New York—Split G2
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New York—Split G2
This is my first time posting to this forum. I usually lurk around everywhere and try to read/listen to everyone else’s stories and experiences when it comes to public forums—not much of a social butterfly. However, when it comes to bowhunting whitetails, I can talk and write for hours with no end in sight. I post pictures with long story like captions on Instagram for myself to reflect on and for anyone who may see value or entertainment in them to enjoy as well. So why not post a few good ones here, where more like minded people can read along.
I’ll start with the 2021 season, and preface it with this: I bow hunt public land, in New York State. I’m hyper competitive, and addicted to studying and hunting whitetails.
All post season, winter, spring, and summer I am out several times per week glassing, manipulating cameras, or trying to get an edge on the deer or the other (many) hunters in the area. I enjoy this part as much as the hunting itself. The terrain in this particular area is very dynamic. It’s a mix of riverbottom marsh surrounding 2000 acres of 80 year old clear cut drumlin/hills with a plentiful mix of oak and Ag fields managed by the state and feds.
New York is a two buck state with no antler restrictions and essentially limitless doe tags in this particular area. We also have some of the harshest winters with some of the highest numbers of hunters in the country with a 2 month long gun season. It’s not easy for a buck to walk out of 3 full hunting seasons to reach 3.5 years old going into his 4th season.
Anyway, in late June I received pictures from a trail cam of a big buck. There were plenty of other nice bucks and hundreds of pictures of them—but this one was different. He was 150” in full velvet in June! Throughout the summer I received a handful of pictures of this buck, always in daylight and in several locations, then on July 30th at 5:33pm he literally ran past a camera and out of my life and I didn’t see him again all summer. While other mature bucks held on to their summer ground late into September, he was long gone.
Hunting season starts October 1 for us New Yorkers and I hunted almost every day. On October 13th I dedicated the day to scout with my bow in hand. I was on the riverbottom flat following a transition line of cattails, canary grass and some willow points that tickled the edge of the timber. I found a small scrape that most people might just walk by. I put a camera on it, opened it up and peed in it. I was just looking for deer at this point and was tromping around trying to bump one. In the process I lost an arrow out of my quiver, ended up tromping around even more trying to find it and then left for the day. That night I got a picture of the big giant split G2 buck from the summer, in that scrape, at 5:17pm 3 hours before sunset. To say the least I was a bit surprised. He was +2 miles from his summer range as the crow flies.
The next evening I went to hunt him. There are really no trees in this grassy, brushy, cattail and reed area. So I’m order to hunt close enough I had to “manipulate” a lot of poison ivy vine, and branches…etc just to get up 10ft into a poor excuse for a tree. As was stepping onto my platform I noticed the hind end of a deer slipping through the cattails heading directly away from me. In my mind it was him, and he saw me, and was slipping out the back door undetected. I blew it.
7 days later I decided to hunt him again. Now I knew what wind he liked in order to be in there and that he was bedding in a spot that he was able to see me climb that particular tree. I had some data to work with. And I knew he was a curious deer that didn’t mind moving in daylight if he felt comfortable. Keep in mind this area is vast and he’s set up with cattails to his back, and wide open canary grass out in front of him (hunter access comes from this way) and he has a vantage of about +300 yards with no obstructions except a few small pockets of willows and brush.
With all that said, I knew I had to be off of his bed further than the 40ish yards I was off of it last time and that I had to keep some cover between myself and him in his bed. So I crawled on my hands and knees in the wet canary grass for about 1/4 of a mile until I had some cover between him and I and then I could stand up. I got to a spot with a tiny little tree that had vines hanging from all of its branches and it took me about an hour to get in and set up silently while trying to move this stuff out of my way in order to have any kind of shooting window, it was very limited, but that’s probably why he was in that area. That evening I was hunting on the front end of a storm system. It was drizzling, everything was wet and overcast. I was grunting to try and pique this bucks interest to come out before dark and trying to remain patient. With about 15 minutes left of legal shooting light I made a decision based on the fact that regardless of where I saw the buck, if he came out at this point, he wouldn’t make it to me in time for me to shoot with any light—so I got out of my stand and took to the ground.
