Where to start. The last few years have been really tuff come hunting season. What was once a feeling full of excitement has now been replaced with a bitter sweet feeling come opening weekend with the passing of my Dad last April. Camp, the ranch and hunting season in general just hasn't been the same without him around. So many memorable seasons, feeders filled and stories told over the last 28 years at this lease I can't help but experience a feeling of emptiness when I turn off the highway and hit that county road. I do however get a feeling of peace and tranquility cruising the same senderos where dad once taught me to drive many moons ago. This is the second season hunting without him and though time is slowly healing I can't say it's gotten any easier.
This year we've had high expectation with several of our bucks getting into the 6.5+ age range. We hunt a couple of pastures (about 4,800 acres) on a rather large High Fence ranch (67,000 acres) so it isn't uncommon for that really nice 5.5 yr old buck we pass on to never be seen again. Every year we pick 1 or 2 really nice 5 & 6 year olds and choose to roll the dice and let them go for sake of improving the herd and for chances of a better next year.
Last year we had one very impressive 4.5 yr. old buck that really grabbed our attention. He was an instant jaw dropper and the way his 2's crowned to multiple points I tagged him with the name King Dingaling. This buck followed me around the ranch and had him in bow range at least a dozen times in 4 different blinds ranging about a mile +/- in distance. As impressive as he was there was no way he would get shot by our camp that year. Even though we have been HF the last 5 of 28 years, we only hunt about 7% of the ranch and with little to no communication with the neighboring camps we had the bad feeling he would get shot if he jumped the fence and wandered off our pasture.
A few picks of him from last year.
Fast forward to this year. We got cameras out a little later than we usually do but the first round of pics yielded one picture of the buck we named Kind Dingaling. Just like the previous year he did not disappoint. He gained a ton of Mass, widened up and his beams filled out, which he was really lacking the previous year. All the added character in points made him just that much more special. Knowing he was only 5 this year I knew this buck was definitely big enough to shoot, however, a small part of me felt he needed to be given another year. (Ok, to be honest, a very, very small microscopic, insignificant part of me wanted to pass, LoL!). One thing was for sure, he was Big and I needed a better look!
With a busy work schedule and limited time for the ranch most of the weekends I've had an opportunity to be out hunting were spent with the family driving around the ranch and enjoying the peacefulness of camp. To think one can effectively hunt/scout with a 3 & 4 year old in the blind is actually quite comical. Even with limited hunting time I wouldn't trade any of the time spent with my family for the world. I absolutely cherish and enjoyed every last one of those moments.
Having only sat in a blind 3 - 4 times up to this point I finally had a weekend that would give me the opportunity to do a little hunting for myself, I was even able to throw in a Monday! Got to the ranch Friday afternoon, plan was to feed all the blinds and eliminate the wasps! Also wanted to set up a target and practice a few shots from one of the tower blinds which I had not yet done so up to this point. As I approached one of the blinds, low & behold there was KD under the feeder. I first went to war and removed a couple hundred wasps then set up a target and took a few practice shots all of while he calmly fed 180 yards away. Got back in my truck, fed the roads and continued on to the next blind. As I passed by the feeder I watched him slowly walk into the brush where I stopped and we stared at each other for only a few seconds before I continued about my way.
Saturday morning found me back in that tower blind, I just had to get some good pictures of this beautiful deer! Fed all the senderos as I usually do and corned heavily close to the blind in hopes he would make his way in. About 10 minutes before the feeder went off he made his appearance, but instead of eating away with the other 24 deer scattered throughout the senderos he jumped in the feeder pen, all by his lonesome, and stood there waiting for the feeder to go off. That morning he was accompanied by a beautiful wide 7yr old 10 point we have been watching for several years. They fed and spared a bit which was fun to video, but being 180 yards away just wasn’t going to cut it. About a quarter till 9 he jumped out of the pen and slowly headed back up the North hill back to his home.
A couple iphone pics taken through my spotting scope.
That morning I was also blessed with the appearance of this cool little Cardinal.
