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The Story of Bankshot.

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
After hunting a property a couple times this week and not seeing many does it was time for Plan B.. So yesterday morning at 5:45am I met JD at his house and followed him to a property in Logan county. We pulled in the drive and no sooner than we got out of the trucks two guys who also hunt the property puled in. JD talked with them for a moment and the usual daily plans were discussed. Who's hunting where, etc.. They had decided to hunt the west end of the property where they had a feeder and would be driving to the top of the hill then walking... As soon as we said our good lucks and the guys got in their truck JD said hurry up and get your bow and stuff in my truck. Lets go..

I hopped in his truck and we drove maybe 250 yards down the road east and made a turn up a gravel drive.. He stopped about 200 yards up the drive and said the stand is 60 yards that way.. His last words.. "Keep looking West.." He knew the guys hunting the west end of the property with an east wind would likely scent bump deer... I found the stand in the dark, climbed up, gave it a once over for safety, hooked in my safety strap, and climbed in.. The routine began.. I Put on my jacket, release, face mask, pulled up my bow, hung my backpack and settled in for what was going to be an all day sit...

At 7:10 with technical sunrise only a minute ago I could hear the leaves crunching to the west, a doe was making her way through a bowl about 150 yards away... Immediately i looked behind her to see if a buck was following, not 30 yards back I spotted rack. Instantly I noticed he was a shooter, If you can see a rack 150 yards through the maples he's no kitten deer. I stood, reached for my bow and hooked my release while leaning against the tree.. It was going to be a right hand shot and i made sure my safety strap was over my right shoulder so i could draw...

While the buck wasn't dogging the doe, they we're walking with a purpose and not stopping to browse.. As the Doe approached the buck obviously knew this stand was here.. She cut around a thick area and a blow down and walked directly in front of the stand. He cut south of the stand to skirt it along the rim of a holler and pick the doe up around the other side of the stand.. As he walked i came to full draw, a mouth bleet stopped him.... Settled the pin and the shot was on it's way, about 10 feet in front of the stand i saw the arrow hit a twig hanging from a branch in the same tree as I.. The buck spun to run back the direction he came and the shot hit him right in the crease in front of the Hindquarter. My heart sank as i saw him go over the edge of the holler...

I hung up the bow and jumped up on the seat of the stand looking back to see where he exited the holler.. I could see the entire other side, the bowl, and the road 200 yards south... I stood there for an hour not seeing him leave while occasionally hearing some leaves rustle below.. I was certain he was still in this hollow.. About 1 hour 15 min i saw a semi slam the breaks down on the road and a deer cross in front of him.. Could have been any deer i said to myself.. Lots of deer cross there. I was prepared to wait him out, as the only way out of this stand was back down to the road and walk to the truck, which would take me right by the mouth of this hollow.. Not wanting to bump him i settled in for the 6 hour minimum wait i knew i should give him...

I passed the time texting, updating too, and worrying... Someone had dumped some ear corn in front of the stand and it seemed like every spike and fork horn in the woods knew it.. Not wanting them to walk in this hollow behind me i resorted to gently spooking them back up the ridge.. Which basically means throwing things at them, grunt call, empty dip can, empty amp energy can, and even a unopened rice krispy treat, which a dumb for horn just sniffed then tried to eat..

At 5.5 hours i had had enough and wanted to go find my arrow and check blood.. Blood looked good, I figured if i picked up the trail slowly i would find him in a couple hours, plenty enough time for a gut shot deer to die... 200 yards in i lost blood, for hours i looked East, south and west... I decided that must have been the buck that i saw cross in front of the semi. Across the road is a foreclosed home with an overgrown yard and some small woods on each side. I went down the east side of the house and down the hill behind it to the fence... I stood looking across the fence at the corn. My hears sank knowing this deer may be in that standing corn.. I walked the fence not finding blood anywhere he could have jumped over.. By now the situation looked bleak and i sat down to really accept the fact that I may loose this deer.. I was going to give it my all, and I still had 6 days vacation to find him, but one must still come to grips wit the fact that he might not.. After 30 min i stood up and I figured the deer may have not crossed the road after all and i left the way i came to go see if i could find blood again..

JD got off work and met me at the farm at 3:30. Now 8 hours after the shot.. I put the bow in the truck and we started walking.. We eventually crossed the road again but this time walking the yard west of the foreclosure. Finding nothing we stood on the hill talking.. I mentioned that i hadn't checked the back yard of that house and it looked overgrown as nobody had lived there it looked all summer.. Worth a shot he said, You go high I'll go low.. as we approached the back corner of the yard i heard a commotion and JD whistle. I came over and there were three beds with blood in them.. That buck had laid not 40 yards off the back deck of that house for the past 8 hours. JD said when the buck stood he looked wobbly and didn't run far down the hill before stopping, bedding, or walking... We decided to back out and let him alone till morning.. The time was 4:30. 9 hours after the shot..

6:00 found JD and i back again, we walked to the beds and down the hill to the fence.. I realized the day before that when i sat down to come to grips with the situation, i wasn't but 65 yards below this bedded buck and he probably watched me the whole time.. As we walked along the fence we found really spotty blood here and there.. About 125 yards along there he laid. he hadn't rebedded but was facing to watch his back trail and looked to have just fallen over dead.

So that's the story.. And now for the pics..



 
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Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Cant get over his size. Unreal. What a hog.

Congrats!


Took 3 of us to get it on the back of the 4 wheeler. Then JD and I had a bright Idea to snap a few pics before loading him in the truck. His buddy had to go to work and had already left. After the pics, i grabbed the head and JD the back legs to load it in the back of my Colorado truck.. 1....2....3.... groans.. I think we managed to get his back about 4 inches off the ground.. lmao So we loaded him like they do on swamp people.. Got half in and rolled the rest of him in lol... For the pics above Alex (TripleA88) and I used a loader on a Kubota tractor to get it back in the truck.
 

JD Boyd

*Supporting Member*
3,173
0
Urbana
Took 3 of us to get it on the back of the 4 wheeler. Then JD and I had a bright Idea to snap a few pics before loading him in the truck. His buddy had to go to work and had already left. After the pics, i grabbed the head and JD the back legs to load it in the back of my Colorado truck.. 1....2....3.... groans.. I think we managed to get his back about 4 inches off the ground.. lmao So we loaded him like they do on swamp people.. Got half in and rolled the rest of him in lol... For the pics above Alex (TripleA88) and I used a loader on a Kubota tractor to get it back in the truck.

Sissies!!!
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Sissies!!!

Did you enjoy that sweet aroma all day after wrestling with him this morning.. lmao.. Between him being rutted up and the arrow through his gut that dude STANK!
 
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finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,857
260
SW Ohio
Hell yeah Joe! Great read and an awesome ending! Did you have him weighed? He's a huge bodied MoFo! Once again...A big congratulations!!!

IMO, gut shot deer usually need at least 12 hours of bedding time before tracking.
 
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finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,857
260
SW Ohio
His mass is stellar! He's relatively awesome in the way of symmetry as a main framed 10 TOO! His main deduction is that unpaired g5(4" or so). I estimated him to grossing around 162 to 164 as a 10 pt. I think he'll net close to 160. Let me know when you rough him out. Just curious if I'm close. I'd get him mounted like you have him in that first pic above. It really shows off his huge neck.

I need to reevaluate my score alittle. I'll say he'll gross closer to 158 to 160 and net in the mid 150's. His tine length is where I think I miscalculated. I don't care if he scores 140............definite shooter and hoss!
 
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