Ga Hunting

This is the 5th time I've hunted this lease in about 7 years. Was a member 4 years running, then tried SC and public land in FL. Got an invite and run with it. Real nice folks up there - hard to find folks like this.

Anyway - went to shooting house Friday am. Bad wind for my favorite stand, and it had a roof to stay out of the rain. Saw 6 does and a 6 pt. Leaving I saw another doe. 8 deer seen.

Grabbed cam chip and checked back at the house - several larger bucks, one had a great rack with G-3s longer than G-2s - pretty 8 pt, 110-120 class. Had one non-typical and a couple heavy horns with short tines.

Back in box for evening hunt - breezy with gusts and some sprinkles - hoping on the long 8. Had a nice buck go flying across center shooting lane 100 yards out front. Literally, 1 leap and gone. 20 minutes later a smaller deer took 2 bounds (I only saw 2nd bound - could have been a doe). Little while later doe and 2 fawns comes across in front of me about 20 yards, meanders out to where deer jumped over road and entered brush - reappeared off to my right and fed until just before dark.

Of to the left a spike shows and is feeding. I'm watching time tick down as the sun had just set. Got like 5 bucks coming... about 20 minutes after sunset it was deer pandemonium! The little buck dropped to the ground and went scooting off, another small deer does a missile across the shooting lane, tails bopping around and a smaller buck glued to a does butt. Then things went to normal, 3 does feeding, then bounding deer again - they kept watching off to one side and I'm glued to the scope, waiting for the long 8 to step out... I left the box when I could no longer see the deer thru the scope. No horns came out... 12 deer seen this sit.

Decided to push back deeper for the morning sit - it is now colder and windy, good gusts. Sitting in my old stand - 2 man ladder. Shooting lane out front, to left, and to right but further back, almost behind. I have seen a lot of deer out of this stand.

First light comes and there is a 75# class pig out front. He heads to the left. 15 minutes or so later a small 8 comes out from the left, feeding for a while - looks off in distance and gets antsy, runs up towards me, feeding a bit and then ambling til he hits my scent at 30 yards or so - then boing-boing, off to left.

Scanning around some, getting updates from hunt buddy, see bobcat - watching big cat walk along and then see 2 or 3 others - turned out to be a momma w 3 little ones. Watching them, wishing for binoculars. Scan other shooting lanes and BUCK! 8:20.

There was a decent buck in the left shooting lane, standing in the bushes at about 100 yards, looking around - rack was as wide as ears and tall - swinging gun from central facing to left facing, trying to get setting in somewhat solid and choose when to shoot - rack still looks big, crosshairs tight on shoulder, gun goes off and a large eruption of sand explodes behind him! "how'd I miss?" thought then deer leaps forward and rolls over, flips a couple times and lay still. I get down and scurry over - there is some ground shrinkage and it is the non typical. My 2nd non typical on this property.



Get back in stand and wait to see if any other deer will show, hoping some does show up. A spike and button come thru out front, then I see a deer with head down, tail at half cock off on the left, 200 yds +/- look and see a doe following. Try to get gun set and am not steady enough to shoot the doe at 200. Move shooting stick to left and waiting for next doe. Still scanning...

Watching left, look center and big-bodied deer at end of shooting lane, grab shooting stick, throw gun up and see heavy antlers out past ears, higher than ears. Looking up my way, broadside, settle crosshairs on shoulder seam, touch trigger, gun barks and deer staggers, does forward flip and flops out of view.

I get the text - that you? My response is I'm shaking, need to get myself together so I can get down and see how big he really is. His response is "on my way"...

I walk the 220 yards, 200 of them looking at the side of his rack sticking up in the air. My best buck yet.

 

He's not as big as he looks. Just bigger than any I've gotten so far. Not mounting size, but makes Rich happy size. Maybe if he had more tine length - he's got the looks.

Both deer were about 170-175# class animals.

The chocolate rack and white tips did him in. I'm running on 4 hrs of sleep in the pic - forgot how to smile but look happy enough anyway. He's real close to 100 inches in a big guess - tines are in the 4-inch bracket.. If the tines/beams were another 3 inches each I'd maybe consider a shoulder mount. Pretty buck. Just bad timing on his part.


Other buck - the longer tines are over 7 inches. 18 inch or so beams. Brow is 2-3 inches. Spread about 14 inside. Looks diff in game camera, but same nontypical deer. We knew I'd likely get him... Big head, lighter rack, looked taller and "more".

 

Wife doesn't want a deer head/horns on the wall.

We had 18 ducks and geese at one point - I used to be a big time waterfowl hunter and was collecting all the non-sea ducks/geese on the eastern flyway. The geese had 4 ft (snow) and 5 ft+ (13 or so pound Canada) wingspans. Actually had the Canada in landing form over the head of the bed - wouldn't fit anywhere else. I got over the desire for all the mounts and gave em all away. Amazing how many people like duck mounts. Even my mother-in-law took one.

I might broach the subject if I got a real pretty 8 pt that was bigger than average - super typical & symmetrical. Until then, leaving that dog as it lay.

 

God's been very good to me - been working like a madman and only hunted limited days.

Hoping to get some scouting in for the end of the month hunt - it has some promise but limited scouting (7 days before hunt) and hunting time (3 days)...