We don't really try very hard to name deer on our lease, but we do kinda let the natural commentary do the naming. When sharing trail cam pics a while back, I sent one to Travis and Les as I had never seen the buck, he was clearly mature, and probably one of the better deer we've see on the place. Travis responded with "that's a Helluva Deer". So, there is the name for this deer that was attributed to him for a very short time, mainly because I'm typing this thread.
I had a colleague reach out to me about meeting in Blanco for lunch on Friday. We discussed work strategy, enjoyed some Old 300 barbeque and I was able to slip out for the lease early. We wrapped up lunch and I headed to the feed store for a few bags of corn and made the short drive to the property. My daughter was headed home from College Station and would head up later in the afternoon to take her spot in another Krivo blind on the opposite end of the ranch.
I spent the next couple hours pulling cards, topping off a couple feeders and hand corning my treestand spot at the gate. With a little time to spare, I checked trailcam pics while lounging in the cabin. I got a little bored and figured I could be bored in the stand...so I prepped and drove to the hay barn to park and walk to my stand.
After just getting settled into Bomb Shelter North, a Krivo blind on the north end of the ranch, I had a small buck with velvet still on his horns drop in. I figured him to be a stag but did see he still had his hangin' down parts. However, they were clearly injured. It will be interesting to see if he sheds his antlers.
As the afternoon advanced, more and more deer came in ahead of the feeder spinning. I sat and grabbed footage of the spikes, 8 points and every other type of non-shooter that came to see me. Minutes before the feeder was set to spin, I looked out the window and standing broadside in my shooting lane was HD. There was no doubt about it as he is just a big ol' buck for Blanco County. Antlers, body...he's the exception out there and not the norm.
I hit record on my cameras and pulled my bow up to get ready for the shot. I leaned back in the blind to draw, in somewhat of a hurry, and then leaned forward to aim out the window. HD was now walking directly toward me, closing in at about 15 yards. I settled the pin on his shoulder as he turned to give me a more favorable angle. I'm not a fan of quartering shots towards me, but he was very close and I was confident the opportunity for error was small enough that I could get it done. I tripped the release and watched the arrow disappear just above his front leg. He fled south as I watched out the side window. Just as he dropped out of my sight, it appeared he stumbled. It got quiet.
I addressed the peace by getting overly excited in the blind. I knew I had put a good shot on him and reviewed my footage to confirm. I downloaded a couple stills from the video and began to text those that I thought would want to know. After about 20 minutes, I got out of the blind to see what I could find. I saw very little sign at the shot and because I thought I knew where I last saw him, I headed that direction without really looking for a blood trail. I went to where I thought I had seen him drop and found no sign of him. I looked under the cedars at the edge of the opening and then looked back towards the blind. I realized then that the window from which I had watched him was obscured by an oak trunk. There was no way he went to this spot if I watched from that window.
I worked my way just a few yards to the east along the brush line and that's when I realized what I had done. It seems I always feel like the animals that have fled that direction go a little more west than they actually do. I've made this mistake a few times and am not surprised given my excitement. Even Travis did the same thing with a deer his son had shot last year. The deer do take a trail more to the east than what we think. So, after easing through the grass a few yards, I looked up to see my buck laying dead just 50 yards from the stand!
The video tells most of the tale. I hurried around to take advantage of fading light for the LDPs. My daughter was hunting on the other side of the ranch and I would need to wait for her anyway. I scurried around and got the pics I wanted and then headed to the hill in the center of the ranch for what I hoped would be some skylit photos against the sunset.
I'm still more than ecstatic with this buck. My current plan is to have him mounted as I think he deserves it as our biggest buck off the ranch.
Please take a few minutes to watch the video.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE7VzJgY204"]Blanco Buck - "Helluva Deer" - YouTube[/ame]
I had a colleague reach out to me about meeting in Blanco for lunch on Friday. We discussed work strategy, enjoyed some Old 300 barbeque and I was able to slip out for the lease early. We wrapped up lunch and I headed to the feed store for a few bags of corn and made the short drive to the property. My daughter was headed home from College Station and would head up later in the afternoon to take her spot in another Krivo blind on the opposite end of the ranch.
I spent the next couple hours pulling cards, topping off a couple feeders and hand corning my treestand spot at the gate. With a little time to spare, I checked trailcam pics while lounging in the cabin. I got a little bored and figured I could be bored in the stand...so I prepped and drove to the hay barn to park and walk to my stand.
After just getting settled into Bomb Shelter North, a Krivo blind on the north end of the ranch, I had a small buck with velvet still on his horns drop in. I figured him to be a stag but did see he still had his hangin' down parts. However, they were clearly injured. It will be interesting to see if he sheds his antlers.
As the afternoon advanced, more and more deer came in ahead of the feeder spinning. I sat and grabbed footage of the spikes, 8 points and every other type of non-shooter that came to see me. Minutes before the feeder was set to spin, I looked out the window and standing broadside in my shooting lane was HD. There was no doubt about it as he is just a big ol' buck for Blanco County. Antlers, body...he's the exception out there and not the norm.
I hit record on my cameras and pulled my bow up to get ready for the shot. I leaned back in the blind to draw, in somewhat of a hurry, and then leaned forward to aim out the window. HD was now walking directly toward me, closing in at about 15 yards. I settled the pin on his shoulder as he turned to give me a more favorable angle. I'm not a fan of quartering shots towards me, but he was very close and I was confident the opportunity for error was small enough that I could get it done. I tripped the release and watched the arrow disappear just above his front leg. He fled south as I watched out the side window. Just as he dropped out of my sight, it appeared he stumbled. It got quiet.
I addressed the peace by getting overly excited in the blind. I knew I had put a good shot on him and reviewed my footage to confirm. I downloaded a couple stills from the video and began to text those that I thought would want to know. After about 20 minutes, I got out of the blind to see what I could find. I saw very little sign at the shot and because I thought I knew where I last saw him, I headed that direction without really looking for a blood trail. I went to where I thought I had seen him drop and found no sign of him. I looked under the cedars at the edge of the opening and then looked back towards the blind. I realized then that the window from which I had watched him was obscured by an oak trunk. There was no way he went to this spot if I watched from that window.
I worked my way just a few yards to the east along the brush line and that's when I realized what I had done. It seems I always feel like the animals that have fled that direction go a little more west than they actually do. I've made this mistake a few times and am not surprised given my excitement. Even Travis did the same thing with a deer his son had shot last year. The deer do take a trail more to the east than what we think. So, after easing through the grass a few yards, I looked up to see my buck laying dead just 50 yards from the stand!
The video tells most of the tale. I hurried around to take advantage of fading light for the LDPs. My daughter was hunting on the other side of the ranch and I would need to wait for her anyway. I scurried around and got the pics I wanted and then headed to the hill in the center of the ranch for what I hoped would be some skylit photos against the sunset.
I'm still more than ecstatic with this buck. My current plan is to have him mounted as I think he deserves it as our biggest buck off the ranch.
Please take a few minutes to watch the video.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE7VzJgY204"]Blanco Buck - "Helluva Deer" - YouTube[/ame]
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