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Some hope for 2012...

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
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Appalachia
I forgot about pulling a camera last week and leaving it laying on the side of a trail, so I headed out today to pick it up before someone else did! I checked a couple of cams in the process and it seems there is some mild hope for next season. I have four does routinely visiting the corn and two of the are mature, so hopefully they will throw a few fawns this spring. If I can work on thinning the coyotes this winter, we might get lucky and retain the majority of the fawns this spring. I had two bucks show up that will be shooters next season, one of which I know very well and the other is a newbie. I also have an injured shed buck that looks like rotten hell right now. He could be a 3.5 year old and judging by the other buck he was running with, it could be Boss Hawg. I sure hope he makes it and we can figure out the mystery in the spring...



I have no idea who this buck is, but I like the looks of him. Seems to have the makings to be a shooter this fall...





I'm glad to see Jack made it through all the firearm seasons. I have little hope of killing this deer as a 4 year old considering I have never seen him in person despite having pics of him as a 2 and 3 year old. I know have pics of him in three consecutive years. With any luck, I'll get pics of him once he grows his 4 year old rack...





I've all but written Moe off for dead. I might ask around or I might not. I don't really want to know the answer to be honest. One thing is for sure, the only surefire way to make sure I bowhunt this fall is to see him on camera or to find his sheds. Without him out there enticing me, things just aren't the same...
 
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"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,735
274
North Carolina
God luck Jesse concentrate on them yotes and let them buck deer get healthier and bigger lol.... never know I might make a rabbit Guy out of you yet.... sell them duck hunting things and buy a beagle and all.... :smiley_clap:
 

hickslawns

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Ohio
Glad to see a glimmer of light in your eyes still Jesse. Enjoy the rest of the seasons and see what happens next year. Or. . . we still have a few weeks left?
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
I may make an attempt or two to kill another doe behind my parents, but I'm done hunting the farm for sure. I don't feel comfortable taking another doe out there and neither one of these bucks is ready to be shot. If Moe was still using the farm, there is no doubt he would have showed up on one of the cams by now, so I'm not going to chase a deer that is MIA. There is a decent buck at my parents that could tempt me, but I figure I'll let him walk as well. He's a mid 130's 8 that I think is just a big 2.5, but I'm not sold on that. We almost had him dead to right on opening day of muzzleloader. He's just not what I'm after, so I'll stick with the does for now. I'm actually thinking it might be worth the effort to find and kill the doe I wounded in muzzy season. Finish what I started...
 

hickslawns

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That would be rewarding as well. Your 8pt sounds like my encounter during muzzy except yours probably had 10 more inches. Very tempting, but no thanks. I'll keep my standards and eat my tag first. Sucks, but it was my choice.

Do you know where Moe over-wintered last year? I am waiting on a deer that winters on a property I have permission to hunt to show up again. He doesn't seem to stay there in the summers, but likes it there in the winter. Not sure why. Just got permission this year and honestly haven't hunted it yet.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
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48,879
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Appalachia
He stayed on our farm after showing up in October. I had pics of him in every month for a year except April last year. He was still carrying his rack when I was in Missouri last March, so he may do the same if he's still alive and I could see him yet. But for a deer to dominate our farm for that length of time to simply disappear, that tells me he is dead...
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
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Ohio
So much for that idea. I have seen deer from the stand that avoid cameras. We can't use that excuse for Moe. That dude LOVES the camera. lmao
 

Huckleberry Finn

Senior Member
15,973
135
Was the doe you wounded one of those big ole bitches? Putting an arrow through one of those might be a good end to the season!
 

JD Boyd

*Supporting Member*
3,173
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Urbana
Kill another doe and go to the dnr meeting and complain about not seeing deer...lol... That freezer should be full of duck meat...lol
 
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Kaiser878

Senior Member
2,633
97
ohio
He stayed on our farm after showing up in October. I had pics of him in every month for a year except April last year. He was still carrying his rack when I was in Missouri last March, so he may do the same if he's still alive and I could see him yet. But for a deer to dominate our farm for that length of time to simply disappear, that tells me he is dead...

Or now that he is a mature deer he felt over pressured and fled the area and relocated somewhere calmer. He might reappear when he feels the pressure is down!
 

hickslawns

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Or now that he is a mature deer he felt over pressured and fled the area and relocated somewhere calmer. He might reappear when he feels the pressure is down!

That is a possibility as well. Are there others hunting close to your farm Jesse? Is this the same area that has had some development around it in the last several years? More foot traffic in there besides just you hunting? The big split main beam buck I was chasing early this year spent his first 6.5yrs on a property a couple miles north of us. He showed up on the farm I hunt this spring for "no apparent reason" according to a reputable hunter I talk to frequently. I feel his "no apparent reason" is because that same guy built a house last year. His business has been there for about 15yrs. Last year he built a beautiful home off the road behind the business and that deer left his property after the guy watched him the last 5 years. I just think the buck reached that age where he just won't tolerate as much. For this reason, I am curious if there aren't others in there besides you? Same area as the douches on quads? Same area as some of those you have caught walking through in the past?

Only reason I ask these questions is because I am hoping and searching for an answer giving you optimism he is still alive.
 

Dew Boyz

Junior Member
we are not shooting any does behind our house as well....doe sighting this year was way down....I never saw a doe in 2 weeks of hunting during the rut....finally yesterday afternoon we had a big doe, her button buck and doe come into our yard and feed for about 20 minutes....we were celebrating like it was a big buck seeing a doe...cameras are still out but no horn big enough to make us hit the trees yet....
 

epe

Senior Member
6,113
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Lancaster
Could be boss hawg kicked his azz, and he relocated. He might come winter there again, for the easy food source...
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
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Appalachia
jesse are you still feeding the same as you were or have you stopped?

They've had a consistent supply of corn since June. They also have 1/2 acres worth of turnips they haven't touched. It'll be the last time I plant turnips...

No one has hunted our farm since Thanksgiving, but there is plenty of pressure around us to screw things up. I have pics of trespassers on our farm and the 60 acres where I was getting all the pics this summer. I kept the pressure light when I was hunting and he's had plenty of time to figure out our farm is the safest place to be in the neighborhood. I guess we can just blame it on me screwing it up...
 
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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
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Appalachia
No corn within a 2-3 mile radius and nothing substantial enough to hold a lot of deer.

After hearing about the new craze at the high school just down the road from the farm, I wonder how many "Moes" were lost to poaching this fall. Our farm is part of that neighborhood and if you've ever been there, you know it's a prime piece of ground to road hunt...