More Pictures of "Moose"

Here are some more pictures of Moose. I have about 25 from 4 separate visits to the trail camera. I thought these were the best. Look at the size of his body. He is huge! Some of the photos have already been posted to the blog, but I decided to have them in one posting. Bob

Saturday, November 20, 2010 - "Moose is Dead"

Saturday, November 20, 2010 pm, Sunrise: 7:08 a.m. Hunting opens: 6:38 a.m. Temp: 31 degrees, Wind: N-NE 5-10 mph. Partly Cloudy. I stayed the night with the hunting crew down at Copper Creek. I got up at 4:00 am, because I wanted to get up and go hunt at Romance. I made breakfast and packed a lunch as I intended on sitting all day up at "Everest." I left Copper at 5:00 a.m. and got up to Romance around 5:30 a.m. I parked my car at the edge of the front field, loaded up my gear and headed in. It is about a 1/4 -1/2 mile walk back to the stand. I bumped one deer on my way in in the woods along the field. I kicked up 4 more when I got near "Octopussy." I was all settled into "Everest" by 6:00 a.m. At 7:20, I had a small 6 pointer come from the SE and walked up the hill about 100 yards to the east of me. I tried to grunt him in for fun, but he just kept walking up the hill. At 7:35, I looked to the east of me and saw a deer. I knew immediately, it was a buck. I could see antlers through my binoculars, but I couldn't tell how big he was because he was in the brush. He stayed frozen staring in my direction for close to 5 minutes, before he started walking up the hill to the NW. Just then, I heard something above me. I looked up there, and there were 4 does about 50-75 yards up the hill to the north of me. The were nervous either because they saw me or the buck that was walking there way. I turned my attention back to the buck and I then got a good look at his left side. It was "Moose." I immediately knew that I wanted to take him. I was on a course for the does and the old logging road above me. I was able to pick out a small opening on the road with my binoculars and I put them down and shouldered my rifle. I took off my safety and as soon as his head and shoulder hit the opening I shot. He dropped in his tracks. I hit him right through the front shoulder and took out the top of the heart. He kicked for a few seconds and then it was quiet. I waited for about 10 minutes, unloaded my gun and lowered it to the ground. I reloaded just in case and walked up to see him. There was no ground shrinkage. He has 8 points on his left side and 4 on his right. Amazing girth to the palmation on his left antler. See attached. I dressed him and then dragged him downhill to Octopussy. It was a pain in the but carrying all my gear, a rifle and dragging him. Once i got him to the bottom of the hill, I walked back and got my truck. I drove it in and loaded him up by myself. That was a complete pain in the ass! After about a 15 minute struggle, I was able to get him in the truck. I was exhausted. I took him back to the house to show Sue and then took him into register. I then drove him back to Copper creek to show the boys. I was in a bar stool, beer in hand by 11:30 to watch the rest of the Badger football game. What a great day. I am truly blessed. I hope you are all having an equally productive hunting season. Hopefully, I will get a chance to do a little more hunting in Minnesota. The only problem is I am out of freezer space. I guess that is a good problem to have. Totals: Bob - 6 deer, 2 Bucks and 4 Does. Buck Slayer - OUT!

Some Random Pics of the 2010 Wisconsin Bucks

What a monster! Congrats Haag!My 8 pointer is on top, then Bob's 10 and then Haags monster on the bottom.

Bob's 10 is in the back and my 8 is on the bottom.

November 12th, 2010 PM

Doe Wacko!

I came from work and got into the stand a little later than I wanted. I was all settled in by 4. I went to the VAT stand again tonight really hoping that I would have a doe come in. (Obviously also wanting a nice buck to show up too!) I had nothing until 4:45 when I had a nubbin buck walk in on the other side of the food plot. Just behind him was his mama! I was excited but she looked kind of small. They fed in the plot for about 10 minutes and then walked straight to me. The nubbin went through my shooting lane first and then the doe. I still hadn't fully decided if I wanted to shoot her. After she got all the way through the lane I said to myself, "what are you thinking?!?! That is a great doe, shoot it if you get the chance." Well, luckily she gave me a shot. I grunted and she stopped and I shot her at about 20 yards. I shot just above her shoulder and she dropped in her tracks. I thought I hit her spine, but I later found out I was about 5 inches below her spine. I actually ended up getting down and finishing her off from the ground. I was pretty excited as this was my first doe with a bow and my third deer overall.

