So it's all over for this year

[wilmsmeyer]

Had an OK season. Nothing in bow as we try for "the big one"....been 5 years since unleashing an arrow.

Rifle season? Got a OK 8 pt (scored just under 120) and a doe 1st week. Passed 4 similar bucks this weekend in ML trying for either a big buck or some meat does. Shot a deer yesterday with the Savage at 70 yds. It was with 4 other deer all smaller and all looking bald. After a short death run I decided to reload and sit some more and hunt. While I waited, I decided to fill out my tag while 25 ft up a tree to pass time. On my "DMP" tag, which is good for anterless only, I left the sex unchecked JUST IN CASE it was a button buck. I left my stand an hour later and went to the deer and was completely shocked to see that it was a legally antlered buck....4" spikes. That sucked because now I had filled out a tag I did not need to use and had to break out my either sex tag and burn it with 1 1/2 days left!! Never saw those 4" spikes on the deer when I sized it up and shot.

The load, which I was happy to try out on a deer was a 370 gr LBT solid at 1,450 fps over 30 gr 4759. The bullet entered between neck and shoulder and came out behind the opposite shoulder. No blood shot meat in either front shoulder. He was quartering towards me at 70 yds. Love the big bricks at slow speeds. 1 inch either way and it would have been different but I got lucky. Had that been a 2800 fps load from the old days, the deer would have been ruined up front.

Good thing a big buck didn't show up or I would have shot him and not had a legal tag. Never shot a buck by accident in my 33 years of hunting. Season is over now as of tomorrow. Cut/chunked him up for grinding today. Cleaned up all the guns and back to work tomorrow. Me and the wife will grind everything tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a good season.

[rossman40]

You couldn't kick the horns off? Seen that more then once.

[wilmsmeyer]

I guess you could do that and I have heard of that too. However, I've always been superstitious about not following the rules of my favorite sport. Kinda like a sneaky foot wedge when you are playing golf. Only cheat yourself and bring you bad luck and bad reputation if you are somehow figured out. It was my mistake and I did the right thing.

A guy did the same thing last year and it turned out to be a very short wacky 4 pt. As we were cutting deer yesterday I told him we should make a double sized plaque and put these two little guys on here with a big sign...."BE 100% SURE OF YOUR TARGET". LOL

[rossman40]

Ohio now has the "phone in" check system which has a lot of guys more then bending the rules. It makes me question other hunters ethics.

We have a rule at the cabin that if a wounded deer comes in front of you, you have to kill it. Last year my brother had to shoot a scrawny 6pt because it was shot in the mouth. I had to take a basket 8pt with a deformed on one side rack because it had a front leg almost shot off a few years ago.

[rambler]

Arkansas has phone in and online game checking. I guess if it's easy people will be more willing to comply.

[DBinNY]

Well it happens Wilms. I ended up shooting a spike too with 5 minutes remaining in the season. This one happened to be standing in my garden so there is a different set of "rules" and motivation there and there was no need to save the buck tag with 5 minutes left in the season. I was also happy to unload the gun which had been loaded since just after I got the one on opening day of the regular firearms season (Nov 21). I would have let it walk if I was hunting at my main hunting grounds which are several miles away.