilot and before I knew it I was on him pulling the trigger. He was out of sight before I recovered from the kick. emoScratch I thought I was on him but was not sure. I waited about thirty minutes and went over to where he had been about a hundred yards away. I had to search a little but sure enough I found blood. emoThumbsup I did not walk long before I found a lot of blood. Then another 20 yards and there he was, a very decent six point with a wide rack and nice form. emoThumbsup Neither of these were trophies but I was not going back with empty coolers.

If there was a down side to my trip it was the next day. You can only kill two legal bucks per year in Arkansas and four does. I was done with my bucks now and really did not want to shoot a doe. emoRolleyes Since I had told the guys I would stay the weekend I still hunted but with no real reason to even have a gun. The next day a doe came through running hard with a four point right on her tail. They both stopped in front of me about fifty yards and I saw them both well. He had very big forks but no brow tines. About 45 minutes later I saw a big deer come down their trail following where she had run. He was really letting his other head do the thinking. emoTongue He had nothing on his mind but her. He was a wall hanger. Big boy with a really nice wide eight point rack. emoDoh He stopped where she had stopped and smelled all around where she had been. You know how hard that was to let a trophy buck go by with you sitting on a stand watching him through the scope. emoEek emoCrazy That was very hard not to shoot. I did say, "Bang, your dead." Other then that I could only wish. He ran on off looking for her. Maybe he will make a bunch of babies this year with really good rack genes. emoApplause

Here are three phone pictures. 1st is the two both on my four wheeler, the second is my six point on the back of the four wheeler and the third is my basket rack seven point on the front. Jmax

 

[BRamsey]

Re: Got the meat to fill the freezer this past weekend.

Dang Jmax. Sounds like you've got a pretty good honey hole.

 

[Jmax]

RE: Got the meat to fill the freezer this past weekend.

Yea, myself and one other guy have owned that camp for 32 years. emoAngel I can't tell you how many deer we have taken there over all those years. I think the first year we hunted it was the Fall of 1979. emoGeezer It is in "No where Arkansas" near the town of Fordyce Arkansas. emoBigsmile We really rough it. We have a camp site with a camper set up on it but over the years we have gotten old and lazy. We now camp out at a Hotel called the Antlers Inn that is just right down the road a couple miles. emoLaugh That's the truth. We like having running water, coffee for us in the morning, a couple good eating places next door, football in the afternoon on the tube. Yea....we really rough it. emoTongue It's a hard life.

There are a lot of deer there, just this time I saw two spikes, a three point, a four point, a six point, a seven point and the big eight over the one afternoon and two days. One of the other guys shot a nice nine point, I will post a picture of it when he sends it to me. emoThumbsup Jmax

 

[Jmax]

RE: Got the meat to fill the freezer this past weekend.

Just looked and here is his nine point, one point you can't see that well. Not a very good picture.

 

[Jmax]

All you guys getting lucky and killing these big ones have me thinking I need to go back out and go horn hunting. emoDoh Can't eat them, can't mount every one of them, the big ones taste not as well, no reason really to go after the big deer when you think about letting the big boys mate for a better gene pool and yet here I am thinking about it. emoCrazy Got mine processed and in the freezer, looking at my two meat deer they do look like young'uns, but they will eat well.

Horn hunting is kind of like big bass fever. You see others catch a big monster bass or two and you just got to go get a fix. Got to go try your luck at it. Must be something in the sportsman's brain make up. emoGoofy Jmax