August 16, 2008Trail cam shot of four deer -- one on two legs
The cool thing about this picture is the deer in the upper left hand corner of the frame that is standing on its hind legs. August 13, 2008Back to the game cam shots: A pretty buck
July 21, 2008A shot of the Hole in the Ear buck
Well, here's a shot of the Hole in the Ear buck, which is still running around out there after apparently having a near miss with a hunter last season. July 18, 2008Nice trailcam buck from the Roanoke area
July 17, 2008Who wants to hunt? Let's see those gamecam shots!
As is usually the case about this time of year I'm starting to get the itch -- although I'm not as bad as Moe and actually counting down the days! I think that would drive me crazy. I've had my bow out a few times and am pleased that it's shooting well. I do need to put some more shrink tubing on my rest because its worn down and making noise on the draw. It doesn't help that I use arrows made out of this stuff called aluminum. Any of you remember those things? Didn't think so. I don't have any game cams so I need to live vicariously through everyone else. So, if you've got shots, send them my way. Before posting I'll crop out identifying info and, of course, won't disclose your secret spots. January 9, 2008Hard work and patience pay off for Emerald Griffin
Ritchie said that Emerald was particular about getting a broadside shot and passed up several shots that he (and, I'm guessing, most of us) would have taken. That says something, doesn't it? What great sportsmanship. Or, should that be sportsgirlship? I've got just a couple more deer shots to post and I'll try to get those up soon. Then I guess it will be fairly quiet on the hero shots until spring gobbler season, although I'd be more than happy to post your pictures of waterfowl or even squirrels or rabbits. In fact, I'm planning to go rabbit hunting on Saturday and if we get any I'll try to get some pictures. January 7, 2008Katrina D'Inzillo with a Bedford County double
Katrina shot the deer at ranges of 175 and 200 yards, respectively, within a few seconds. She was using a Savage .243. I went out Saturday afternoon for my final deer hunt of the season (assuming I don't get out on any urban archery hunts). I decided to hunt a Bedford County farm from a stand that I hunted only once, during early archery season. It almost worked out. Walking in I bumped three deer that had bedded just 20 yards from the stand. I knew the stand was close to a bedding area, but they usually don't bed right there. As they bounded away I hustled down the road bed that cuts along the hillside, just in case they planned to cross ahead of me. There, trotting away from me right down the middle of the road, was a big gobbler. It was no more than 30 yards away and would have been an easy shot with a shotgun. Just my luck. I just shook my head and let him run. When I stopped I couldn't hear anything. I stood there for a couple minutes hoping that the deer had stopped within range and were just waiting to better check out the cause of the disturbance. Eventually I figured they had gotten out of there so I started on toward the stand. Of course they were only about 40 yards away, and blew and got out of there for good. Things were quiet for the first hour in the stand but then I heard deer behind me. One deer was chasing another through the woods. It was like a buck chasing a doe, but unless the chaser had small spikes it sure looked like they were both does. They came to within 20 yards of my stand but never stopped so there was no way I could get a shot. A couple minutes later I spotted two more deer about 75 yards away. I had a borderline shot at one but it was pretty brushy and I also couldn't be sure with my 4-power scope if the deer was a doe or a yearling buck. So I held off. While I was standing there trying to figure out if I was going to get a shot my heart was really pounding. I actually started feeling a little faint. I'm not sure what to think about that. On one hand, it's good because a big reason I hunt is for the excitement. On the other hand, I don't want to pass out (or have a heart attack) 20 feet up a tree -- safety harness or not. I hope this was just a function of my not being in the best shape. Now that deer season is over I'm going to switch my recreation focus to getting back in shape. But I'll probably try to get a few times for squirrels, probably when I'm taking stands down, and maybe on a waterfowl hunt or two. I'm also planning to try some coyote hunting over the next few months. January 2, 2008John Pinkard with a big Franklin County buck
Picture submissions have pretty much slowed to a trickle and most of the shots that have come in from the past few weeks are of deer killed in November. That's normal. There are still some big bucks wandering around out there, but most are doing their wandering under the cover of darkness. And, as usual, deer hunting pressure in this part of Virginia has pretty much ground to a halt. Of my friends who have been hunting, most are focusing on other stuff, such as waterfowl and coyotes. The same can't be said of hunters in Eastern Virginia, where the final week of the deer season is pretty popular among those who hunt with hounds. Driving back yesterday from a weekend at my mother-in-law's in Virginia Beach, I saw lot of hunter activity. I talked with a guy as a gas station in Crewe who said his 70-member club had killed over 100 deer this season. December 28, 2007Back to the bucks: Jim Forbes, Craig County
