Coach
New Member
A mid-season scout really paid off for me this year. After hunting a ridge one morning in late October I made my way to a farm that I had not hunted or even had a chance to scout. It didn't look like much from the road, but the closer I got, the better it looked. The spot was a long North-South draw that butts up to a timber and a wetland. I did some light scouting and determined that this was THE spot. I waited for the wind to be just right and made my move. I went in with my climber and sat for an evening hunt. At about 4:30 I spotted a huge 10 point coming up the draw towards me, exactly from the direction that I had not planned on. He either winded me or was chasing a doe. He turned and walked out as fast as he came in, and my heart sank.
The following Tuesday, November 12th, I got a call at work from my buddy Canjo reminding me that the rut was in full swing and the wind was right for my money stand. I quickly came down with an illness and had to leave work at noon! Canjo shot his buck 9 days prior not more than a half mile from my stand site and was eager to film my hunt for me. We made our way to my spot and got set up. We took my 3D target as a decoy after reading about the success that others were having with them. We set the decoy up next to a scrape about 15 yards from my stand. We sat for an hour and then I swung the seat of my climber around the back of my tree as I often do to be ready for a shot when the action is hot. About half an hour later I saw Canjo's eyes bug out and he pointed down the draw and whispered "big buck!" I shifted my position to see a huge 10 pointer coming straight towards us. He stopped at about 30 yards, lifted his head and was sniffing the air. Then he snapped his head down like a bird dog when he locked onto the doe decoy. He let out a grunt and started walking towards me again. A doe ran down the outside of the draw right at the doe decoy. The buck didn't want anything coming in between him and the doe decoy and made a lefthand turn after letting out another grunt. He walked almost right under my stand and I made my move. I drew on him as he walked behind a tree, he stepped out and I made my 8 foot shot on the money. The buck mule kicked over his head and took off like a bullet. We found him about six hundred yards away with a hole through a lung and his heart. The buck is a perfect 10 pointer scoring just over 150 inches, my best to date. The best part of the whole thing is that Canjo got the whole thing on video. We are working on getting the video posted so you can watch the hunt!
The following Tuesday, November 12th, I got a call at work from my buddy Canjo reminding me that the rut was in full swing and the wind was right for my money stand. I quickly came down with an illness and had to leave work at noon! Canjo shot his buck 9 days prior not more than a half mile from my stand site and was eager to film my hunt for me. We made our way to my spot and got set up. We took my 3D target as a decoy after reading about the success that others were having with them. We set the decoy up next to a scrape about 15 yards from my stand. We sat for an hour and then I swung the seat of my climber around the back of my tree as I often do to be ready for a shot when the action is hot. About half an hour later I saw Canjo's eyes bug out and he pointed down the draw and whispered "big buck!" I shifted my position to see a huge 10 pointer coming straight towards us. He stopped at about 30 yards, lifted his head and was sniffing the air. Then he snapped his head down like a bird dog when he locked onto the doe decoy. He let out a grunt and started walking towards me again. A doe ran down the outside of the draw right at the doe decoy. The buck didn't want anything coming in between him and the doe decoy and made a lefthand turn after letting out another grunt. He walked almost right under my stand and I made my move. I drew on him as he walked behind a tree, he stepped out and I made my 8 foot shot on the money. The buck mule kicked over his head and took off like a bullet. We found him about six hundred yards away with a hole through a lung and his heart. The buck is a perfect 10 pointer scoring just over 150 inches, my best to date. The best part of the whole thing is that Canjo got the whole thing on video. We are working on getting the video posted so you can watch the hunt!
