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Mid America Staff Jon, John, Shaun From: Third year member My deer hunting summary for the year. Well, it all started, as we headed southwest from Indiana on Nov. 6th for a
few days of bow hunting before the firearm opener in [location deleted]. My
brother Dan and I tried some spots in [location deleted] Counties which we
hunted last year. The first day, Nov 7th I went to my section only armed with an
aerial map of the area and set up in what proved to be a hot spot, a narrow
funnel where the wood line pinched down and got on the good side of the wind. I
saw 3 does, 12 bucks, 2 of which were shooters, however no shot was presented
that day, I sat all day, never got down. I also saw 2 bobcats.
The next couple of days I spent trying to get on a turkey in my double bull blind. Wouldn't you know it, while waiting for turkeys, a monster 10pt walked right up to my spread, a mere 22 yds, and never knew I was there. I thought he was a 150 class buck or better. Never did get a turkey, however saw plenty. Brother Dan hunted until the end of the week and didn't have any luck on a shooter. The conditions were very warm and windy, he did spot two shooters in [location deleted] county, however, they never hit the ground. He also passed on several smaller bucks. In closing, about the bow portion of our trip, we saw plenty of game but the weather was terribly warm and windy, which I felt limited the trophy buck movement. From there we went to our reservation for opening day firearm in [location deleted] to set stands and bow hunt on Friday, the 11th. We set up for our bow hunt with me on the camera above my brother in the same tree. As the morning progressed, we spotted several deer, including some good film of two smaller bucks and four or five does. However the big buck we were watching all morning would never leave the doe he was tending in the brush. This bruiser would tip the scales in the 150 range, we ended up slipping out of the bow stands not spooking him, and went around the section to set our rifle stands, hoping to get a shot at him the next morning. We set both of our stands in good locations, with awesome views that covered some of the best deer cover in the U.S. As the opening morning unfolded, a couple of does and a smaller buck were feeding in the bean stubble right in front of me. They worked their way to about fifty yards and caught a little of my wind, they were alarmed but didn't run, I noticed the smaller buck was looking very intensely into the brush directly ahead of him. All of a sudden from the spot the smaller buck was watching, a big buck just appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to walk across the bean stubble right in front of me to cut back into the thick brush from which he came earlier the morning. I couldn't believe my eyes, a huge racked buck was suddenly right in my lap in the wide open, slowly walking from my left to right. It didn't take me but a couple of seconds to shoulder my rifle and shoot him while he was walking slowly. I am not the steadiest man in the rifle world, however the bullet found its mark from a freehand shooting position of about 90yds. The bullet passed through both shoulders and the huge buck dropped in his tracks and never moved. All of this happened within the first 35 minutes of the morning. After I quit shaking in a few minutes, I got down and walked over to the buck. I reached down a pulled the rack out of the grass, and was overwhelmed with emotion. He was a non-typical 13pt with a very unique uneven rack which was huge. After about an hour of dragging with the help of a neighbor boy, we got him to the road and I did some rough measuring. He turned out to be 19" inside, 22" outside, carried 5 1/2" of mass on all measurements out to the tips, 25" main beams, and rough scoring 163 non typical, and field dressed at 195 at the local cooler. This was my largest racked buck of my life.
Meanwhile my brother Dan was still waiting for that big 9pt we spotted the morning before, he sat all day and did not see him. Just a couple of does and two smaller bucks showed up. The weather didn't help either, the winds had to be in the 30 mph range. Dan sat there on Sun and nothing, then a business obligation came up unexpectedly and we had to leave a couple of days early. So we packed up and headed back to Indiana. The final leg of my Mid America hunting season was awaiting me in [location deleted], where I was lucky enough to be drawn for the third year in a row. I couldn't wait, because I took two trophies in the previous two years, a nice 150 class 10pt, and a huge bodied 142 class 9pt, that weighed in the 230lb range field dressed. Needless to say I was stoked on my trip back to [location deleted]. When we got there, ole man winter had greeted us with the full fury of his winter grip. The weather was to be frigidly cold, in the single digits, and a few inches of snow were on the ground with more snow in the forecast. After spending the night, I headed out for my section with a full arsenal of clothing and food, I always prepare to stay all day in the stand, but the conditions were very cold and I didn't know how I would hold up all day in these conditions. The snow was very squeaky and loud walking in the morning, which probably spooked all deer out of my area for the morning. But I knew if I just sat tight they would return sooner than later, and that was exactly what happened. Around high noon, and ten million shivers later, here they came through the draw I was watching. Around a dozen does and one nice buck approached my area from up wind and within a few seconds after spotting the deer, they were within 40 yds right in front of me in the open timber. He gave me a good look at his good side, (he had a 10" g3 on his left side broke off, which I didn't originally notice), and I quickly decided he was good enough for me and took the shot. The smoke flew and he staggered off, I knew I hit him good. I got off of my stand which was only 2 feet off of the ground, I had to place it in this location because of the wind and there were no suitable trees for my climber. (I am not afraid of setting on the ground as long as the wind is in your favor, two of the three bucks I have taken in [location deleted] I have been on the ground.).
After taking off several layers, I went over and found him up the draw a couple of hundred yards. He was a real nice 10pt, almost 17" inside spread, with long 10" g2's and g3's. I rough scored him at 143, with a repaired left g3. I was a little disappointed seeing the broken tine, but considering the weather, and the view of his good side he gave me, there was no doubt to take him in the heat of the moment.
In closing, after I got home, I talked to John Wenzel and he told me that I was only the third club member in their history who has taken three bucks in one year. I was blessed beyond my wildest dreams, by our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. It is hard for me to express my feelings, from excitement to humility this hunting season, but several things happened during my travels, (a couple of encounters with other members), that only God's grace and mercy could make work out. All of us have blessings awaiting us if we only ask, not just in hunting, but in all areas of life. I have said it before in my writings, that I find it easier to connect with God when I am surrounded with His wonderful world of the out of doors. Maybe that is the reason that I'm drawn to be out there so much. Thank you very much for reading my story, and I wish the best of luck to all members this coming year in their own hunting adventures. Again, a huge thank you goes out to Jon, John and Shaun and everyone who puts in the time to make this club work so well. Sincerely, Rex More about this family of deer hunters 1 3 4 5 6 or on turkey hunts 2 3 4 5 6 |