Meat for the freezer! And a little doe management. Overall, a successful hour in the stand!

Fawnslayer Out!

November 11th, 2010 PM

Went to the VAT stand looking to shoot a doe. Busse came out and sat in the stump. He had one doe walk around the food plot and was not able to get a shot. I had a nubbin buck come in on the other side of the food plot as well as a small seven pointer that walked through the food plot. Had he been a doe or a big boy I would have had a great shot! Totals: Busse: 1 deer: 1 doe; Taylor: 2 deer: 1 nubbin: 1 buck

Friday, November 5, 2010 pm

Friday, November 5, 2010 pm, Sunset: 5:56 p.m. Hunting closes: 6:26 Temp: 41 degrees, Wind: N-NW 5-10mph. Mostly sunny. We have a full house tonight. I went out and put Harry out front of the Ladder stand for Heidi. Taylor went back to the Jolly Rodger and I went to the VAT. On my way in, I kicked up a doe on the side hill on the road right below my house. It ran down into the food plot and stopped. When I got to the base of my stand it took off over past Taylor's stand in the food plot and over towards the little pond. We were all in position by 4:00. At 5:15, I saw a small doe in the Sugar Shack food plot. I decided if she came close, I was going to shoot her. When it got a bit closer, I could see it was a nubbin buck. I decided that I would let him go and hope he makes it 3-4 more years. He came through on the trail at 10 yards. He ended up walking past and then walked to the SW towards the rock quarry. At 5:20, Heidi texted me and said that she had a doe to the north of her in Arlie's field. Totals: Bob - 1 deer, 1 nubbin buck; Heidi - 1 deer, 1 doe; Taylor - 0 deer.

Sunday November 7th, 2010

Sunday November 7th, 2010

Theran and I decided to head back to my parents this morning. I went back to "The Alps" stand and Theran decided to go to the ladder stand that we have set up on the corn field at the top of the valley. We sat for a couple of hours with no luck! At 9:30 we decided to head in. remember, this was after daylight savings so we were in the stand an hour earlier. After a quick nap Theran went back out for a noon hunt at the ladder stand and I took a bucket and sat at the corner of the field and a mowed path between two woods and a rock quarry. We sat until 1:45 with no luck. We were at a loss of words as we had such good luck the opening morning and nothing since! I really want to have Busse shoot his first whitetail ever! Good luck to Theran the rest of this week and through the weekend! Totals: Theran: 0 deer: Taylor: 0 deer.

Saturday November 6th, 2010 PM

Saturday November 6th, 2010 PM

Theran and I went back out again at my parents. We were settled in by 1:45, plenty early because on our way back to town during lunch we saw a 140 to 150 class 8 point buck less than a half mile away from our stands standing in the field with a doe! He was massive, thats all I can say about that! It was a bummer because neither one of us saw a single deer the rest of the night! I sure hope that buck makes his way over to our part of the valley and hangs out there for this week! Totals: Theran: 0 deer: Taylor: 0 deer.

FawnSlayer Out!

Saturday November 6th, 2010 AM

Saturday November 6th, 2010 AM

This was the gun opener in Minnesota. I was excited for this day as I had a buddy hunting with me over at my parents place near the White Rock area. The last time that I hunted this land was four years ago and I did not shoot anything off of this property. I did shoot a nice doe 5 years ago though. We worked the weekend before on building a permanent stand that we call "Watch Tower". This stand is located closer to the top of the valley and we also put a stand in at the bottom of the valley that I call "The Alps". It is located on top of a ridge and you can see over both sides to two other ridges. It also makes you feel like you are way up in the air when really, it is probably only about 15 feet tops. My buddy, Theran Busse got to my house early and we went out and had a great breakfast that my dad cooked up! My dad was excited as nobody had hunted out there for four years. We were in the stand a half hour before shooting light. Just after light Busse had two deer come off the hill and circle him at about 50 yards. He didn't want to shoot as it was still a little dark and he did not want to shoot a small buck. The new rule in our zone is the buck has to have at least 4 points on one side. Shortly after that he had a little three point buck walk directly under his stand, in the words of Busse, "I could have spit on him!" I also was having good luck at this time as I had a four point, possible six, couldn't see if it had brow tines, walk at about 40 yards from me. I decided to continue with the bow even during gun season. I couldn't get very good video as he was in the thick brush above me. About 20 minutes later I had a small three pointer that had broke off one of its antlers come in from below me. His back right leg was injured and I couldn't tell if he had been shot or had a previous injury. I hope he hadn't been shot because he was not a legal buck. He limped into the thick brush and bedded down and stayed there until I got out of the stand at about 10:45 when I spooked him back up. Totals: Theran: 3 deer: 2 possible does: 1 buck; Taylor: 2 deer: 2 bucks

