( WMU 80 / WMU 87 / WMU 91 ) .
Then the 1st Clear / Cool / Calm day ( 10 days into the season ) Frank V. got his 1st Excalibur crossbow buck. ( At that point all we were seeing was boundary scrapes as bucks started to mark their territories )
Then later on it started getting colder > Gotta love the colors when leaves change …
Fixed up blinds that the racoons had damaged …
Spent many hours scouting / eating lunch and dinner in the truck > It’s always amazed me how many birds of all kinds never seem to mind the presence of a truck or tractor in the field !
The rest of our crew kept up the scouting and tried many different set ups > Always keeping an eye open for rut sign … Climber tree set ups overlooking corn fields and cut trails .
And ladder stand set ups watching travel corridors thru the cedars etc .
My BlackBerry lights up daily with field reports from one source or another . At my last climber set up along a swamp edge , I give a few cover contact grunts and a deer passes directly under me in the dark . When I zoom in I can see the hove prints in the soft ground and check them out when I leave .
Wylie and Russ get some cool trail camera shots on Oct 26th showing Russ walking out at 6:33pm and a buck walking in at 7:05pm … then later early am pic’s .
Then Chris H. hits pay dirt with what I call “ The perfect storm “ for mature buck action !
( Permission on a farm that has had no hunt pressure for the last 5-7 years so the reining buck gets time to grow ! )
Chris scouts it out and see’s increased rut activity ( rubs and scrapes ) > And an afternoon encounter on October 30th seals the deal ! ….
After a few rattle and grunt sessions , Chris goes to ground to check some pictures on a trail camera when a beauty mature 10 point hears the rustling of the leaves and comes storming in ! …. Chris is caught on the ground kneeling down at the trail camera with his crossbow slung over his back . There is lots of cover between him and the advancing buck > He keeps his cool , slips the black Excalibur Matrix 380 off his back and levels it for the shot , just as the buck screeches to a stop at 10 feet !! Chris scopes between two trees and he sends a bolt thru him ! > Buck whirls and falls 10 yards away ! I get the BBD Baby message on my Black Berry and pictures soon to follow ! > Congrat’s Chris > Great looking Buck!
Dragged and tagged > Then off to the butcher !
Safe to say the rut is heating up in our areas > Good Luck to all that are still out there ! Keep the pictures and stories coming !