I headed toward the scrape, and didn’t really have a solid plan of what I would do if x,y,z happened. I had to move around and past a few small pieces of cover that were between myself and where I suspected the buck to be bedding. I kept the cover tight to my left shoulder and broke out into a small opening. As soon as I broke off of that cover the big split G2 buck was doing the exact same thing as me, and the exact same moment. Like two old warriors heading for battle , he for I, I for him, we literally passed eachother in the grey light mist at 8 unobstructed yards.
I took a knee. Baffled that he didn’t see me, I reached down and pulled my thumb release out of my pocket while he made a scrape 6 yards from me. Drew back, found a hole the size of a softball and let him have it. I thought it was over. It was pouring rain now, and I ran out to see where he bounded off and into the cover of thick timber. The shot looked great to me so I immediately took up the trail. Blood falls to the bottom of these grassy areas never to be seen in dry conditions, and is even more difficult in the wet. So I back off and called a blood hound for the next morning.
8 hours later we had nothing to show for it. I gridded the rest of that day and the following and came up empty handed. Anyone whose lost a buck knows, it’s the toughest defeat. Bowhunting, particularly on public land can be the most demoralizing sport in existence. It’s not a matter of if it will shove you down, but when. Unfortunelty I bear the burden of that bucks extreme will to live.
The next day the river flooded and stayed high enough to not allow anyone access for the next month. Hunting season continued on and I never was able to get that buck out of my head. Every time I went out I was subconsciously looking for him, dead or alive. When it finally receded I went in and found the buck that I ultimately killed on October 21st. In a cave like bed he sat under water and ice virtually untouched due to the flood. It’s not how I drew it up, and I obviously lost his cape and meat but I still had his crown and the many lessons he taught me. I never quit and I’m glad I didn’t.
I know this is probably too long of a story but believe it or not I left out a ton of detail. And I hope a couple of you find value in it. Thanks.
I’ll start with the 2021 season, and preface it with this: I bow hunt public land, in New York State. I’m hyper competitive, and addicted to studying and hunting whitetails.
All post season, winter, spring, and summer I am out several times per week glassing, manipulating cameras, or trying to get an edge on the deer or the other (many) hunters in the area. I enjoy this part as much as the hunting itself. The terrain in this particular area is very dynamic. It’s a mix of riverbottom marsh surrounding 2000 acres of 80 year old clear cut drumlin/hills with a plentiful mix of oak and Ag fields managed by the state and feds.
New York is a two buck state with no antler restrictions and essentially limitless doe tags in this particular area. We also have some of the harshest winters with some of the highest numbers of hunters in the country with a 2 month long gun season. It’s not easy for a buck to walk out of 3 full hunting seasons to reach 3.5 years old going into his 4th season.
Anyway, in late June I received pictures from a trail cam of a big buck. There were plenty of other nice bucks and hundreds of pictures of them—but this one was different. He was 150” in full velvet in June! Throughout the summer I received a handful of pictures of this buck, always in daylight and in several locations, then on July 30th at 5:33pm he literally ran past a camera and out of my life and I didn’t see him again all summer. While other mature bucks held on to their summer ground late into September, he was long gone.
Hunting season starts October 1 for us New Yorkers and I hunted almost every day. On October 13th I dedicated the day to scout with my bow in hand. I was on the riverbottom flat following a transition line of cattails, canary grass and some willow points that tickled the edge of the timber. I found a small scrape that most people might just walk by. I put a camera on it, opened it up and peed in it. I was just looking for deer at this point and was tromping around trying to bump one. In the process I lost an arrow out of my quiver, ended up tromping around even more trying to find it and then left for the day. That night I got a picture of the big giant split G2 buck from the summer, in that scrape, at 5:17pm 3 hours before sunset. To say the least I was a bit surprised. He was +2 miles from his summer range as the crow flies.