After breakfast I grabbed a popup, some camo netting and all the essentials to get a ground blind set up. I was determined to get a closer look at both of these bucks, particularly KD. Knowing where this buck would be coming from I set up South of the feeder and cleared out an area that would give 2 different shooting lanes. Primary lane straight North and second lane to the West. Dedicated the next 3.5 hours to the blind, corned it heavily and off I went and sat the afternoon at a nearby spot.
Sunday morning gave a straight East wind which was No Bueno for the setup. I knew if I was going to get this feeder hog out of the pen and to my handcorn I would have to disconnect the timer and force him to feed my way. I did not, however, want to do that before I would be sitting in my spot and risk him moving off to another location as I knew he was already frequenting 3 different feeders this year alone. Checked the weather and had a North wind coming in for the afternoon and a NNW wind coming in for Monday morning, perfect!
Sunday morning I sat at different blind and had a great time watching multiple bucks come into my lane. Got some excellent pics and great video. Justin’s (J-Jac) Mature Buck Pile had 5 bucks lined up taking turns, pushing each other off, munching away at the piles!
Man they can’t resist the pile, lol!
One shot of all 5 bucks through my phone. Too close to get them all in one pic with the good camera.
Before the afternoon sit I wanted to make it back out to the popup and take a few practice shots. Did just that and everything looked and felt great. Headed back to camp and got ready for the afternoon sit. Showered, sprayed down cloths and gear and headed out to be in the blind by 3pm. Drove up, got my gear in the blind, dropped a big old Mature Buck Pile (heavily laced with Buck Candy!) and disconnected the feeder. I noticed that there was still plenty of corn on the ground in the pen from that morning. I did not like seeing that at all. Then, what had started off as a beautiful overcast afternoon quickly turned into a sunny afternoon completely exposing the blind. I was bummed, all the brush and camo netting wasn’t going to keep this blind from shining bright. Parked the truck on the other side of the hill, South of the blind, and began to walk back to the popup. By this point I was very discouraged and wasn’t feeling too optimistic about the afternoon sit. Oh well, I thought as I walked to the blind, I still have Monday morning.
Got settled in and just as expected every doe or fawn that came to my lane would stare at the bright object in the brush and leave with a nervous look. A little over an hour into the hunt the deer finally began to funnel in and slowly became more comfortable with the blind. When 5pm rolled around I finally see horns to the ground approaching my lane. Soon as he picks up his head I instantly knew it was Kind Dingaling. There is absolutely no mistaking this buck. Watching those horns glow bright as the slowly setting sun hit them was a beautiful sight of its own. I turned on the camera and raised the binos. Wow is all I could think as we stared each other down. He was much much bigger at 18 yards than I had thought. What to do???? I closed my eyes and said a quick little prayer. Asked the Lord for strength and to please stop this uncontrollable shaking! I also asked Dad to push this deer away if I’m not supposed to shoot him. And if it is meant to be, then please give me that perfect shot!
Grabbed my bow, locked in the release and waited. You could tell he knew something wasn’t right. He was quartering to and continually staring at my direction. I couldn’t take the stare downs so I moved off to the side and watched him through the video camera screen. Finally he turned broadside. I drew my bow and slowly leaned towards the window, only to see a fawn had moved in and was feeding between the two of us. I slowly let off. Fawn cleared and buck was back to quartering to. Again I began watching him through the camera. Finally he turned broadside again so I went to full draw and slowly leaned towards the window, this time only to have a doe right smack in front of him. Let off again. Not a minute passed when doe blows from behind me and forced all the deer in my lane to scatter. Absolutely everything left, my heart just sank. What just happened? I quickly thought well, I guess this just isn’t meant to be. But did she smell me, what the heck was she doing behind me? I sprayed some Buckbomb doe pee all around the blind and waited. Then I thought, well this isn’t supposed to be as easy, I mean, where’s the fun in that? Nothing like a good roller coaster ride!
