Buckslayer's 2004-2005 Journal

**Buckslayer** · 10-04-2004, 11:01 AM

The 2004 Archery Season began this past Saturday, and I found myself hunting with Jason in the usual hickory tree behind the Oaks. The weather in the morning was warm (65 F), and there was a light wind carrying a cold front from the WNW. The sky was overcast. I was set up at 6:30 am, after our traditional hunters breakfast at Jason's. 7 am rolled around, and the dawn brought no sign of deer. At 9 am, I climbed down and returned to Jason's having not seen anything. Midday was spent watching Monsterbucks XII Volume I, and eating some Papa John's pizza. In the afternoon, Jason and I went to the farm, and waited for the thunderstorms following a decent cold front to move on out. At 4:20 we were both set up (I was in my late archery stand... Jason behind the food plot), and the last of the rain was moving out. The temperature had dropped about 10 degrees F, and things were looking great for the evening. At 4:50, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye beneath the pines, and a little uphill, then I saw antler. The 4 point buck moved through a shooting lane directly uphill of me, at 16 yards. Ten minutes later, two does filtered up from the logging road, and right underneath my stand. At 7:10 pm I met Jason back at my truck, where he tells me he's had the best night in a long time. He had seen over 20 deer, including a couple of button bucks, a five point, the four point I had seen, and a massive 6 point... but no shooters. That evening Tom, Ted, Jason, and I built a giant bonfire at the burnpile and put down a few cold ones before calling it a night.

**Buckslayer** · 10-06-2004, 03:04 PM

10/05/04

Evening hunting lower stand on rifle hillside at the farm.
4:35 pm - 7:05 pm
Weather is clear 55-50 degrees F
Light-Moderate West wind

One deer jumped when I was walking in, and at 6:15 pm 5 does walk into crab apples 32 yards uphill. About five minutes before I left, 2 grouse walked in and roosted.

**Buckslayer** · 10-13-2004, 03:05 PM

Saturday 10/9/04

Morning stand @ farm, in late archery stand.

Overcast, 50 degrees, dry, quiet. Saw nothing. 6:30am to 9:00am.

Jason was at the food plot, and saw a nice 8 point that we got trail camera pictures of.

**Buckslayer** · 10-16-2004, 11:16 PM

Saturday 10/16/04

I woke up this morning, and despite the warning of 25 mile per hour gusts, and 15 mph sustained winds, picked up Jason and went to the farm. We also took our grouse hunting gear to hunt with my dad later in the day.

By 6:45 a.m. I was in my late season stand near the pines, and ready to go. The sky was cloudy, winds were only 3-5 mph sustained, and gusting to maybe 15 here and there. The temperature hovered at about 45 degrees, and it showered every 20 minutes or so. Winds shifted from the SSE to the WNW. I only saw a squirrel, but guess what? This was not your average squirrel. He carried with him half a full cob of corn. Yes, what an excitement!

At 9:15 I got down, and met Jason at my uncles for a while (he saw two squirrels, but neither had corn...)

From about 10:45 to 2:30 I grouse hunted with my dad and Jason in the crabs, and on the round top. My dad intended on "pumping lead", but he only saw one grouse (by this time of day the winds were 25 mph sustained). We closed it up for the day, seeing one buck, and four doe - while driving and grouse hunting

**Buckslayer** · 10-20-2004, 08:27 PM

So Monday afternoon (10/18/04) it totally stunk in my part of PA... Weather was 50 degrees, ESE wind at 5-10... and RAIN again! I've seen enough, with my new truck I'm ready for the snow. Anyway, I sat in stand from about 3:30 till 6:45... nothing. Hunted the white oak on my hillside at the farm.

**Buckslayer** · 10-22-2004, 10:29 AM

After my economics class yesterday, I had been planning on going hunting with my buddy Jason. I drove home and got my stuff, and met him at his house at about 3:15 pm. The weather was awesome, and it just felt like one of those days you had to be in the stand - crisp 49 degrees, variable wind from the E, topping out at no more than 3-5 mph. The sky was overcast, and I decided to hunt in the stand near the gaswell behind the oaks. Jason was planning on going into the oaks and setting up. I was set up by 3:35 pm, and every twenty minutes Jason was rattling about 150 yards to my north. I could hear him grunting as well. Every creature in the woods seemed to be out doing something, and the smell of woodsmoke from a house a few hundred yards away filled the air. At about 5:45 pm a little five point came out of some thick brush to my north. He walked only 6 yards from my stand without even noticing me. I was happy to have seen my second buck of the season, when I caught movement in that same patch of brush. It proved to be my third buck of the season, and this one was a definite shooter for PA (Indiana County). The buck stepped in to 35 yards, and I could only see he was pretty wide, and had white tines, then he looked right at me for a second and I saw how nice his rack was. After that, I decided it was best I didn't focus on his antlers.

At about 30 yards, I drew back when he stepped to the edge of a clearing. He then stopped where I didn't have a shot, and started making a rub... great. Well after about a minute at full draw, he trotted into a good shooting lane at 17 yards. I settled the pin and released. I must give some props to the NAP Crossfire, as it blew through him like snot through cheap toilet paper burying 8 inches in the dirt. He was quartering slightly towards me, and I clipped the middle of his right lung, and the front edge of the liver. After the shot he trotted only 20 yards or so, and stood their for about 2 minutes, with his tail spinning like a helicopter rotor. He was all wobbly, and I was praying he was just going to drop there, but he managed to sidestep about 20 yards and then bed down for a few minutes. I decided to get down, and sneak out for a few hours just in case. As I was packing up, I heard a crash, then some thrashing in the brush, and then nothing. I assumed he was down for good, but I made a wide circle and met Jason, and told him I had shot a buck. Jason was thrilled because he had seen the buck first, and knew he was a nice one.

I went home and ate dinner, and then we got some finished film from a trailcam. After a little over 2 hours, we returned and began the search. My arrow had good blood, and there were pools of blood where I had seen him stop.

After a brief search, I found where he had bedded about 30 yards from the shot, and then followed the blood another 10 yards, and WHITE BELLY!

We took some pics and began dragging the brute to a field where I could get my truck to. I field dressed him, and then Jason and I took him to his house (on the way to mine), and once there we hung him and skinned him out. We caped him just in case I decided in the next few days to mount him.

This morning I took him to Cunningham Meats in Indiana, and donated him to Hunters Sharing the Harvest. I was so happy God had given me such an amazing deer, that I felt it only appropriate to give the 186 lb. (dressed and skinned out) buck to those more in need than myself. The processor told me that deer would feed about 100-300 people at a soup kitchen depending on how it was prepared. That just made me feel really good. I still have my doe tag too, for meat for myself and my family. The buck measured 16 6/8" outside, and green scored 99 3/8" - my biggest buck for sure. I would estimate him to have weighed about 250 lb. on the hoof.

**Buckslayer** · 12-12-2004, 01:40 AM

Today was the last day of rifle season here in PA. I decided that Jason and I should sit for the last 2 hours of the season in the Brickhouse blind, out at Ted's farm. We set up in the fencerow, near the western bottom. We didn't see anything but it was a nice day to have been hunting. The weather was cold, 34F, snowing on and off fairly hard, winds 4-8 mph from the West. Skies overcast. We hunted from 3:30 pm to about 5:05 pm.

**Buckslayer** · 12-12-2004, 01:48 AM

Too bad I can't hunt this deer, spotted the day after rifle season, 30 yards in front of my driveway. I still have my doe tag at this point, but its not for the WMU where I live.