Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Floppy Era Ends - Nov. 12,2021

davidblum

Member
Hey fellas, had a great hunt on a blustery Nov. 12th morning. I was able to harvest an old farm legend, Floppy. A buck I have four years worth of history with since I first began to hunt this farm. Definitely not close to the biggest buck on the farm but I think without a doubt the oldest. He was a stud 8 in the 2018 season which is when I got my first picture of him and his easily identifiable floppy right ear. Hundreds of pictures and videos of him over the years and then the first time I’ve ever laid eyes on him in the stand was the morning I shot him.

Some pictures through the years

2018 Season
7620cb788f785174a379a348427861e9.jpg


2019 Season
b516a83a5d30172b147ca1336a25c93e.jpg


2020 Season
95b9d6e2287dfbc4a93dd448012fc5e0.jpg


2021 Season
3a994c90abaad10d2b9a7d97fb233999.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hunt details:

Three fairly young kiddos keep my bow hunting opportunities a little limited so bulked up on my good graces for a long weekend of hunting Nov. 12-14. Cameras had been hot with some nice deer around so I liked my odds to get it done on short notice.

Not sure if I slept an hour the night of the 11th. Too windy and excited. Thinking through stand locations with the howling wind all night. Finally just got out of bed about 3:30 am. Showered, coffee, breakfast then hit the road for the hour drive. Wind and heavy flurries the whole way down. Pulled into the farm about 5 am. Plenty early before sunrise with the heavy clouds.

Had two options in mind- both choices should be a little out of the way of the heavy winds. One was about a 10 minute walk in. The other was a mile hike. Thought “what the hell?” and chose the long walk. Loaded up in my heavy camo, pack loaded with climbing sticks and saddle setup and trekked towards the creek.

Steady walk in with heavy wind covering my access. Didn’t seem to disrupt a thing on the way. Once I reached my OnX map chosen destination a multiple trunked maple caught my eye immediately. Some good cover and at the intersection of 3 or 4 trails. Bark was a little slick for the sticks but we made it work. Setup by about 6:10 am. First shots could be fired about 6:30 I believe. Felt good. Wind was present but not howling down here. A little swirly.

Head was on a swivel with soft ground and wind. About 6:40 I heard something behind me. Slowly turned to see a nice tall, tight racked buck at 25 yards watching my direction. Straight downwind. Another smaller buck behind him. Stand-off ensues for 10 minutes at least. Had my wind enough where something wasn’t right but the ozone storage tote and scent free shower did a good enough job that they worked off and didn’t blow the spot up.

Scanning around a little after 7 am and things were starting to brighten up in the timber. Movement ahead of me. 50 yards. Buck working away. Nice dark colored rack. Looked decent. Smaller bucks 30 yards behind him. Grunted once. Not loud enough. Again. Still nothing. One loud grunt to penetrate the wind. He stopped and turned. Started to bristle up to the buck behind him. Still 50+ yards away. I reach for my bow and position myself on the platform for potential shot. Still not sure if he’s a shooter or not. He’s upwind and starts to work closer. Pushes the other buck away and continues my way. “I think that’s Floppy!” He turns at 30 yards and I see his right ear. He continues to work towards me. Inside 30 yards. Still bristled up. I draw. It’s definitely him. 23ish yards. Put the pin right on the shoulder. Squeezed the release. Watched the Nocturnal fly directly into his shoulder. CRACK! Immediately he fell onto his chest. Broke his near shoulder. Heavy arrow/ single bevel setup did its job. He wheeled around in a 10 yard circle and expired in less than a minute.

I gave him a couple minutes before climbing down to confirm that it was indeed Floppy. Right ear and sticker points at his bases gave him away. The farm legend took his last breath on this November morning and I am a proud hunter. It’s great to wrap your tag around an antlered giant but I’m equally as excited to show off the history and story with this one.

I took my time field dressing and enjoying the moment with the flurries continuing to fly. Felt like what a November rut hunt was supposed to.

My taxidermist will send the teeth out to the lab to confirm age. My best guess is 8+ years old. But if it came back older I wouldn’t be surprised. My first successful hunt out of a tree saddle as well. A little bit of a learning curve with that the last couple years but it’s been fun to be mobile and lightweight.

Thanks for reading if you’re still here! Quick tape job puts him right at 130”

c0797d80dc786efe1c69c8bab51aca8f.jpg


f2ad60d6beb331be3281c79f88e30680.jpg


0a1a7a7de42e1f905dd505401927ed0d.jpg


e2ed2d2ddefff1855dcdd6cbeb3401f4.jpg


d4fb91a026094b160cb228022389688e.jpg


28f0ec76e6e2c5eb170e49f965313008.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The best trophies don't always have the biggest antlers. That buck, to me, is more of a true trophy than would be a giant racked 4 year old say. Congrats! We had a buck on our farm a few years back that was almost the same story, he was at least 8, possibly 9, when we finally connected with him and although we have shot several other bucks with bigger antlers, it is that buck that we consider to be the best trophy from our farm. So I get the feelings of satisfaction! Well done!
 
Good job, perfect heart shot! It's always rewarding when you get a chance at a buck you have a lot of history with no matter what he scores, nice buck.
 
Love old bucks! Congrats!
Great story, the preface and the actual hunt itself.
In my small world, if I had a buck that looked like the 2018 pic, I'd age him at 6+. So ya, I'd say "Floppy" is probably 9+.
Congrats again.
 
I had my "Floppy" under the stand and passed on him since I was "trophy antler hunting", which I regret to this day. Glad you closed the chapter on yours.
 
You know when you're in your man cave you will tell the guys the story about that nice 145" 10pt over there in about 3 min. The story on this one will take a lot longer and they will tell how much more it means to you.

Good job man, I wish I had history with one like that.
 
You know when you're in your man cave you will tell the guys the story about that nice 145" 10pt over there in about 3 min. The story on this one will take a lot longer and they will tell how much more it means to you.

Good job man, I wish I had history with one like that.

Absolutely right. Won’t soon forget about this one. Thanks for the kind words!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I think Floppy has a mane. If you
Notice in the back of his neck the hair is sticking up. I mounted one like that back around 2006 - 2010. It had about a 1” mane that stood up on the back of its neck. Pretty rare and cool.
 
I think Floppy has a mane. If you
Notice in the back of his neck the hair is sticking up. I mounted one like that back around 2006 - 2010. It had about a 1” mane that stood up on the back of its neck. Pretty rare and cool.

He does! Good eye. My taxidermist was geeked up about that too. I had never even heard of that before.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Top Bottom