My hands began to get cold from holding the bow so I put it down and turned on the Buddy Heater, I needed to warm up a bit. Said another quick prayer asking to bring this deer back if this is truly meant to be. At about 5:30 deer slowly start to funnel back in. First a fawn, then a doe and finally at 5:44 here comes King Dingaling. Set the camera to record and grabbed my bow. Patience I kept telling myself, be patient. I would not settle for anything less than the perfect slightly quartering away shot with his front leg forward, opening up the sweet spot. This is the biggest deer I have ever laid eyes on in the wild and I am not about to blow it. I waited for 16 full minutes (actually felt like hours) watching him feed quartering to me. Finally a fawn moved in behind him and he decided to turn and push her off. In doing so, when he went back down to feed, he was just where I wanted him. Again I drew my bow started to lean over and noticed my peep sight was twisted and not where I needed it. NO!!!
I let off again, adjust the sight and quickly return to full draw. As I’m leaning towards the window a second time I see he is looking directly at me. I settle the pin and as he drops his head to feed I trip the release. Next thing I know I see blood spraying as he donkey kicks out of sight. I listen and listen and listen and finally hear what I thought was him crashing. I check the time, arrow deployed at 5:50pm. I could not believe what just happened. I grabbed the camera to review the video and could not keep it still. I watched what looked like an absolutely perfect shot at least half a dozen times and in slow motion. Sent that Killzone BH right smack in the kill zone! I said another prayer thanking God for what had just happened, I still couldn’t believe it.
Waited about 20 minutes then started to slowly and quietly gather my gear. I was not going to rush anything with this deer. At the 30 minute mark I slowly exit the blind and quietly went to inspect the area of impact. I wanted to, at the very least, get a good look before it was completely dark. I saw plenty good blood sprayed around where he stood and followed it about 10 yards to the main road where I found my arrow. I stood it up to mark the spot and began to walk the opposite direction up the South hill back to my truck.
As soon as I got to the top of the hill I look up to the dark sky full of stars and that’s when it hit my like a ton of bricks. I am at the ranch, by myself, it’s shaping up to be what will probably be the best day of my hunting career and all I want is dad to be here to share this moment with me. That’s when the tears started flow. I took a couple deep breaths, soaked it all in and continued to walk to the truck. I had a cold beer to calm the nerves, removed the tailgate feeder and put on the receiver hitch crank. Stared at the stars for a few minutes and thought back to all the wonderful memories this ranch has provided our friends and family over the years. Grabbed my gloves, a flashlight and slowly made my way back to the arrow. Right at 6:48 I pick up where I had left off. So long as I was on blood the track was easy, good solid blood. I was, however getting very nervous, looking for blood with only a light. I would lose blood than find it again. When I got to where the road turned towards the feeder and I completely lost it. I started to walk back to the last blood I had seen and there was able to pickup the trail again. He kept going straight towards the North hill up into his home. Got to where the brush line started and saw a prickly pear covered in blood. He didn’t make it 12 yards in the brush. There laid a beast! Absolutely no shrinkage on this guy. The way his mass followed up his left side was impressive.
Here is what I walked up to.
I felt so blessed to be able to put my hands on him. Thanked the Lord again, my Dad and thanked the animal for his life. I only tracked him for about 8 minutes and he went no more than 60 yards. Went back for the truck and quickly began sending out texts at the top of the South hill. It was at that point that I knew that I may have been out there by myself, but I was definitely not alone. Sent this guy up to Deer Heaven where Dad got to put his hands on him first! I Love you Dad and Thank You for all that you did for us.
A lot of hard work has gone into this place, especially in the last 3 years when we separated from a larger camp and kept a much smaller piece to hunt on. Without the help of my two partners, my brother Dave & my bro Willis (brother from another mother) none of this would be possible. Also a very special thanks to my beautiful wife for putting up with this obsession that she really doesn’t understand. I have so much to thank her for and without her I would be lost not knowing what true happiness is all about. She has given me two beautiful boys and having my family with me as part of this memory is more than I could ever ask for.
Took a few quick pictures and got him loaded up. Wife and kids would be joining me on Monday so wasn’t too worried about taking a ton of picks that night.
Ok, enough with the story and on with the LDP's!
A couple with the fam. Boys were more than excited to see this Giant and can't wait to eat him, lol!