Fawnslayer out

The Watch Tower stand at my parents. What do you think?

November 2nd Buck Decoy Action Video

I was finally able to edit the 20 minutes of video that I had from the six pointer on November 2nd that decided to try and figure out what was going on with "Harry" the decoy!

It was pretty comical! Hope you enjoy.

FawnSlayer

Thursday, November 4, 2010 pm

Thursday, November 4, 2010 pm, Sunset: 5:58 p.m. Hunting closes: 6:28 Temp: 44 degrees, Wind: N-NW 10-15mph. Mostly sunny. I didn't get to hunt last night or this morning because I had a hockey game last night up in the cities. I was pleased to get out this evening. It is a little windy, but the bucks should be on the move. Gary Samuelson cut my corn last night/this morning, so there are fewer places for the deer to hide now. With a north wind, I decided to give the VAT another try. I was all set up with Harry out in front of me at 3:30. I saw Taylor pull in at 3:45. After a quick shower, he snuck down to the Jolly Rodger stand and was in the stand a little after 4:00. At 4:25, the propane truck pulled in and filled my tank. Taylor made the right call to go to the JR stand. At 4:30, I had two does run along the side hill to the SE of me heading west. I thought there might be a buck following them, but there was nothing. I grunted and bleated to them, but the just kept on going. At 5:00, Gary Samuelson did show up to spray his field. At 5:05, Taylor texted me and said he has a nice 2 1/2 year old 8 pointer on the hill to the east of him. He grunted to him and he came towards him, but stayed in the thick stuff. At 6:00, Taylor texted me and said that he had a small buck out in front of him to the east. He was too far away and in the thick stuff, so he wasn't able to get any video. At 6:10, I saw 3 deer running along the top of the hill to the north of me up by my house. I think they crossed through my yard to the north. At about the same time, Taylor texted me that he had another buck and doe over by him. To the SE. They stayed in the brush across the opening in front of him. Totals: Bob - 5 deer, 5 does; Taylor - 4 deer, 3 bucks.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010 am

Wednesday, November 3, 2010 am, Sunrise: 7:54 a.m. Opener: 7:24. Temp: 38 degrees, Wind: SW 5-7 mph, mostly sunny. I'm flying solo this morning. I had such good luck last night, I decided to give the VAT another shot. While I was walking in from the top with Harry, I kicked up a deer that I had already walked past just off my drive way. I could see the faint shadow of it as it stood there when I walked down the hill. It must of thought why is that strange person carrying one of my buddies on his back. I was all set up and in position by 7:00. Unfortunately, that was the only tail that I saw all morning. Totals: Bob - 0 deer.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 pm

