Thought I would do a quick write-up on my hunts this year as I take the time and reflect on the season and how awesome it's been!My first kill came opening night in West Virginia, September 25th in my familiar stomping grounds. I had scouted my tail off all summer (mainly for my wife and son to score) and had a pile of bucks located on my favorite ridge that was covered in dropping white oaks that are right on the edge of laurel bedding on a ridge point. We had a rain front push through and the temps dropped right before dark and this nine point that I had never seen came strolling up the ridge and gave me a perfect 12 yard shot. He was down in 30 yards and kicked off my 2021 season
Of course my wife and son couldn't go opening night 
October 9th
With my WV buck down I focused on my wife and son and my wife was the first to score. I had located a screaming fresh community scrape on a thick ridge top and we slipped in for an evening hunt. I figured the bucks would be bedded down over the ridge top on a small bench and we were splitting hairs on the wind. It was an hour before dark and i heard antlers hitting together and ten minutes later he comes two bucks right to us. The bigger one offered her a 17 yard shot and she delivered a great shot through both lungs and he was down in 80 yards!
October 12th
After seeing her mama put down a buck, my 6.5 year old daughter BEGGED me to take her. We had set a blind close to the house a few weeks prior and I figured it would be a great time to take her while the temps were still warm. We spent and afternoon with my dads crossbow and she was shooting fantastic so off we went. We hadn't been in the blind an hour and this big doe comes in and offers a 20 yard broadside shot. I asked my daughter "are you on her? Can you hold right on her heart?" she whispered "Yep I got her!" and I watched the lighted nock zip through her right in the pocket. Didn't go 20!
Her very first deer!
October 17th
With two bucks and a doe down in WV I headed to Maryland for Sika deer for a whole new hunt that I had been wanting to do for YEARS! A couple good friends invited me to hunt their property in the peak of the rut and I was SO EXCITED to hunt these so-called "swamp ghosts". The first few days were slow and I had only seen one spike stag. I was bouncing around to new spots and hunting super fresh sign but it just wasn't paying off. My buddy asked if I wanted to switch up spots for the last evening and I figured why not. I had nothing to lose. He pointed me to the East end of property and said it was a good area and I should go check it out. I looked at the map and noticed a subtle point going out into the marsh and a main water channel that bends toward the point creating a 40 yard "pinch". The wind was blowing at an angle out into the swamp so I knew if anything was bedded to the south of me I may get busted but I was going to take my chances. An hour after getting setup I spot antler tips in the grass 100 yards north of me (wind is perfect for me) and when I finally got a good look it was a GIANT stag. He was heading away from me and I remembered I had an elk reed in my pack. I quickly grabbed it and threw out a couple pretty crappy hind mews and he for sure heard it but just vanished into the marsh grass
45 minutes later I hear something walking in the water but cant pin point it and then out of nowhere he pops up 45 yards coming directly at me! He comes trotting into the woodline and i'm waiting for him at full draw but he stops behind the only tree in my way. He takes off on a trot and I instinctively lead him and shot without even thinking about it. I felt like the hit was too far back and I was NERVOUS until we watched the video back at camp. Turns out the hit was right on the money! He had ran 80 yards and was dead just out of sight. A true giant of a 6x6 stag and the biggest the property owners had ever seen. An awesome animal!
Next up I head out on the biggest adventure of the year on a three state, 2000 mile journey covering Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio
November 4th
Kentucky was a bust with a close encounter on a giant but no shot. Indiana public treated me a little better with a nice 11 point on my fourth evening. I went in blind to a new spot on the edge of a marsh and simply setup in the most likely spot for a buck to come out of bedding or cruise the downwind edge looking for does. This buck did exactly that and came out of the thick stuff behind me walking the edge of the marsh. He was headed away from me at 70 yards and a few grunts turned him and brought him to 11 yards. I made it count and watched him tip over 65 yards away
November 5th
With Indiana in the bag I got the buck taken care of and headed to Ohio early in the morning of the 5th. I rolled in, quickly setup camp and headed out for the evening. I didn't really have time to go deep so I opted for a spot pretty close to the truck on a subtle oak ridge point that had a clear cut at the bottom and a pine thicket on the top. Earlier in the season this point was trashed with scrapes and I figured it would be a good spot to at least spend an evening. As I got setup I noticed a giant fresh scrape not six yards from my tree and I was excited to see what might pop out of the thick cover closer to dark. An hour into the hunt a nice eight point cruises up the ridge and right under me but I decided to pass since it was so early in the hunt. He proceeded to go over the ridge and chase a group of does around. The commotion must have gained some attention because I heard another deer coming with heavy footsteps up the ridge and when he cleared the brush I knew immediately he was a shooter! The buck was headed away from me at an angle so just like the Indiana buck I threw out a few loud grunts. It didn't phase him one bit! I threw a loud snort wheezer at him and he turned on a dime, bristled up and started his stiff legged walk right at me!
I came to full draw just as he hit the scrape at SIX YARDS and i drove an arrow through his neck and out his opposite elbow. He did a hard 50 yard death run and went down! Night #1 and TAGGED OUT in Ohio! 
November 13th
After recovering at home for a few days I was ready to get back after it and hopefully get my son on a buck with his bow. I decided to try a sit in a new spot mainly as an observation sit in a funnel I had overlooked for years. It's basically the easiest point of travel around a high wall in the side of a ridge that connects two bedding areas. I had several does walk past and a nice 2.5 year old buck chasing them so I was excited to get my son in there the next chance he had to go. Right before dark I spot a giant bobcat coming through the funnel and was able to arrow him almost directly under my tree. He ended up running up into a rock ledge and after coming face to face with him at about 6' in the dark I was able to finish him off and clean my pants out!
He was a 30lb tom and a critter that I have wanted to shoot with a bow for YEARS! 
November 15th
A couple days later I was able to take my son back to the same spot and as luck would have it that same buck came right through the funnel and he was able to put a great shot on him! His first buck with a bow!
November 22nd
So now we are into WV rifle season. I told myself I wasn't shooting anything unless it was a GOOD one (who am I kidding right
) I decided to hunt a new property that someone had invited me to hunt about 1/2 hour from my house in a county i've never hunted. I had no real intel on the place, and had only walked it once, but that one day of walking it I knew there was at least one good buck in there judging by the high rubs and numerous scrapes. I decided I was going to stay out all day and slowly work my way back to an isolated saddle at the very back of the property that overlooked a thick bench that was loaded with rubs. For the morning I set up on a powerline near the entrance of the property and passed two 2.5 year old bucks and several does. Around 1 O clock I started working my way toward the saddle just taking my time and not making any noise. I found a good vantage point on the side of the ridge with the saddle above me and the thick bench visible below me. I hadn't seen anything but did notice a super fresh scrape on the bench below me which I thought was a good sign given the rut had really started to slow down. At 4:28pm I caught movement coming up the bench and when I pulled the binos up I think I physically gasped out loud when I saw dang near 12" g'2 and 10" 3's attached to a big mature, dark caped STUD of a buck! I composed myself the best I could (AKA Total freakout) and as he cleared some green briar at 60 yards I touched one off. The buck took one giant leap and landed on his head deader than a door nail! I may or may not have come unglued a bit and it took me a while to convince myself that what just happened really did just happen I had NO IDEA this buck was in the area and for northern WV i'll have a hard time ever topping him!
That's been my season so far....I still have a few tags left in my pocket and a little more time yet. Who knows what I might run into, but I figure at this point I might as well keep going!
Truly blessed!