A few more that came out really good. RJ was able to make it out early Monday morning and assisted with all the awesome LDP's! Thanks again RJ!
One with RJ
Last but no least, a couple solo shots
Did I get enough pics, lol?
Can't express in words exactly how proud I am of this buck and exactly how meaningful this hunt was.
Thanks for looking
This year we've had high expectation with several of our bucks getting into the 6.5+ age range. We hunt a couple of pastures (about 4,800 acres) on a rather large High Fence ranch (67,000 acres) so it isn't uncommon for that really nice 5.5 yr old buck we pass on to never be seen again. Every year we pick 1 or 2 really nice 5 & 6 year olds and choose to roll the dice and let them go for sake of improving the herd and for chances of a better next year.
Last year we had one very impressive 4.5 yr. old buck that really grabbed our attention. He was an instant jaw dropper and the way his 2's crowned to multiple points I tagged him with the name King Dingaling. This buck followed me around the ranch and had him in bow range at least a dozen times in 4 different blinds ranging about a mile +/- in distance. As impressive as he was there was no way he would get shot by our camp that year. Even though we have been HF the last 5 of 28 years, we only hunt about 7% of the ranch and with little to no communication with the neighboring camps we had the bad feeling he would get shot if he jumped the fence and wandered off our pasture.
A few picks of him from last year.
Fast forward to this year. We got cameras out a little later than we usually do but the first round of pics yielded one picture of the buck we named Kind Dingaling. Just like the previous year he did not disappoint. He gained a ton of Mass, widened up and his beams filled out, which he was really lacking the previous year. All the added character in points made him just that much more special. Knowing he was only 5 this year I knew this buck was definitely big enough to shoot, however, a small part of me felt he needed to be given another year. (Ok, to be honest, a very, very small microscopic, insignificant part of me wanted to pass, LoL!). One thing was for sure, he was Big and I needed a better look!
With a busy work schedule and limited time for the ranch most of the weekends I've had an opportunity to be out hunting were spent with the family driving around the ranch and enjoying the peacefulness of camp. To think one can effectively hunt/scout with a 3 & 4 year old in the blind is actually quite comical. Even with limited hunting time I wouldn't trade any of the time spent with my family for the world. I absolutely cherish and enjoyed every last one of those moments.
Having only sat in a blind 3 - 4 times up to this point I finally had a weekend that would give me the opportunity to do a little hunting for myself, I was even able to throw in a Monday! Got to the ranch Friday afternoon, plan was to feed all the blinds and eliminate the wasps! Also wanted to set up a target and practice a few shots from one of the tower blinds which I had not yet done so up to this point. As I approached one of the blinds, low & behold there was KD under the feeder. I first went to war and removed a couple hundred wasps then set up a target and took a few practice shots all of while he calmly fed 180 yards away. Got back in my truck, fed the roads and continued on to the next blind. As I passed by the feeder I watched him slowly walk into the brush where I stopped and we stared at each other for only a few seconds before I continued about my way.
Saturday morning found me back in that tower blind, I just had to get some good pictures of this beautiful deer! Fed all the senderos as I usually do and corned heavily close to the blind in hopes he would make his way in. About 10 minutes before the feeder went off he made his appearance, but instead of eating away with the other 24 deer scattered throughout the senderos he jumped in the feeder pen, all by his lonesome, and stood there waiting for the feeder to go off. That morning he was accompanied by a beautiful wide 7yr old 10 point we have been watching for several years. They fed and spared a bit which was fun to video, but being 180 yards away just wasn’t going to cut it. About a quarter till 9 he jumped out of the pen and slowly headed back up the North hill back to his home.
A couple iphone pics taken through my spotting scope.
That morning I was also blessed with the appearance of this cool little Cardinal.
After breakfast I grabbed a popup, some camo netting and all the essentials to get a ground blind set up. I was determined to get a closer look at both of these bucks, particularly KD. Knowing where this buck would be coming from I set up South of the feeder and cleared out an area that would give 2 different shooting lanes. Primary lane straight North and second lane to the West. Dedicated the next 3.5 hours to the blind, corned it heavily and off I went and sat the afternoon at a nearby spot.
