Now the 11 pointer that I shot on November 9th made a foolish mistake, he came to a grunt call, see my posts on November 12th, [“He Came To A Grunt Call”] and “[The Shooter]” on November 19th, both posts pertain to the buck in question. This buck didn’t make it to next year, in fact the buck won the Big Buck Contest sponsored by the Mills County General Store.

The first prize was a commemorative .22, lever action, rifle made by Henry Repeating Arms Company, this was a limited edition piece created by Historical Armory.  In fact I love Henry’s motto, “Made In America Or Not Made At All”!

Now to the bucks that made it to next year, the first is an 8 pointer, for some reason he doesn’t have a very muscular neck.  It’s late in the year around here, but he should have an enlarged neck, maybe it’s the camera angle?

Next is a 10 pointer, big neck and all, this will be a wonderful buck next year!

This one is an 8 pointer that has been seen several times around the feeders.  Notice this one has an enlarged neck,

The last, so far as game cams go, was originally a 7 pointer, 3-1/2 years old, with a big neck, but he’d been fighting, now he’s a 6.  This deer will be another good one next year, hung around the feeders until 2 weeks before the season began, then he was history!

Last is a big, bobcat.  This one’s cruising around the feeders trying to catch a squirrel or a ‘coon for lunch.

This is a post by Blake Anderson, he’s with Hunter Tree Stands . The article is all about hunter safety and the what nots and what to do when in the field.  Read the article and be sure to practice Hunter Safety!

Hunter Safety
As a hunter I cannot press [hunter safety] strong enough to my readers.  Each year on average, there are 1,000 hunters shot and killed in hunting accidents by being shot by another hunter and the shooter is usually the buddy that does the shooting.  Knowing where your buddy is at all times is so important I cannot stress this enough.

As a responsible hunter you already know you must be wearing hunter orange.  Deer do not see very well in the daytime hours and rely mostly on their hearing and noses to detect danger. By wearing your hunter orange hat, vest, gloves you are not going to be seen by a deer, however, you will be seen by another hunter.

If you do not have a clear and clean shot don’t take the shot. This is where other hunters end up getting the bullet and not the deer.  If you ‘think’ you see or hear a deer wait until you actually have it in your sights clearly and with out a doubt know exactly what you are shooting at.

When you are out hunting there is nothing fast about it. Hunting takes time, patience, knowledge and more patience. There is no sense in getting over excited on the first or even the last day of hunting season if you hear a sound in the woods and it just may be another hunter who is not wearing hunter orange.

If you do not bag a deer in one season, there is always another season coming up next year.  It is not worth shooting at the first break of a twig or a strange noise that you ‘think’ is a snort or a hoof if that sound ends up being another hunter who does not follow the [hunting safety rules].

Whether you are sitting in a [tree stand] or in a [blind] on the ground make sure you with out a doubt know what you are shooting at.  If you do not clearly see a deer yet hear noises, do not shoot.  If it is a deer it will come into your view and this is where your patience comes in.  Be certain and positive before you squeeze that trigger.

Look through your sites prior to putting your finger on the trigger if you are not sure what the noises are.  Once you are absolutely positive that you have a deer in your sites you can follow that deer until it is in a position wherein you can obtain a clear shot without any doubts whatsoever what you are shooting at.

With 1,000 hunter accidents each year that is 1,000 too many and these accident only occur when the shooter is not sure what they are shooting at as they do not have a clear view and due to other hunters not abiding by hunter safety rules and wearing hunter orange.

It is much better to come alive with or without a deer than to come home in a black plastic body bag. Use common sense and if you are hunting with your young son or daughter make sure they are enrolled in hunter safety classes with yourself the parent in attendance as well.  It is so much better to be safe than sorry when it comes to hunting.

So many people rely on hunting each year to fill their freezers with meat. It is not just the thrill of the hunt but also to be able to sustain your family and true hunters do not waste a good deer.  Please be safe, wear your hunter orange, make sure you know where your hunting buddy is at all times and make sure you have a clear shot without any doubts of what you are shooting at.  Be safe and keep others safe while in the woods hunting.

Having done a lot of posts over the years, this perhaps, is my favorite.  There is a lot of frustration, a lot of anxiety, coupled with some really bad luck, but since I’ve shot 2 really good bucks in the past 2 years, pictured below, it was a definite learning experience.  It paved the way for my excellent luck on bagging these monsters.
   
