meyeri
PMA Member
Started out the year with high hopes, we had lots of 4 yr olds around last year with high potential. Fast forward to November and 4 of them never showed up this year, no idea what happened. We had one BIG one on the property but he got shot by a buddy so I was kinda hoping for a random cruiser. I had 2 mature bucks on cam that I probably would shoot, so there was still some options.
Rutcation started and I spent my time hunting funnels and filling my doe tags. On the morning of the 9th I was hunting a funnel and kept seeing a 100" buck with a hot doe chasing young bucks away. I'd seen him everytime I'd hunted this part of the property so at 11:30am I thought, this spot ain't it, I might as well go to the ridge where one of the mature bucks regularly visits. I was setup by 12:30 and getting blasted by the 20 mph winds we had that day. At about 1:20 I saw movement to my left so I pulled up my binoculars and immediately saw a forked G2, it was the mature buck I was in here to get a better look at and he was definitely was a shooter. He disappeared in the honeysuckle and so I kept watching in that direction figuring he'd take a trail my way at some point. As I was scanning the woods I saw antlers on the ridge below me, it was a 140 class 10 that was probably 4. I watched him filter off and went back to scanning to my west looking for the forked G2 buck. At about 1:30 I glance to my east and coming down the ridge at 10 yds, head down, directly at me is the forked g2 buck. I go into autopilot, grab my bow and immediately come to full draw. I hold as all I have is the top of his back, he's sniffing around at 7 yds about eye level with be because of the ridge elevation he's on. Luckily he starts to turn down the ridge and I wait till he's quartering away to send one right in his boiler room. At 7 yds I knew I smoked him; arrow hit offside shoulder and I could immediately see blood pumping from his entrance hole as he ran off. I was positive he was down even though I lost him in the honeysuckle. He is a much cooler buck that I thought and better than the trail cam pics showed. Taped him out at 150 1/2 inches. Just a tank bodied mature bruiser. Still pretty pumped and thankful the Lord blessed me with another Iowa whitetail.
Rutcation started and I spent my time hunting funnels and filling my doe tags. On the morning of the 9th I was hunting a funnel and kept seeing a 100" buck with a hot doe chasing young bucks away. I'd seen him everytime I'd hunted this part of the property so at 11:30am I thought, this spot ain't it, I might as well go to the ridge where one of the mature bucks regularly visits. I was setup by 12:30 and getting blasted by the 20 mph winds we had that day. At about 1:20 I saw movement to my left so I pulled up my binoculars and immediately saw a forked G2, it was the mature buck I was in here to get a better look at and he was definitely was a shooter. He disappeared in the honeysuckle and so I kept watching in that direction figuring he'd take a trail my way at some point. As I was scanning the woods I saw antlers on the ridge below me, it was a 140 class 10 that was probably 4. I watched him filter off and went back to scanning to my west looking for the forked G2 buck. At about 1:30 I glance to my east and coming down the ridge at 10 yds, head down, directly at me is the forked g2 buck. I go into autopilot, grab my bow and immediately come to full draw. I hold as all I have is the top of his back, he's sniffing around at 7 yds about eye level with be because of the ridge elevation he's on. Luckily he starts to turn down the ridge and I wait till he's quartering away to send one right in his boiler room. At 7 yds I knew I smoked him; arrow hit offside shoulder and I could immediately see blood pumping from his entrance hole as he ran off. I was positive he was down even though I lost him in the honeysuckle. He is a much cooler buck that I thought and better than the trail cam pics showed. Taped him out at 150 1/2 inches. Just a tank bodied mature bruiser. Still pretty pumped and thankful the Lord blessed me with another Iowa whitetail.