Sunday morning gave a straight East wind which was No Bueno for the setup. I knew if I was going to get this feeder hog out of the pen and to my handcorn I would have to disconnect the timer and force him to feed my way. I did not, however, want to do that before I would be sitting in my spot and risk him moving off to another location as I knew he was already frequenting 3 different feeders this year alone. Checked the weather and had a North wind coming in for the afternoon and a NNW wind coming in for Monday morning, perfect!
Sunday morning I sat at different blind and had a great time watching multiple bucks come into my lane. Got some excellent pics and great video. Justin’s (J-Jac) Mature Buck Pile had 5 bucks lined up taking turns, pushing each other off, munching away at the piles!
Man they can’t resist the pile, lol!
One shot of all 5 bucks through my phone. Too close to get them all in one pic with the good camera.
Before the afternoon sit I wanted to make it back out to the popup and take a few practice shots. Did just that and everything looked and felt great. Headed back to camp and got ready for the afternoon sit. Showered, sprayed down cloths and gear and headed out to be in the blind by 3pm. Drove up, got my gear in the blind, dropped a big old Mature Buck Pile (heavily laced with Buck Candy!) and disconnected the feeder. I noticed that there was still plenty of corn on the ground in the pen from that morning. I did not like seeing that at all. Then, what had started off as a beautiful overcast afternoon quickly turned into a sunny afternoon completely exposing the blind. I was bummed, all the brush and camo netting wasn’t going to keep this blind from shining bright. Parked the truck on the other side of the hill, South of the blind, and began to walk back to the popup. By this point I was very discouraged and wasn’t feeling too optimistic about the afternoon sit. Oh well, I thought as I walked to the blind, I still have Monday morning.
Got settled in and just as expected every doe or fawn that came to my lane would stare at the bright object in the brush and leave with a nervous look. A little over an hour into the hunt the deer finally began to funnel in and slowly became more comfortable with the blind. When 5pm rolled around I finally see horns to the ground approaching my lane. Soon as he picks up his head I instantly knew it was Kind Dingaling. There is absolutely no mistaking this buck. Watching those horns glow bright as the slowly setting sun hit them was a beautiful sight of its own. I turned on the camera and raised the binos. Wow is all I could think as we stared each other down. He was much much bigger at 18 yards than I had thought. What to do???? I closed my eyes and said a quick little prayer. Asked the Lord for strength and to please stop this uncontrollable shaking! I also asked Dad to push this deer away if I’m not supposed to shoot him. And if it is meant to be, then please give me that perfect shot!
Grabbed my bow, locked in the release and waited. You could tell he knew something wasn’t right. He was quartering to and continually staring at my direction. I couldn’t take the stare downs so I moved off to the side and watched him through the video camera screen. Finally he turned broadside. I drew my bow and slowly leaned towards the window, only to see a fawn had moved in and was feeding between the two of us. I slowly let off. Fawn cleared and buck was back to quartering to. Again I began watching him through the camera. Finally he turned broadside again so I went to full draw and slowly leaned towards the window, this time only to have a doe right smack in front of him. Let off again. Not a minute passed when doe blows from behind me and forced all the deer in my lane to scatter. Absolutely everything left, my heart just sank. What just happened? I quickly thought well, I guess this just isn’t meant to be. But did she smell me, what the heck was she doing behind me? I sprayed some Buckbomb doe pee all around the blind and waited. Then I thought, well this isn’t supposed to be as easy, I mean, where’s the fun in that? Nothing like a good roller coaster ride!
My hands began to get cold from holding the bow so I put it down and turned on the Buddy Heater, I needed to warm up a bit. Said another quick prayer asking to bring this deer back if this is truly meant to be. At about 5:30 deer slowly start to funnel back in. First a fawn, then a doe and finally at 5:44 here comes King Dingaling. Set the camera to record and grabbed my bow. Patience I kept telling myself, be patient. I would not settle for anything less than the perfect slightly quartering away shot with his front leg forward, opening up the sweet spot. This is the biggest deer I have ever laid eyes on in the wild and I am not about to blow it. I waited for 16 full minutes (actually felt like hours) watching him feed quartering to me. Finally a fawn moved in behind him and he decided to turn and push her off. In doing so, when he went back down to feed, he was just where I wanted him. Again I drew my bow started to lean over and noticed my peep sight was twisted and not where I needed it. NO!!!