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 pm, Sunset: 6:01 p.m. Hunting closes: 6:31 Temp: 47 degrees, Wind: SW 10-15mph. Partly sunny. Taylor hunted till noon today and saw a doe and the same 6 pointer that I got video of. However, his was much better. He had him locked in on Harry for over 20 minutes. Hilarious. Taylor decided to change things up a bit, so after lunch he went with Harry down to Spaghetti Junction. He was in the stand by 2:00. I on the other hand had to work. I had a conference call that didn't get done until after 4:30. I was smart, because I had showered and was all dressed. Therefore, I was able to be in and situated by 4:45. The wind wasn't ideal for this stand, but at least I was out hunting. At 5:45, I had a big doe come through to the south of me. She was about 15 yards away but was quartering towards me. No shot. I saw another doe behind her to the west of me. I was turned and ready to make a shot if it presented itself. As I was turning for the shot, I heard something to the east of me. That is when I saw this nice 7 pointer. H e would be an 8 pointer, but he broke off his brow tine on the left side. He was just a 1 1/2 year old, but will have some potential next year. He jumped the creek to the SE of me and joined the does to the south of me. Behind him was another buck. This was just a small 1 1/2 year old 3 pointer. I was able to get a bunch of great video. See attached. I was hoping for a 3rd buck (this time a lot larger), but he never came. Oh well. The little 3 pointer fed into the food plot to the east of me then he crossed the creek and fed up towards the dump. At 6:10, Taylor texted me and said that he saw two does in the main food plot over by the Stump blind. At 6:15, a nubbin buck crossed the creek and came into the food plot from the east. He fed to about 10 yards away then he left to the SE. At 6:25, I had a doe from the west of me come down the main trail. She got to about 15 yards and spooked underneath my stand. I looked to the west and the same 7 pointer was following her. He came out and fed right through the food plot in front of me. He disappeared after 10 minutes to the SE of me. I am fairly sure that both of these deer were the same ones I saw earlier in the night. At 6:45, Taylor came and got me and we hung the camera in the food plot 50 yards to the NE of the VAT stand and went in for the night. Totals: Bob - 5 deer, 2 Bucks; Taylor - 2 deer, 2 does.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 am

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 am, Sunrise: 7:50 a.m. Opener: 7:20. Temp: 29 degrees, Wind: 0 mph, mostly sunny. Taylor took the day off from school at was at my house by 5:45. We made some breakfast and made our plan of attack. I decided to go to the VAT and Taylor went to the "X." Taylor took Harry since he was planning on sitting most of the day today. I am only going to be able to hunt in the morning and evening. On my way in off from the driveway, I could hear deer taking off in all directions. We were both in our stands by 6:55. After I got settled into my stand, I did a few soft grunts and It didn't take long for some action. I looked to the east and coming down the the path from the east was a small 8 pointer. He came all the way through and stopped at 10 yards. I shot some "night shot" video and I think it turned out pretty well. He kind of sensed something wasn't right and turned around and trotted away back where he had come from. He picked up another deer that followed him past the sugar shack to the east. It was too dark to tell what the other deer was. At 8:00, I looked to the east and coming down the hill from up by the dump stand was a small buck. He walked through the creek on the trail and went over to the big tree in the middle of the food plot. I was able to get some video of him working the licking branch. He then continued walking across the food plot and up the hill to the north towards my house. Totals: Bob - 2 deer, 2 bucks; Taylor - 0 deer.

Monday, November 1, 2010 pm

Same nice 9 pointer. He could really use another year.

A nice 10 pointer that we have just started to see. He needs another year as well.

Same 10 pointer. Small G4's. Needs another year. He will be tough to pass up for Heidi.

Monday, November 1, 2010 pm, Sunset: 6:02 p.m. Hunting closes: 6:32 Temp: 52 degrees, Wind: S-SE 3-5mph. Mostly sunny. At was a beautiful evening to hunt. I was all set up and in position with Harry to the east of me by 3:40. I did borrow some of Taylor's doe n heat scent to see what might happen. I had one deer blow a warning call behind me to the NW and that was it. I never saw the deer. Totals: Bob - 0 deer

Sunday, October 31, 2010 pm

Sunday, October 31, 2010 pm, Sunset: 6:03 p.m. Hunting closes: 6:33 Temp: 48 degrees, Wind: S-SE 3-5mph. Mostly sunny. Heidi and I got out tonight. There was some chain sawing going on to the south of me, so I decided that Heidi should sit in the ladder and I went with Harry down to Border Patrol. We were both all settled in by 3:50. At 5:45, I saw a deer up on the hill to the SE of me. It was back in the brush so I don't know what it was. At 6:15, Heidi texted me that she saw a doe and a small 6-7 point buck come through. The buck was chasing the doe and came from down by the Ridgeback stand. The doe took off, but the buck came through very close and actually got his picture taken by the trail camera (see attached). This was Heidi's first close encounter with a buck. She thought that it was pretty exciting even though he was not a shooter. Legally she could have shot him as you can see from the picture he is a 7 pointer. Nevertheless, he really does need another year or two. At 6:20, Heidi heard a car stop on the road to the west of her. She turned around and saw 3 does in Arlies field. Totals: Bob - 1 deer, 1?; Heidi - 5 deer, 4 does, 1 buck