[tpv]

Well, Got a chance to spend the week-end hunting with my son. I entered the front gate and went to a small hill overlooking a mesquite flat. Then started to rattle the horns together. Within 30 seconds, this ten point came in on the run and I shot in "self defense"
He wasn't a big buck, but he was a 10 point. I used my 280 Rem on this one. After cleaning him, as always happens, I sat in another area and saw a huge buck working 3 or 4 doe around a feeder. Since a big cold front had just hit, I thought my son might have a crack at him the next morning, but after three hours and hard hunting the next day(Saturday), the activity slowed down.
Its a long season so I might get after the ducks for a while and leave the deer alone.
Good luck to all

 

[roverboy]

Tpv, good buck there. Our muzzleloader is still going on here. The bucks are rutting now and chasing does.

 

[jodum]

TPV, that is a really nice deer. I hope you bag a few more like that.

 

[kdub]

Tom left out part of the story -

Called me on his cell phone while in the blind and chortling over being surrounded by big bucks and does, just milling around him. He'd be talking, then say "wait a minute, hold on" and then check out a new buck entering the fray. This happened several times as we discussed the merits of various bucks via the phone.
Can't wait for mid-January when we have a big hawg hunt scheduled. Deer season will be over by then, so I'll have to eat what's left of my 2010-2011 Texas hunting license.

Oh, yeah - nice buck, Tom. Glad you saved the bigger ones for your hunters!

 

[tpv]

Well, you guys understand, with a few health issues, hunting has been hard for me this year so you take what you can get.
But we had a big cold front move in Friday afternoon which was just perfect for rutting activity.
Since this one came right in, it was hard to pass him up. Then sitting in a stand with a tagged buck already, they just seem to taunt you, don't they.
There was a big 7 pt that was twice as big but my son never saw him the next day. That's hunting,,, you got to get them while you can.
I like seeing everyone's pictures so keep posting.

 

[Shawn Crea]

Congrats Tom, and nice buck. I experienced that 'taunting' this year with a cow tag, and a big bruiser bull presented himself. As you said, that's hunting, but I suspect you enjoy seeing the ones you can't shoot as much as I do!

 

[BarkBuster20]

Nice looking whitetail.

 

[Rugerfan0374]

Congrats, and you say that is not a Big Buck. That is bigger than any buck I have ever taken.

The only time I have ever seen bucks like that are at night feeding along side the interstate or if I didn't have a gun in my hands.

 

[Chief RID]

Congrats, Tom! Very nice deer. Hope your son gets a chance.

 

[MikeG]

Sorry I missed seeing it in person. Couldn't get up there till Sat. afternoon. Saw lots of bucks running doe including one with a hernia or something protruding from his abdomen on the lower right side. It didn't seem to slow him down much, must have got it fighting. He was an 8 pointer with a very wide rack and if I could have made him grow two more points, he'd have had problems!

Saw one very late Sunday night after legal light that might have been 10, but it was just too dark to tell. Some spikes, button bucks, sixes, eights.... lots of does and no hogs.

That's the report!

 

[kdub]

Ah, well - just think of all those nice 8's growing into 10's next year, Mike!

Maybe next weekend the lease whopper will stroll by your blind.

 

[pistolpete]

Nice deer Tom!

I put a cotton ball with Tink's 69 in a tree near where we walk to our stand. Deer never come in that way and we were just trying to get some scent in the air. About 9am Sat and hadn't seen a thing all morning when we looked over and saw Mr. Big walk right up to that tree. By the time we got our eyeballs back in our heads he had trotted into the brush with no shot available. Down by Breckenridge, we didn't have as much movement as you had but sure was nice to see that big bruiser, even if it was just for a second.

 

[tpv]

Well Pete, you just never know when they will show up.
All I know is to make sure you are going during the right times. That's the only way you'll see good bucks here. With that cold front that came in Friday afternoon, nothing could have kept me from going.
Its just very rare that a rutting buck that you saw one evening would be there the next morning. It never works that way for me and I guess I'll never learn that lesson. They just move too much.
I thought I might sneak out once during the week and go somewhere different just to see if anything unusual happens.
This has been a strange year. The acorn crop is huge and the grass is all knee high and some places thigh high. They don't care much for feeders right now.
I'm going to take the 257 Bob this week. Surely there is a big pig itching to get shot by the bob
Good luck to all and go hunting

 

[MikeG]

I saw a button buck get completely swallowed up by the grass.... we need more cows! First time I think I've ever said that.......

Shoot a pig. There's plenty to go around.

 

[tpv]

Well deer season is winding down in our area. It will probably go down as one of the worst seasons in 25 years in Central to North Texas. I rattled one up early in November that I shot but that was the only one.
The reason we didn't do any better is that the mast crop (acorns) was one of the biggest we 've ever had. There were many and they kept dropping. Everyone saw deer and bucks but the big bucks were scarce unless you rattled.
We've all gotten lazy up here expecting the deer to come to us with the feeders, and most years we're right. But not this year. Ow well, should make for a good year next year with more mature bucks.
A high note was last night's supper!
Only the four "die hards" were at camp last night so we decided to cook eggs and sausage. Since I had just a few eggs in my trailer, MikeG volunteered to go up to the main cabin and bring down a box of 18 fresh eggs from last week-end. Meanwhile, my other buddy, who never shuts his mouth, volunteered to cook the 2 lb roll of Jimmie Dean Sausage.
Well, Mike brought down eggs all right, but the wrong package (the ones I was going to throw out because they were out of date). Meanwhile, the sausage kept cooking because the cook kept talking.
So, to make a long story longer, and since the eggs had a date of May 2010 on them, we sat down to a great meal of burnt sausage and rotten eggs. Its amazing what you'll eat when you are hungry.
They were actually pretty good.

None of us have had a chance to spend a lot of time at camp. Some of us have had health problems, some work problems, but this is the stuff I really like about camp life. We all made it through the night without dying.

And we weren't even drinking!

 

[kdub]

Sounds like a great time was had by all, Tom.

I'm not surprised about MikeG and the eggs - he tends to chow down on about anything! (Even offered to send me some armadillo sausage one time )

Glad you got rid of the outdated eggs before Gary and I show up in a few weeks. Think we'd rather eat in town as that! Should I bring the single malt again?

 

[tpv]

Sounds like a great time was had by all, Tom.

I'm not surprised about MikeG and the eggs - he tends to chow down on about anything! (Even offered to send me some armadillo sausage one time )

Glad you got rid of the outdated eggs before Gary and I show up in a few weeks. Think we'd rather eat in town as that! Should I bring the single malt again?

NOT FOR ME!!

 

[Shawn Crea]

And we weren't even drinking!

Ahhh, there's the problem!! Burnt sausage is fixed with maple syrup! I don't know how to fix bad eggs though!

 

[MikeG]

They were surprisingly good and well-tenderized. Just like aged beef I guess!!!!

At least they were from this year?

 

[tpv]

Well, season is over for me, I sat here the last evening I hunted and saw 8-10 doe, and two good bucks but no pigs.
Already got a buck, (one buck county) but just can't seem to shoot a doe so on the youth week-end, I'll probably take care of that.

Season was not as good as expected, as the acorns continued to fall long and hard, and the grass was so high, that we had trouble seeing them anyway.

A good indicator was the hog movement, as we didn't see many of those either. Just had too much food to travel very far.
Oh well, maybe next year

Good Luck to all