Since opening day of deer season, I had rattled up 2 bucks for my sons and had planned on getting a chance on another, for me, this afternoon.  Some times our plans can really get fouled up!

As I was leaving my house, the phone rang and a very close friend was calling from Houston just to check up on me.  Talking for a while I finally told him that I was on my way out to shoot “Bambi”, he laughed and said “Good luck.”

Quickly hanging up, the phone rang again and it was one of my daughters, Suzanne, calling from Paris, Texas, looking for her mom.  I couldn’t just brush her off, so we talked for a few minutes and finally I told her that I was on my way to hunt.  She said, “Isn’t it kinda’ late, but good luck anyway.”

Yes it was late, almost 5:00 PM, so I decided to hunt a special “hide” of mine, 10 yards off of a well used, deer trail and reluctantly decided not to take my rattlin’ horns with me.  No “rattling” this trip, but my “hide” was cut into a cedar tree and some buck brush, a very concealed spot and sneaking into it and pulling on my camo face cover, quietly chambering a round into my .270 and slipping my “grunt” caller over my head, I’m ready for the deer, I thought.

Not two minutes later, looking down the trail, a doe was running, about half speed, toward me followed by a beautiful, big, 10 point buck, with tall horns at least 6 inches past his ears, a 20 inch spread for sure!  Boy, am I ready for him, I thought.  The doe flashed by and I could hear her hooves pounding (or was that my heart) as I raised my rifle with my left hand and tried to slide my “grunt” caller under my face, mask.  When I “grunted” he will stop in his tracks and he is mine, but, the caller was tangled in the mask and as I tried to blow into it, nothing happened and the buck, nostrils flared and mouth half open, as if in a mocking smile, flashed past me, and both deer turned into the brush.

Deflated, but I told myself, “Wow!  What a sight!”  Not to be outsmarted by the deer and finally untangling my caller from my face mask (I was very frustrated now), I blew a defiant challenge call to the, apparently, long gone buck, “Grunt, Grunt, Grnt, grnt, grnt, grnt.”  Barely a minute later, looking down the trail, here came the buck trotting back looking for this unseen adversary.  Now, he was more interested in fighting.  I’ve got him, I thought.

Facing me, a large cedar tree blocked out a portion of the trail, and my mind, in overdrive, quickly calculated he would clear the right side of the tree, and I shouldered my rifle and prepared for the killing shot.  Waiting, for what seemed like an hour, no buck.  I cut my eyes away from the scope and looked to the left of the tree and there stood the buck, not 15 yards from me, behind a knarly, dead mesquite.

Moving my rifle slowly, ever so slowly, from the right side to the left side of the cedar tree and moving the safety to “fire”, I saw there was no killing shot available.  Maybe a head shot, but I choose not to as the buck wheeled and moved off, masking me with the cedar tree.  I don’t even know where my grunt caller was, I guess, still around my neck, so instead of fumbling with it again, and my “store” teeth prohibiting me a whistle, I yelled “HEY!”   The buck didn’t even acknowledge me, no stride breaking, no tail flashing indignantly toward me, just trotted back, after the doe, into the thick stuff.

Thinking to myself, well Jon, you really blew this one.  The buck has marked me at this spot, so I eased out of my hide and began slipping toward a new spot about 300 yards away.

After slowly moving about 50 yards and rounding a curve in the trail, all the while looking through the heavy cover, I spotted my adversary again, watching me from behind a mesquite that hadn’t yet shed its leaves.  The buck was approximately 75 yards away and slowly moving my rifle to my shoulder and sliding off the safety, he was in the cross hairs, along with several mesquite limbs.  My mind racing, can this 115 grain bullet traveling at over 3,100 FPS, break through the brush and score a killing hit, or will it be deflected? Should I shoot?  Not taking the chance of wounding and loosing this fine buck, I lowered my rifle and he turned and walked back into the thick stuff.

Walking back to my Jeep, my thoughts were a jumble.  I really screwed up a good opportunity to bag a trophy, and, on the other hand, I choose to pass on a marginal shot.  There will be another time for both of us.  In spite of my earlier well, wishers, my luck wasn’t good this hunt, I got beat real bad!