The October Grind

[Wannabelikedan]

Going into this season, my goal was to start with freezer fillers (does) early, drop a mature buck before November, and then, spend the rest of the season on one target I had basically neglected for several seasons. I chose to execute the first two phases on one piece of public ground that historically has had large doe numbers and been somewhat easier for me to get on solid bucks before the rut starts ramping. Just like every year it seems though, there’s always curveballs thrown my way. On top of a winter drought, we saw that extended all the way through to mid October. On this particular piece, it seemed deer numbers were half of what they’ve been in the past. The ‘21 season was a poor acorn year and ‘22 was looking near a full crop failure on acorn production. Probably 80% of trees were barren and 2/3 of the ones holding were rotten. Of that 1/3 that were good, held til almost November before dropping where normally they’re hitting the ground towards the end of September. I dropped one doe the 10th on a different piece of public hunting honey locust pods(which was a first for me).

I had found only one shooter buck by the middle of October and he was bedding in an area that I could’ve spent a month trying to pick apart and still not got a crack at him. Not the one to take the easy route, but I needed a target that I could dump fairly quick and stay on track with my goals. After putting in countless miles covering multiple sections, I kicked up a large bodied, wide racked buck on the 25th. This was a north facing point that dropped into a thick, low area. I had sat this area in the past and knew how bucks liked to bed on the west facing side watching access and a scrape line blowing at their back to monitor does. I dumped a camera and continued on with plans to give him a full day to settle back in and hunt an East wind two days later. The 26th I made an observation sit on the piece holding my main target just as a change of scenery.

I slept in the morning of the 27th with plans to get in early and settled well before the evening. The wind was pumping good and steady out of the East which ensured he wasn’t going to see my North entrance from his location with that wind. After carefully picking my way through the thick, I stumbled on a few oaks that were finally dropping and the ground was beat up underneath. I found one big track right at the base of a large hackberry and knew I had to be in that spot. I had already bumped does bedded in the bottom of the drainage but luckily they left quietly along with good noise cover with the wind. I didn’t want to go any further out of fear of bumping him and the wind swirling in the very bottom. I was also going to be right on top of the trail in this tree, which I obviously didn’t like but all other suitable trees would’ve taken hours to quietly trim out to sit. Roughly 10 yard shot on one side of the trail and 15 at best on the other side. Virtually zero visibility til a target was in the shot window.

About 5:30 I heard movement to my east. A large boar emerged from the thick, finally quartered some at 12 yards and received an arrow. He spun and rolled back out the way he came. Never made enough noise to worry about and that narrowed down the choices of the one trail directly to my south to anticipate any further action from. 15 yards was the max visibility and the first shot opportunity was 10 steps at best.

6:30 the wind had really died but was still consistent at just off. I hear steps out in front of me maybe 40 yards and I have no idea what it is other than a deer. Few minutes pass and it sounds as if it’s just browsing around. All of sudden it starts running straight towards me. I immediately draw as soon as I can see that it’s a wide frame and large bodied buck. I stop him at 7 steps, anchor directly on the shoulder and let the Prime eat. He makes the biggest mule kick and stumbles for 15 yards down the trail the hog came/left down. I almost thought he wasn’t going to make it out of sight but once I lost sight of him I never heard a definite crash much less little noise. I let the adrenaline come down and begin tearing down my setup.

I get packed up and check my arrow. It’s got gut matter on it but I’m not concerned. I’ve made that quartered to shot probably 90% of all animals I’ve shot in the last 4 years and not one had made it 100 yards. There was blood immediately on the trail and I slowly picked my way through the thick trail. Once I’m in the adjacent bottom, the blood trail gets better but I’m still only finding one blood trail which was giving me mixed feelings on what animal I was tracking. I make it a little further and hear a deer bound off but didn’t sound like a large one by any stretch. The blood trail headed in that direction though and was working up hill. It starts thinning out at about 150 and is on a grassy hillside making it tougher to follow. I stopped there and called a local tracker to come decipher the problem I had. I knew that was a lethal shot but between both animals taking the same trail, finding only one blood trail and no animal, I knew I needed help.

About 9:20 we start the dog at the spot of the shot. About 100 yards in he walks on to the boar that was 10 yards past where the blood trail started to turn uphill. I couldn’t see him when I walked in trailing because he was black and eyes were facing away for my light to pick up. He also never bleed in that 100 yards he traveled which wasn’t anything I haven’t seen before. Pulled the dog off the pig and got him back on the buck’s trail. Once we hit the top of the hill, the dog started cutting back towards where the buck was bedded earlier. Great, he’s going back to bed to die I’m thinking. We walk by the trail cam I had placed two days before and make our way around to where his bed was. Once I thought he was going to J-hook back up, the dog wanted to “cheat” back up a two-track. Well I knew better than to think the buck would’ve been up that way. We had fair blood all the way to the two track, so we reset him about 100 yards back and worked down again. Back at the two-track, he went across it this time. Great, he went back to more secure bedding to die. Still following fair blood, we hit an empty bed. That’s when I started to really worry. The track was at about 600 yards at this point and we had an empty bed with a piece of lung in it.

Puzzled and feeling a little defeat at this point, I had to make a decision to wait and come back the next day with rain in the forecast, or push to the next bed. I elected to come back with daylight the next day, but I wanted to know which way the buck had went from the bed as reference. During this time, I’m looking for routes out of this bed and literally can’t find anything, but at the same time, the dog wants to keep going back up and over. We let him go and make it no further than 10-15 yards and he was laying dead. The tracker and I were both pumped over the deal. The dog performed spectacularly being only its second season.

On inspection, the shot was right were I wanted it, just inside the scapula with a front gut exit. The gutting process was less than spectacular though. Dude was completely full of acorns and after traveling that distance, his entire cavity was full. Right lung was completely destroyed and he had a 3” gash down the length of his heart. Only issue was the broadhead never made it into a chamber. Only about 1/16” of tissue was remaining before entering the major chamber of the heart. Explained why he reacted the way he did at the shot and why he didn’t die inside of 100 yards.

100% fully mature animal that was genetically lacking in the rack department but wasn’t lacking elsewhere. 20.5” inside frame with no tine measuring over 6”. Massive body, heavy frame, and large hooves was all he had. I had no real proof of past intel with this animal but I remember jumping a buck that was eerily similar out of the same bedding he died in back in 2018. Regardless my mission was accomplished and I was on to the final phase of the season. Stay tuned for the story of Grande Ocho…..
Instagram: @loue650 for video uploads on this hunt

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[Bonecrusher101]

Nice buck! Way to stay with it and make it happen!!!

[Edcyclopedia]

Wiiiiidetacular!

[muddy]

Congrats

[stash59]

Wow what a difference 1/8" in shot placement would have made!!! Still a great job and awesome hunt!!!

[RidgeGhost]

To the untrained eye, it almost seems like you know what you're doing.

[Jackson Marsh]

[Trav]

Awesome job on a stud buck! Congratulations!

[greenhorndave]

To the untrained eye, it almost seems like you know what you're doing.

Nice job WBLD!

[Tennhunter3]

[Kokes]

Awesome buck congrats

[Moose]

[Findian]

Congrats on the nice buck. Tracking dogs are amazing.