Monster Black Hills Buck

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Lockdown
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Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby Lockdown » Wed Nov 16, 2022 6:38 pm

It took 5 years to draw my first ever Black Hills deer tag, and it was definitely worth the wait. My friends and I left early Friday morning and arrived in time to hunt for a couple hours.

One crew decided they were going to head to the same general area that I intended to hunt. Rather than concentrate all of us in one specific region, I told my buddy we should diversify a little and head elsewhere. So we called an audible and headed to a piece that had some open meadow and also some private timber.

I should add that almost all the ground in the black hills is public. Some of the low ground (meadows) is private and used for hay, pasture, and residences. None of the public is hayed… only private from what I saw.

The new growth is a much better tasting food source. Naturally, I was expecting most of the deer to be bedding on public but feeding on the private land. But in this case, there was a potential private “sanctuary”.

I was sneaking through the hills and ravines, and glassing the open meadow ahead of me. Something spooked a doe and fawn and they ran past at 200 yards. I made my way south and saw a deer in the meadow. “Looks like a buck.”

*put binos up - “Looks like a shooter!”

*set up spotter - “Oh. My. God. He’s huge!”

I couldn’t believe it. I counted 13 tines… they reminded me of teeth on a saw blade. His tines weren’t that long but he carried HEAVY mass throughout his rack. I could see some stickers as well.

There were 5 does out in the meadow too. The buck was about 500 yards away, and I was about 40 yards from the public/private line. I dropped some milkweed and it slowly drifted down the ravine and toward the meadow.

NOT GOOD.

It was mostly calm and the thermals were dropping. I moved across the ravine and over the peak of the next little ridge to see if I could get my scent to drop down into the adjacent ravine.

Some milkweed would, some wouldn’t. The currents were too inconsistent and as bad as I wanted to try and call him in, I didn’t feel my chances of getting him to jump the fence without smelling me were very good. My gut said don’t do it. Next thing I know all the deer on the field got nervous and fled into the private timber.

I didn’t think the chances of calling that buck off the private were very good at all. I was pretty sure he lived his life in that little 50 acres of private timber. We encountered boot tracks on the public and also an elk hide from a successful hunt earlier in the fall.
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I just felt the odds of him meandering over to the public were extremely low. He didn’t get that big by spending time on the public.

The next morning and afternoon we checked out some other spots, as the wind was wrong to hunt the big fella. That night it switched. I told my buddy even though it was super low odds… we had to try. “Who knows… maybe we can call him in?” There was an island of trees in the private meadow. My buddy sat on the public North of it, I sat south where I saw him the night before.

I arrived 2 hours before dark and to my amazement he was already in the field with the does :shock: I wasn’t expecting that!

He was East of me and the wind was NE. PERFECT. To make it even better, he was WAY closer than the night before. I ranged him at 206 yards at one point. Having a rifle in my hand, I gave myself a 60 yard buffer to the fence. I could have EASILY snuck up to the fence and had a chip shot at him, but that’s not my style. I do it legally or not at all.

There was also a stud 10 point out there, but he eventually retreated to the private timber.

The big one had been getting closer to me all night. Part of me thought he was going to slip and enter the public unprovoked!

Next thing I know all the deer get nervous and start looking north, ears perked! “NO! They’re gonna spook again!” And they did a little. Tails up they trotted 100 yards toward the private timber but eventually calmed down. All the sudden the buck puts his head down and trots after the does a bit. “He’s comfortable and feeling rutty. I need to call now before they spook again.”

I was told rattling is very effective out there, but I was worried he’d see the motion. I grunted several long DEEP bellers. He glanced my way then went back to feeding. I figured I’d challenge the king of the woods, so I used my mouth to snort wheeze. That got his attention, but he eventually looked away. I did it again. This time he perked up even more.

He took a few steps in my direction then stopped and stared. “You don’t like that do you?!” I thought. I bellered at him some more, paused a while, then snort wheezed a 3rd time.

From 300 yards out he began to slowly walk my way. “Is this real life?” I figured he’d hold up but he kept coming. He stopped once so I bellered again. He advances cautiously. At about 125-150 yards he gets below a small hill and I lose visual.

