To say that John Tate and I were geeked after going back to the lodge and watching the awesome footage of the big buck breeding the doe is an understatement!

Quietly, we snuck back into our Lone Wolf stands the following morning. To be honest with you, I fully expected to see the lovebirds once it got light.
No luck. Granted, in some directions I could only see 50-60 yards. Now we did see plenty of deer in the distance. Small bucks chasing does mostly. Around 9:00, I glanced into the same thicket I’d been looking in all morning...and there he was! The buck simply materialized. And guess who was right there with him?

You got it! They were still engaged!

And better yet, she started to feed toward my stand. About that time, the parade started all over again. Here came the little “wannabe” bucks to catch a whiff, and the big 8 pointer chased them off. It was like a record player blaring out the same song.

I honestly could tell that the doe wanted to be with the big mature buck and no other. It was something. More rubbing action was in order for the camera, too!

Unfortunately, around 10:00, after getting within 60 yards of us, they drifted back off into the thicket.

We got down shortly after that and headed in for a quick bite of lunch. John and I begin to discuss the fact that the buck and doe and not been (to our knowledge) farther than 100 yards from where we’d first seen them the day before. We couldn’t wait for the afternoon showing!

As we settled in our stands, a doe came busting out of the thicket in front of our stand followed by a small buck. For a minute I thought there were now TWO hot does in our area. But my mind changed quickly.

As I watched the doe run a big circle around our stand location, I could tell she was trying to get back to the thicket. Suddenly, the big buck (who may have gotten distracted) shows up to run off the intruder and escort his lady friend back into their hangout.

This was too cool!

With about an hour of daylight left, it seems all the distractions of smaller, competing, bothersome bucks had gotten the message and headed toward the big wheat field.

Still, I could not see the buck and doe.

I was straining to catch a glimpse of deer in the opposite direction when I turned to look towards the thicket once again and...there she was, nervously walking down a trail that would put her only 20 yards from our tree! I whispered to John and he quickly started videoing her.

Then I saw him! Emerging out of the thicket he looked bigger than life! If the wind didn’t swirl, the game would be over. It didn’t and it was! The G5 Striker went in high on the buck’s left side and exited perfectly. He ran less than 80 yards and piled up.

What an unbelievable hunt! The 8 pointer scored around 135” and this was a memory that will never get lost in my mind!

PS-I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and that you got to spend a little time in the woods.

In my last blog I discussed the concept of “locked down” bucks and how this relatively new phenomenon being recognized by hunters can really throw a monkey wrench into the best laid plans.

Well, here is my story of a “locked down” buck, witnessed from a front row seat for two full days.

Realtree’s John Tate and I had hunted on the edge of a big wheat field one day and saw several big bucks chasing does. Feeling an urge to hunt in the thickets surrounding the field, we placed a Lone Wolf ladder stand in a big pecan tree on a creek bottom and we decided that we’d stick it out at this location, several hundred yards off the field.

When we went back into the area to hunt, the wind was howling! About 30-35 miles per hour. As we eased up to the stand, I looked up on the ridge and caught movement of a huge rack in the brush. The buck had no idea we had just walked to within 70 yards of him because he was intently looking into the brush beside him.

Very carefully and quietly, Tate and I eased up into the stand and got set up. Still, the buck had no idea we were anywhere around! After another ten minutes, the object of the buck’s focus stood up. A big ol’ doe!

About that time a smaller buck started easing into the thicket and the big boy would have nothing of it. He quickly chased the “young challenger” off and returned to his patiently waiting female companion.

For a half an hour, they stood still. Then the buck started rubbing a tree. All of this was caught on camera by John. Finally, the doe started to slowly feed down the hill into a clearing. At first, I thought she may be coming our direction. That would have been too easy!

After running off another couple of young bucks, including the same one twice, the buck walks over to the doe and, well, things got really interesting.

The doe stood still and the buck mounted her and proceeded to spread his genes. Incredible! And John got great video (High Definition I might add)!
Slowly, they walked over to another thicket...and bedded down! Where they stayed until dark!

With the wind still blowing hard, John and I were able to ease out of the area while leaving all of our equipment (except for the camera) in the tree. We would be back before daylight the next morning!

Now, don’t get mad at me but unfortunately, I was told to make my blogs “quick reads” so it wouldn’t take up touch much of your time, so I’ll continue the story on the next blog!

