I’ve been hunting in Bandera at my best friends ranch for 23 years. We have really worked to improve the place when food plots (although not in last 3 years) and have cut a lot of cedar, fixed/replaced feeders, added new blinds, etc. We have all been really disciplined to only shoot old mature bucks since I was little. Last year one of our neighbors shot the big buck we were after and it really knocked the wind out of our sails. I
This last weekend (opening rifle) we had bucks show up out of nowhere after September/October being slow with buck traffic. This deer showed up at our low fence place 10/31 and I got him this weekend. We haven’t ever seen a Droptine buck out there before.
The deer were in full rut this last weekend and I had an awesome hunt. I drove into the ranch and the rancher out there told me had just seen this buck. So I checked the camera and fast walked out to the ladder stand. I knew the South wind was totally wrong for the hunt but I had to do it. First 3 deer in smelled me and bolted. I stuck with it and had 8 deer within 10-30 yards for the next hour and a half. 3 bucks chasing does and if I hadn’t known about this deer I would have shot a tall big old 8 point. He ran the 8 point off to the neighbors place.
Then he showed made a scrape right below a live oak in the middle of a field and was at 60 yards for about 30 minutes. That helped me calm down and once he came in I was already drawn back. He was at 22 yards when I shot and he didn’t go very far. I was using Elite Energy 32 with Maxima arrows and G5 striker. My lumenock actually fell off somewhere after the shot.
He has 13 points and a 4.5” Droptine from tip to center of beam. I checked him in at TP&W check point for CWD and they aged him at 6.5 years old. We don’t have a single picture of this deer over the past 6.5 years.
Sometimes you just have to go hunting! If I had gone off the last few months of photos I wouldn’t have gone this last weekend.
I posted here because this buck has literally been 23 years of ranch improvement and y’all have helped me age plenty of our bucks in years past to help me get it. We also have a shoot spikes policy (which I do NOT agree with) but fortunately only 3 spikes have been killed in all this time. Good working trail cams, reliable feeders, water, clearing cedars to let the oaks grow, and letting them grow for 23 years has finally paid off!
I posted about a buck from last year that I hit in the neck after I had an arrow hit a limb. He actually survived but I got sick of all the negative commentators on here telling me how to hunt and shoot better. So much so that I really wasn’t going to post this. I’ve got dozens of mounts and many are with a bow and that was the only time I haven’t recovered an animal in those 23 years of bow hunting except my very first shot which was an old PSE and a old dull POS broadhead because I didn’t know the difference at that age. But, anyhow here he is and anyone in Bandera area I hope you see what we are seeing this year! Good luck out there!
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This last weekend (opening rifle) we had bucks show up out of nowhere after September/October being slow with buck traffic. This deer showed up at our low fence place 10/31 and I got him this weekend. We haven’t ever seen a Droptine buck out there before.
The deer were in full rut this last weekend and I had an awesome hunt. I drove into the ranch and the rancher out there told me had just seen this buck. So I checked the camera and fast walked out to the ladder stand. I knew the South wind was totally wrong for the hunt but I had to do it. First 3 deer in smelled me and bolted. I stuck with it and had 8 deer within 10-30 yards for the next hour and a half. 3 bucks chasing does and if I hadn’t known about this deer I would have shot a tall big old 8 point. He ran the 8 point off to the neighbors place.
Then he showed made a scrape right below a live oak in the middle of a field and was at 60 yards for about 30 minutes. That helped me calm down and once he came in I was already drawn back. He was at 22 yards when I shot and he didn’t go very far. I was using Elite Energy 32 with Maxima arrows and G5 striker. My lumenock actually fell off somewhere after the shot.
He has 13 points and a 4.5” Droptine from tip to center of beam. I checked him in at TP&W check point for CWD and they aged him at 6.5 years old. We don’t have a single picture of this deer over the past 6.5 years.
Sometimes you just have to go hunting! If I had gone off the last few months of photos I wouldn’t have gone this last weekend.
I posted here because this buck has literally been 23 years of ranch improvement and y’all have helped me age plenty of our bucks in years past to help me get it. We also have a shoot spikes policy (which I do NOT agree with) but fortunately only 3 spikes have been killed in all this time. Good working trail cams, reliable feeders, water, clearing cedars to let the oaks grow, and letting them grow for 23 years has finally paid off!
I posted about a buck from last year that I hit in the neck after I had an arrow hit a limb. He actually survived but I got sick of all the negative commentators on here telling me how to hunt and shoot better. So much so that I really wasn’t going to post this. I’ve got dozens of mounts and many are with a bow and that was the only time I haven’t recovered an animal in those 23 years of bow hunting except my very first shot which was an old PSE and a old dull POS broadhead because I didn’t know the difference at that age. But, anyhow here he is and anyone in Bandera area I hope you see what we are seeing this year! Good luck out there!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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