Horses and Deer

[Tater]

Donkeys don’t play.

[JABIII]

Neither do these...

[Jozie & Me]

I’ve hunted off horseback. Deer don’t pay a horse one lick of attention. They don’t jump until they see you.

[TeamCutEmAll_SC]

A bunch of clubs in this area still have Horse men. I’ve killed a many that wouldn’t even get out the bed when rode up on.

I hunted with a club just outside of Ridgeland that had two drivers that rode horses and they killed many beded deer from the horses. Said you could ride right up to them.This was mid to late 80s

[WhitewaterDuck]

Well…does not matter now. I’ll check the area better after season, but I’m deep in a true once in a lifetime chess match now on the small piece of ground I shot the 140s deer in the skull on last year.

Like I said, I stumbled into a giant and somehow stalked my way to 18 yards but got pinned down with no ability to shoot with the selfbow. Didn’t have camera. Was even doubting myself in size estimate. The buck I saw in alfalfa the next am was him. Couldn’t cut him off, so wasn’t sure till the afternoon hunt. Tried to get permission to take a gun in, but Ranchee was thrashing ? The alfalfa and wife could not/would not make the call. So I go in and sit in the groundblind I fashioned. I hear a deer cough about 30 yards thru thick. I never see it, so I forget about it. Fifteen minutes later, right as sun setting, I see a deers back going into alfalfa. Turn on camera…go to looking for it. No deer…hmmm. Then I glance out in alfalfa, and he’s at 50 feeding toward me. I’m ready this time, so I’m way more nervous. I had good wind blowing 2mph from NE…he’s to my SW. he gets to 30 and the thermals start making their switch. Wind swings from NE…N…NW…W…then settles from south. The 5 seconds it blew from NW was enough. He stops feeding at 30 and looks my way for a minute. He slowly turns and starts feeding away.

By the time I figured out how to get manual focus on and get camera in position to film him without exposing myself, he was ~80-100. Horrible video, but there are moments where I clearly have him centered and focused despite me not really being able to tell for sure. I took some pics of the paused vid on the computer screen.

I went straight to landowner and explained the low odds of making it happen with a bow from the ground, and he told me to get him with my gun.

So I’m very excited…but also we’ll aware that 99.9% of humans never see a deer like this once…certainly don’t get to hunt one…and even fewer kill one like him. Yet I’ve crawled to 18, seen him briefly the next am, and had him coming to me at 30 yards the next afternoon…all inside 24 hours and 3 “sits.” I’ve already used up a ton of luck, and now I am attempting to dip into the luck bank savings and loan.

I hesitate to post this, because I’m trying to stay positive and not “jinx” anything, but I’d want one of y’all to be posting this if roles were reversed. I know he’s a gross Booner…maybe net Booner. My cuz thinks he’s a 200” deer. I know I severely underestimated his width earlier when I said 18-19”. The tines above the splits on his G2s are pushing 10” each. His G3’s are 14” if they are a cm…maybe 16”. I know this because I’ve seen him thru binos with good light and up Dang close. With those numbers as a reference…what do you think? 200”?

Pics coming soon.

[WhitewaterDuck]

BTW…no deer activity at all this afternoon now that I have a gun with me. Y’all know how it is. You get a couple of days where deer are moving well, but it never continues for more than a day or two before going dead. It’s cyclical. Woods were dead today. I despise this swing of the moonphase too. Waning crescent thru the new moon and back waxing crescent tends to blow for me. Once the moon is a day or two from returning to half full (first quarter) seems like that’s when movement kicks back in. That said, I’ll be there hoping for a break until the movement picks back up.

[WhitewaterDuck]

;;;

[coonsqualler01]

Dude.

[Calibogue]

Put the stick bow or wheel bow in the closet and burn some powder and don't fuk it up!

[Sportin' Woodies]

That would make Stan Potts cry. He might even cut himself a little.

[WhitewaterDuck]

You don't think my first thought day 1 minute 1 was "I wish I had a gun?!"
Going to head over in the mornings and figure out how to see what I need to see from as much dikstance as possible. have not figured out any different afternoon strategy yet.

[wskinner]

Needs another year.

[2thDoc]

Horse girls are crazy

but fun to ride

[Huntinjunkie]

but fun to ride

Grab em by the ears and ride em like a pony

[Bigtimber2]

;;;

Kill him by any legal means.

[doe killer]

Damn, that's a good one

[turbo]

Kill him by any legal means.

I'd kill him by ANY means.

If I had a chance to run his ass over with a motorcycle, I would aim for his shoulder and pray I wasn't impaled by an antler on my way over.

[w33kender]

I've seen bigger.






In magazines.

[Bigtimber2]

Nobody would see those pics until he was dead.

[WhitewaterDuck]

Well…only y’all. Someone would have to poach him to get him, so I figure the chances of someone on here that would poach him and be able to somehow figure out where he is is low enough to throw out that bit of deer porn. I’ve arranged for the rest of the season off…I have access now to a spot where I’m 280 yards to closest spot he might show and 480 to the farthest spot I’ve seen him be or imagine he’d go. They usually come out somewhere between those spots. Borrowed a buds long range tack driving machine I was banging 12” gongs with at 400 right off the bat in a 12 mph crosswind today with…and his sig binocs that range and show dope chart adjustments. I’m far away enough that I don’t think my wind would booger him even if it was not a good wind. Comfy enough to sit all day. This is where I’ll be living for at least the next 11 days. OhpleaseOpleaseOPlease Lord! Please let him return!