Go finish your Christmas shopping or split some firewood! You’ll love the way this story ends!

For a few years now, I have heard the term “lock down” from deer hunters throughout the Midwest who know a lot more than I do about what it takes to kill a big buck with a bow and arrow.

This term means that as a doe comes into heat, she is picked up by a dominant buck and “escorted” to an area away from the hustle and bustle of the activities of the deer herd and essentially “contained” for several days before being “freed” to rejoin her normal daily activities. During this time it has been said that the buck will breed the doe several times while constantly running off subordinate bucks who get a whiff of her and try to invade their privacy!

It is during this time that the sightings of big bucks cruising is diminished significantly...right during the middle of the rut! And this is the reason for it.

How many times have you “perfectly” planned your hunt during what you thought would be the best time to be in the woods and end up seeing hardly any big bucks? Even during perfect weather?

Well, on my next blog I will share with you an incredible two and a half days when I witnessed a locked-down buck with a hot doe (complete with running off other bucks, breeding the doe, rubbing trees, etc.) before he finally came into within bow range when he followed past my tree.

Well, I was set to fly in to Kansas this morning to try and kill one of those Midwestern giants over the next few days. But due to the ice and power outages across much of the region, we couldn't even fly in to the area.

I was just wondering how this weather has effected everyone in that area? Man, it's been 80 degrees the past few days in Georgia, so it really is crazy how the weather is so different across the country.

Okay, I admit it. Harman and I snuck out of the woods early one afternoon while elk hunting in Wyoming, hooked up with Ginger, Alex and Lucas and drove over to The Devil’s Tower. This is one awesome spectacle that God created and we could see it the entire time we hunted, both in September and during Thanksgiving.

The Devil’s Tower was our nation’s first National Monument established in 1906. This huge rock formation rises 1267 feet above the Belle Fourche River and comes with plenty of tales and folklore. In many ways, it is more impressive than Mount Rushmore (more about that in another blog) that is located only a couple hours away near Rapid City, SD.

While I had driven up to the park entrance many times while hunting with Seven J, this was the first time that we had actually ventured right up to it. Then and only then can you get the real effect of just how massive this monument is. It is definitely worth the visit if you ever get a chance.

The boys were in awe and we had an opportunity to take the Blanton's Christmas card picture while we were there.

So, Merry Christmas from The Blantons'. Consider this our Christmas card to you!
Our Lord and Savior Jesus truly is THE Reason for the Season.

If you read my blog consistently, then you know that my oldest son, Harman, drew an unbelievable elk tag in Wyoming this year. He spent the entire summer shooting and shooting, and shooting his bow some more in preparation for this incredible adventure. Our original plan was to hit the rut so could call in a big ol’ bull to within 20 yards and let him hold a G5 broadhead right behind the shoulder.

Well, it didn’t go that way.

Harman and I hunted with Seven J’s Kenny Morga with high hopes, and for the first three days I don’t even know how many miles we walked and never saw or heard an elk! We KNEW they had to be somewhere though, so we kept at it. Finally, on the fourth day of the hunt we found them...big time!

For the last two days of the hunt Harman had the thrill of his hunting life. Numerous screamin’ bulls came into the call. The smaller bulls would come right in. The bigger bulls would invariably always either give us the slip or incredibly, the wind would shift at the worst time, blowing our opportunity. But one of my goals for Harman had been accomplished. He had been in the middle of buglin' elk. What a rush! He was hooked for life.

As we were packing to come home, I got to thinking. If Ginger would give us her blessing, we could go back to WY during Harman’s Thanksgiving break and try to kill an elk with a rifle.

No problem! Ginger and I agreed that we would go as an entire family! That’s right! On Thanksgiving Day, Ginger, Harman, Alex, Lucas and myself flew back out to try to fill Harman’s tag.

No luck. We hunted hard, enjoyed hiking in the beautiful snow-covered Black Hills, enjoyed our family time together and created even more awesome memories that none of these Blanton's would ever forget. (More on this in upcoming blogs)
But no elk.

I had a chance to discuss this with Harman and told him that as bad as we want to kill something every time we go, it simply is not a part of God’s will. And God’s will is perfect. At the age of 17 that concept is probably a little harder to grasp than someone like myself who, at times, has struggled with putting TOO much focus on the kill.

Hopefully, it’s a life lesson Harman will never forget.