The next evening I went to hunt him. There are really no trees in this grassy, brushy, cattail and reed area. So I’m order to hunt close enough I had to “manipulate” a lot of poison ivy vine, and branches…etc just to get up 10ft into a poor excuse for a tree. As was stepping onto my platform I noticed the hind end of a deer slipping through the cattails heading directly away from me. In my mind it was him, and he saw me, and was slipping out the back door undetected. I blew it.
7 days later I decided to hunt him again. Now I knew what wind he liked in order to be in there and that he was bedding in a spot that he was able to see me climb that particular tree. I had some data to work with. And I knew he was a curious deer that didn’t mind moving in daylight if he felt comfortable. Keep in mind this area is vast and he’s set up with cattails to his back, and wide open canary grass out in front of him (hunter access comes from this way) and he has a vantage of about +300 yards with no obstructions except a few small pockets of willows and brush.
With all that said, I knew I had to be off of his bed further than the 40ish yards I was off of it last time and that I had to keep some cover between myself and him in his bed. So I crawled on my hands and knees in the wet canary grass for about 1/4 of a mile until I had some cover between him and I and then I could stand up. I got to a spot with a tiny little tree that had vines hanging from all of its branches and it took me about an hour to get in and set up silently while trying to move this stuff out of my way in order to have any kind of shooting window, it was very limited, but that’s probably why he was in that area. That evening I was hunting on the front end of a storm system. It was drizzling, everything was wet and overcast. I was grunting to try and pique this bucks interest to come out before dark and trying to remain patient. With about 15 minutes left of legal shooting light I made a decision based on the fact that regardless of where I saw the buck, if he came out at this point, he wouldn’t make it to me in time for me to shoot with any light—so I got out of my stand and took to the ground.
I headed toward the scrape, and didn’t really have a solid plan of what I would do if x,y,z happened. I had to move around and past a few small pieces of cover that were between myself and where I suspected the buck to be bedding. I kept the cover tight to my left shoulder and broke out into a small opening. As soon as I broke off of that cover the big split G2 buck was doing the exact same thing as me, and the exact same moment. Like two old warriors heading for battle , he for I, I for him, we literally passed eachother in the grey light mist at 8 unobstructed yards.
I took a knee. Baffled that he didn’t see me, I reached down and pulled my thumb release out of my pocket while he made a scrape 6 yards from me. Drew back, found a hole the size of a softball and let him have it. I thought it was over. It was pouring rain now, and I ran out to see where he bounded off and into the cover of thick timber. The shot looked great to me so I immediately took up the trail. Blood falls to the bottom of these grassy areas never to be seen in dry conditions, and is even more difficult in the wet. So I back off and called a blood hound for the next morning.
8 hours later we had nothing to show for it. I gridded the rest of that day and the following and came up empty handed. Anyone whose lost a buck knows, it’s the toughest defeat. Bowhunting, particularly on public land can be the most demoralizing sport in existence. It’s not a matter of if it will shove you down, but when. Unfortunelty I bear the burden of that bucks extreme will to live.
The next day the river flooded and stayed high enough to not allow anyone access for the next month. Hunting season continued on and I never was able to get that buck out of my head. Every time I went out I was subconsciously looking for him, dead or alive. When it finally receded I went in and found the buck that I ultimately killed on October 21st. In a cave like bed he sat under water and ice virtually untouched due to the flood. It’s not how I drew it up, and I obviously lost his cape and meat but I still had his crown and the many lessons he taught me. I never quit and I’m glad I didn’t.
I know this is probably too long of a story but believe it or not I left out a ton of detail. And I hope a couple of you find value in it. Thanks.
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Re: New York—Split G2
More pictures
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Re: New York—Split G2
Few more
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Re: New York—Split G2
Great story and a great buck!! Losing a buck or any deer for that matter is sickening. Glad you found him. Congrats
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Re: New York—Split G2
Wow I can’t believe he looked that good after all that time. Yeah man I’ve lost a couple deer already with the bow and it sucks. Lots of lessons to learn each time and really, just makes you a better Hunter. God bless you and keep trucking on!