Buck fever is setting in big time and I’m trying to decide what he’s going to do. (I was using a 16” pine trunk for cover.) I figured he’d use a small ravine to my right. The wind was in my favor but I figured he’d try his damndest to get me and that would be his best option. I was worried he wouldn’t expose his vitals before picking me out at such close range. I decided I’d take a neck shot if need be.

If he didn’t take the ravine, I’d eventually catch his rack coming up the hill. That’s what I was hoping for. I play peekaboo around the trunk and see tines coming up the hill. What a relief! He was at 80 yards and still had the same slow walk, ears perked my way.

Everything about him looked THICK. D

He ends up jumping the fence behind some trees, so I took that opportunity to swing my gun to the opposite side of my tree so I don’t have to move my feet. Meanwhile my heart is pounding out of my chest and I’m in disbelief this is all working out.

I wait for his body to completely clear the trees. He’s mostly facing me and I didn’t feel the need to stop him.

BOOM! His feet drop out from under him and just like that it’s all over. I spent lots of time working up a nice sub MOA load for my Tikka 25-06 only to miss my mark by 4” at 50 yards :lol: I had been doing well controlling my nervousness but that encounter was crazy.

The 100 grain Barnes TTSX punched through the base of his neck, destroyed a few inches of spine, then exited near his flank.

He is my biggest public land whitetail. I knew he was a special buck, and I appreciate him for what he is. (These hills deer are tiny… his body is comparable to a 2 yr old back home. My buddy shot the stud 10 and his body looks like a yearling) I had a local guy tell me that some people will live and hunt in the Hills their whole life and never see a buck this size. I show up and find one day one… then get lucky enough to kill him day 2?

Talk about winning the lottery! You’re dang right he’s going on the wall.
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Kokes
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby Kokes » Wed Nov 16, 2022 7:03 pm

Congrats on an absolutely incredible buck.
Super pumped for you! He’s gonna look good on the wall!
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby bigbucks1234 » Wed Nov 16, 2022 8:45 pm

Wow!!! Congrats Lockdown!!!
Beautiful buck!!!
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blackwidow
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby blackwidow » Wed Nov 16, 2022 8:48 pm

Congrats. That’s such a cool buck. You don’t see something like that every day. You definitely earned him with the amount of time, effort, and thought that you put into your hunts.
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby RidgeGhost » Wed Nov 16, 2022 11:32 pm

Congrats bud! Fantastic buck and story
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Wed Nov 16, 2022 11:55 pm

Buuuuucktacular!
Expect the Unexpected when you least Expect it...
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby backstraps » Thu Nov 17, 2022 12:34 am

MAN!! Ryan how cool is that brother!!! Congratulations on such an awesome buck and hunt. Job well done :clap: :dance: :clap:
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NorthStar
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby NorthStar » Thu Nov 17, 2022 2:16 am

Oh man! What a trip! I love the antlers on that thing. Very impressive stuff!
“The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.”
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby jmaas07 » Thu Nov 17, 2022 2:21 am

Congrats LD...a buck like that deserves a special place, like right above the bed, im sure the old lady will be cool with that right? :lol: way to go man
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby Tennhunter3 » Thu Nov 17, 2022 3:16 am

:clap: awesome buck.
Congratulations.
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby Wihunter95 » Thu Nov 17, 2022 3:26 am

Congrats LD! Sounds like an incredible trip
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby Arrowbender » Thu Nov 17, 2022 3:33 am

Congrats LD!
That’s a Good Ol’ Fashion GAGGER right there!
Just Awesome all around buck, story, trip…..
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Jackson Marsh
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Thu Nov 17, 2022 3:39 am

That's an awesome buck!!

MASS :dance: :dance: :dance:

I guess the trip was worth the wait. Great job.
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby Findian » Thu Nov 17, 2022 4:51 am

Congrats on the nice buck
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Re: Monster Black Hills Buck

Unread postby Dewey » Thu Nov 17, 2022 4:53 am

Nice looking buck. Love the mass. Congrats. 8-)

Last time I vacationed in the Black Hills I was amazed at some of the whitetails I saw in the area. I bow hunted mulies many years ago in the outskirts SW of Custer but in hindsight wish I had focussed more on whitetail in the Hills.


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