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Legends Ranch Deer...The Story

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,382
193
North Central Ohio
Great story and a great ending. That is a brute of a buck and I know I could never shoot something that big unless there was an ambulance standing by to revive me lol. Congrats on a blessed hunt and a true Buck of a lifetime buddy. I can't wait to see the mount and maybe someday see it in person so I can hear the story and excitement in your voice when telling it.
 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,886
260
SW Ohio
Congrats to you Josh for taking down a giant! 354" inches would make a pretty good rack on an elk!lol Great read TOO!
 

Matt

Active Member
932
61
Norton, OH
I honestly don't think you will hear word one from anyone here about it being high fence. I think that anyone here would jump if given the same chance you got, and after what you have had to go through you deserve it. Hell of a nice deer. Like Joe said, I think the biggest problem people have with the high fence operations is when they claim it's a wild deer, or call it something other than what it is.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,922
274
Appalachia
What a story Josh! And one crazy big brute to go with it!!!

My biggest issue with high fence stuff is the lying that seems to go with it. When someone is honest about it like you were, then I can deal with it. It's not my cup of tea, but still an experience I'm sure is worth the flight to Michigan! Congrats on making a great shot and a memory you'll never forget.
 

deerburger

*Supporting Member*
458
0
I still can't believe it. And I still think we should have stuck with the "I shot this in Florida" story...
 

epe

Senior Member
6,113
93
Lancaster
Congrats! Nice read too. It is probably a good thing you couldn't see his whole rack or you never would have gotten off a good shot, or at least not me...
 

aholdren

Senior Member
Supporting Member
5,176
151
South East Ohio
Holey moley man.... What an awesome animal on an awesome hunt!. Truly a buck of a lifetime.. I can only imagine seeing so many bruisers in one spot.

PS: Don't worry about the high fence negativism.. 99% of all the guys i know have zero issues with high fence operations as long as people call it what it is.. People only get spun up when the hunter or outfitter tries to place it on the same level as naturally grown deer. You know the type... So don't worry about that man.. :)
Now how are you gonna go back to Fl and sit in a stand.. lol... A 90 inch 6 pt is gonna look like a button buck now. lol

My feeling exactly. Well done and enjoy looking at that Monster when you get him home...
 

1hornwilly

*Supporting Member III*
Thanks for all the kind words, fellas. After a thorough review of the SCI record books last night, it looks as though this deer will score #4 all-time for Northeastern whitetail taken with any form of weapon (including all high fenced hunts). That's pretty dang cool... I just was flat out blessed to be in the right place at the right time. And, I fully believe Ava sent that deer my way :)
 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,382
193
North Central Ohio
The head is gonna tour with Legends Ranch for the shows they go to through the spring, then it comes home to me in FL and sits in my office. He will be a pedestal mount.

That's awesome man. Not everybody gets to have a mount go on tour. Very special buck and mount you got there Willy. I can't wait to see the final mount at home after his road trip. Congrats again buddy.
 

Gern186

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
10,187
201
NW Ohio Tundra
Holy heck batman! Words cant describe that thing. Congratulations for getting an awesome buck. Thanks for being upfront and honest about the place you killed him too.

Do you feel that it was too easy given that you never had to sit in a stand or blind to harvest him.....do you wish that you had sat in a stand for a few hours before getting the shot? How did your uncle do? If he killed a deer, how much time did he put in?

You were certainly in the right place at the right time, congrats again!
 

1hornwilly

*Supporting Member III*
Gern...In a perfect world I would have sat a few days before seeing him. However, I figure I have logged hundreds of hours on stand seeing nothing (in the free range world) over the a last few years, so I was just fine with it happening in the blink of an eye.;) I think I might have felt different if it was my first hunt ever. You just never know what the deer are gonna do. If they move within 2 minutes of showing up, well...that's just they way it goes :) My Uncle didn't even go. He just sent me because of a scheduling conflict. Every guy (there were 9 of us) there shot a deer over 220". It was absolutely unreal. I have never seen anything like what I did last week.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,773
248
Ohio
I showed the picture to my wife and parents over pizza tonight. Should have heard the questions. "Is that a mule deer?" (Proud of my wife for even knowing there is such a thing as a mule deer. ahahahaha) My Mom "Are you sure that is a white tail? It doesn't look like one. Look how big it is. It's head looks like a horses head or something." I told her it wasn't 2 years old and was taken at Legends Ranch after that. Her reply "Oh. I didn't want to say anything, but it looked all grey in the face so I didn't think it was a white tail." I just laughed and told her it probably was fairly mature. Dad didn't have much reaction other than "Can I see that again?" hahaha

Once again, so glad you enjoyed yourself and were able to take such a stud Josh!