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
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Re: New York—Split G2
Buckharasser150 wrote:Wow I can’t believe he looked that good after all that time. Yeah man I’ve lost a couple deer already with the bow and it sucks. Lots of lessons to learn each time and really, just makes you a better Hunter. God bless you and keep trucking on!
Your right, surprisingly he was in ok shape for how long he laid. I did my best in the photos to make him look “good.” The side that was in contact with the ground was ok, the other side however was hairless, and he didn’t have either hind quarter. I’m thinking the water/ice helped preserve over a relatively short period of time.
Thanks.
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Re: New York—Split G2
Moose wrote:Great story and a great buck!! Losing a buck or any deer for that matter is sickening. Glad you found him. Congrats
I thought for sure I lost him. I’ve been doing this a long time and never have I had something play out so “in my favor.” All the way from summer pictures to finding him 2 miles away to shooting and losing him, only to find him a month later…odd how it worked out. Doesn’t happen often.
- greenhorndave
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Re: New York—Split G2
Dadgum, that’s a dandy buck!
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Sometimes when things get tough, weird or both, you just need to remember this...
https://youtu.be/d4tSE2w53ts
Sometimes when things get tough, weird or both, you just need to remember this...
https://youtu.be/d4tSE2w53ts
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Re: New York—Split G2
greenhorndave wrote:Dadgum, that’s a dandy buck!
Thank you, he’s truly a buck of a lifetime for myself…Grossed 157 7/8 dry. I was lucky to have it work out in my favor.
Last edited by Treereaper on Fri Feb 18, 2022 6:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: New York—Split G2
For anyone that may be interested, I said I left out a lot of details, and I did. A ton of time went into hunting this buck. A lot of difficult decisions on how to allocate that time as well. A lab determined he was 5.5 yo; how he made it out of hunting seasons 5 times is a marvel to me. Some of the things this buck did and how he lived went against alot of traditional belief. He wasn’t nocturnal, he moved with the wind at his back, he monitored access, he was bumped plenty and returned to his bed/area, and he was curious like most deer are. I used all of those things to my advantage. I can elaborate on that all and how I hunted him if anyone cares to know.
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Re: New York—Split G2
Treereaper wrote:For anyone that may be interested, I said I left out a lot of details, and I did. A ton of time went into hunting this buck. A lot of difficult decisions on how to allocate that time as well. A lab determined he was 5.5 yo; how he made it out of hunting seasons 5 times is a marvel to me. Some of the things this buck did and how he lived went against alot of traditional belief. He wasn’t nocturnal, he moved with the wind at his back, he monitored access, he was bumped plenty and returned to his bed/area, and he was curious like most deer are. I used all of those things to my advantage. I can elaborate on that all and how I hunted him if anyone cares to know.
Yeah, that all sounds real interesting. I find all of their individual habits/idiosyncrasies fascinating, as well as how to overcome them.
----------
Sometimes when things get tough, weird or both, you just need to remember this...
https://youtu.be/d4tSE2w53ts
Sometimes when things get tough, weird or both, you just need to remember this...
https://youtu.be/d4tSE2w53ts
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Re: New York—Split G2
Treereaper wrote:For anyone that may be interested, I said I left out a lot of details, and I did. A ton of time went into hunting this buck. A lot of difficult decisions on how to allocate that time as well. A lab determined he was 5.5 yo; how he made it out of hunting seasons 5 times is a marvel to me. Some of the things this buck did and how he lived went against alot of traditional belief. He wasn’t nocturnal, he moved with the wind at his back, he monitored access, he was bumped plenty and returned to his bed/area, and he was curious like most deer are. I used all of those things to my advantage. I can elaborate on that all and how I hunted him if anyone cares to know.
Congrats, and sure spill it. That's what we come here for.
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Re: New York—Split G2
Great story... absolutely, let's hear it!
Thats what I'm hear for.
Thats what I'm hear for.
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Re: New York—Split G2
Congrats long arms.
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"It's a good thing you don't need commas and colons to kill deer" -seaz
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Re: New York—Split G2
Congrats on a dandy buck!
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