I let off again, adjust the sight and quickly return to full draw. As I’m leaning towards the window a second time I see he is looking directly at me. I settle the pin and as he drops his head to feed I trip the release. Next thing I know I see blood spraying as he donkey kicks out of sight. I listen and listen and listen and finally hear what I thought was him crashing. I check the time, arrow deployed at 5:50pm. I could not believe what just happened. I grabbed the camera to review the video and could not keep it still. I watched what looked like an absolutely perfect shot at least half a dozen times and in slow motion. Sent that Killzone BH right smack in the kill zone! I said another prayer thanking God for what had just happened, I still couldn’t believe it.
Waited about 20 minutes then started to slowly and quietly gather my gear. I was not going to rush anything with this deer. At the 30 minute mark I slowly exit the blind and quietly went to inspect the area of impact. I wanted to, at the very least, get a good look before it was completely dark. I saw plenty good blood sprayed around where he stood and followed it about 10 yards to the main road where I found my arrow. I stood it up to mark the spot and began to walk the opposite direction up the South hill back to my truck.
As soon as I got to the top of the hill I look up to the dark sky full of stars and that’s when it hit my like a ton of bricks. I am at the ranch, by myself, it’s shaping up to be what will probably be the best day of my hunting career and all I want is dad to be here to share this moment with me. That’s when the tears started flow. I took a couple deep breaths, soaked it all in and continued to walk to the truck. I had a cold beer to calm the nerves, removed the tailgate feeder and put on the receiver hitch crank. Stared at the stars for a few minutes and thought back to all the wonderful memories this ranch has provided our friends and family over the years. Grabbed my gloves, a flashlight and slowly made my way back to the arrow. Right at 6:48 I pick up where I had left off. So long as I was on blood the track was easy, good solid blood. I was, however getting very nervous, looking for blood with only a light. I would lose blood than find it again. When I got to where the road turned towards the feeder and I completely lost it. I started to walk back to the last blood I had seen and there was able to pickup the trail again. He kept going straight towards the North hill up into his home. Got to where the brush line started and saw a prickly pear covered in blood. He didn’t make it 12 yards in the brush. There laid a beast! Absolutely no shrinkage on this guy. The way his mass followed up his left side was impressive.
Here is what I walked up to.
I felt so blessed to be able to put my hands on him. Thanked the Lord again, my Dad and thanked the animal for his life. I only tracked him for about 8 minutes and he went no more than 60 yards. Went back for the truck and quickly began sending out texts at the top of the South hill. It was at that point that I knew that I may have been out there by myself, but I was definitely not alone. Sent this guy up to Deer Heaven where Dad got to put his hands on him first! I Love you Dad and Thank You for all that you did for us.
A lot of hard work has gone into this place, especially in the last 3 years when we separated from a larger camp and kept a much smaller piece to hunt on. Without the help of my two partners, my brother Dave & my bro Willis (brother from another mother) none of this would be possible. Also a very special thanks to my beautiful wife for putting up with this obsession that she really doesn’t understand. I have so much to thank her for and without her I would be lost not knowing what true happiness is all about. She has given me two beautiful boys and having my family with me as part of this memory is more than I could ever ask for.
Took a few quick pictures and got him loaded up. Wife and kids would be joining me on Monday so wasn’t too worried about taking a ton of picks that night.
Ok, enough with the story and on with the LDP's!
A couple with the fam. Boys were more than excited to see this Giant and can't wait to eat him, lol!
A few more that came out really good. RJ was able to make it out early Monday morning and assisted with all the awesome LDP's! Thanks again RJ!
One with RJ
Last but no least, a couple solo shots
Did I get enough pics, lol?
Can't express in words exactly how proud I am of this buck and exactly how meaningful this hunt was.
Thanks for looking
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