ND buck down

[lungdeflator]

It was somewhere between -10-15 ambient temp with a 15-20mph wind blowing when I left the truck. I was all set up and ready to go a little after 3pm. Didn't even have my bow up in the tree yet and had 4 deer come running towards me. One doe hung out in the brush 15 yards from me, among the other 3 one was a decent looking yearling or 2.5yr old. The camera was working at that point so I was able to get a quick snippet of footage.

A little bit later I heard some crunching in the snow behind me, turned around and there was a decent buck coming through the stubble field (wide open, about 1/4 mile from the nearest trees) pretty wild to think a buck like that would even cross such a vast expanse of frozen tundra in the daylight, but he did. He made it up to the next tree row by me and bumped up a doe out of her bed. I tried to get some footage of him, but the camera was frozen so no video. I grunted and snort wheezed at him and both the buck and doe proceeded to come right at me. The doe made it to about 25-30 yards and turned off. The buck stopped when the doe turned and I snort wheezed at him again. This time he turned and came right at me. He got behind a pine tree when I drew back, as soon as he cleared the tree I stopped by at about 25 yards. I let the arrow go and thought I heard a big whack of the arrow hitting the deer. The only thing left was to send out the celebratory BBD text. I got down about 10 minutes after the shot to check for blood where he was standing. I found nothing but my arrow which was snapped in half, clean of any blood, hair, or tallow. Not sure if the arrow was bad and snapped en route due to the cold? Huge dissapointment at that point, but I had plenty of daylight left so I scrambled back up the tree to finish out the evening.

About 45 minutes before dark, the deer started coming out from everywhere. Not sure how many deer I ended up seeing, 15, 20, 25? Around 5pm I saw a deer trotting down the woods, coming right at me. As soon as he cleared the trees I saw he had a good rack. This worked out so perfectly, just as I hoped it would and set the stand up for. He came right along the trail and came through the brush at 20 yards. I was able to stop him broadside (just like shooting the glendel buck in the backyard) and punched the arrow through his shoulder and through the heart. He only ran 70-80 yards and I watched him tip over backwards (just like on TV!).

Overall easily the best hunt I had the whole fall. Its really amazing how a guy doesn't mind the cold as much when your seeing deer. Super exciting hunt with all the ups and downs to go with it.

The trail cam pics attatched are of the first buck I shot at (dates/times are messed up) about 3 minutes before the shot. He looked nicer than the one I shot, but he broke off one side.

[lungdeflator]

Sorry TC pic isnt working

[maros91]

Solid deer right there! Love the late season pics. Congrats!!

[Bear55]

Congrats, looks like a stud!

[PropsterII]

Very nice buck. Mind if I ask, feed field (and if so what) or bait?

[frogtosser]

I'd love to see one like that come past me, nice deer.

[hugonian1]

Great buck.

Congrats

[eyeguy 54]

dandy! congrats

[Jeff13]

Nice buck!

[Shu]

Great buck and story, congrats!

[certified jumbo]

That's called getting er done!! Congrats....

[triggertrav]

good work man. Gotta love them icy cold sits that pay off.

[rkhinrichs]

I would love to kill a buck late season in the snow! congrats!

[lungdeflator]

Thanks everybody! It was actually on public land. I could be wrong but...the state teams with Pheasants for the future and they put in corn plots for the birds and wildlife. Most of the state rec areas Ive found out here have the corn plots. Its really an incredible late season hunting oppurtunity. I found 10 sheds in this same area last spring.

[Scoot]

Great job lungdeflator! Congrats!!!

[paceman]

Wow! Great Buck and story! Congrats!

[slimngrizzly]

WOW! Great buck and story! Way to stick it out in the cold!

[NIBOWMAN]

Wow, the ups and downs of bow hunting. Great job.