The buck was moving back up the mountain from the valley when Jim shot it about 8:30 a.m. He said his hunting buddy killed a bigger buck in the same area. The method is a great way to kill some big bucks on public land, especially if you can locate areas above farms that are carefully managed for trophy deer, of which there are quite a few in Craig County (and other counties with lots of mountainous national forest land). It's rarely easy hunting as reaching those areas can mean covering lots of ground from the nearest access points. Forbes is one of those guys who doesn't mind putting in the effort. Not only does he get to remote areas, his deer season never really ends. As in, after Jan. 5, he'll start seriously preparing for next season by scouting, locating potential stand sites and even preparing trees for stands. That approach, which John and Chris Eberhart advocate in their excellent book "Bowhunting Pressured Whitetails," won't guarantee a buck like this every season. But it helps. When Forbes sent in this shot he reported that he passed a couple other bucks in this class in hopes they'll be around next season. Again, thinking ahead. That's what you have to do. December 26, 2007Exciting hunt produces a big Bedford County doe
I ended up doing both, hauling in both my muzzleloader and my shotgun. (I know it's legal to shoot turkeys with a muzzleloader but it's not my thing.) (Note added by Mark Taylor on Dec. 27: Well, it may be legal to shoot turkeys with a muzzleloader or even a high-powered rifle, but it turns out it's not legal to carry another firearm while muzzleloader hunting. So DON'T DO THIS. As soon as a friend pointed out my mistake I sent an e-mail to a senior conservation police officer, self-reporting my violation, which is detailed in the original blog entry. Because I'm not hiding anything, I've left the blog entry intact below. I'm awaiting the conservation police officer's reply. As I wrote in a comment below this entry, people who know me know I hold myself to high ethical standards and try to do things by the book. I fell short in this case. I'm sorry and I'm willing to accept the consequences.) Continuation of original entry: The way the situation unfolded I suspect that buck was chasing those does, which would indicate some secondary rutting activity. I really think the doe-to-buck ratio is so out of whack that all the does can't possibly get bred the first time around. I actually had two more does come by but both were small so I didn't shoot. When I got home my wife said, "So, you're done deer hunting now, right?" I probably am done hunting for myself because even though I've already give away three hindquarters, my freezer will now be sufficiently stocked for the next 10 months. But I may still try to get out a couple more times. If I get another one it will go to friends or Hunters for the Hungry.
December 19, 2007Debbie Reynolds with her big Bedford County 10-point
Clearly, I need to recruit Debbie to help me with my stand placement. Yesterday was a good example. I sat on a hillside overlooking a hollow where I'd seen four deer Monday evening. Everything seemed perfect, including the wind. But I didn't see anything. Oh well. Debbie Reynolds with a heavy 10-pointer
This year Reynolds was back to moving her stand after a slow bow season. The first day in the new stand, this big boy walked by and she made the shot with her muzzleloader. The next time she was in that stand she had her rifle. And she ended up with another hero shot. I'll post that picture next. Things have quieted down a lot in the deer woods the past couple of weeks. Even in counties where rifle season lasted an extra two weeks things have been pretty slow. I hunted Saturday in Franklin County with six friends. We spent the day driving thick clear cuts. We flushed a good number of deer but the clear cuts were so think it was pretty much impossible to get good shots, even with shotguns and buckshot. We killed five doing that two seasons ago, but those two years made a big difference. One guy could have killed a small buck and another hunter missed a shot. That was it. But it was still a lot of fun. Two evenings ago I did a quick hunt at a place in Bedford. I saw eight does but couldn't get a shot. I hope to get back out there this evening for an hour or so. Time is winding down. I'll be on vacation most of next week, but my wife has to work so I'll have the kids. I wish I could take them out there but they're not quite ready to spend much time sitting still waiting for deer. December 13, 2007Mya Gallo with her first Virginia whitetail
They were hunting in a pop-up blind and Mya made a perfect shot with her Rossi Triple Threat, which had its .243 barrel on. Megan All is all smiles with her first deer
She's the 12-year-old granddaughter of Hunter's Den owner Ellen Horn. Ellen says Megan gets out there after the deer and turkeys in all kinds of weather. Patience pays off for Bill Forren with an 11-pointer
When the buck finally did appear on Nov. 20, Forren couldn't get a shot. Fortunately for him, the buck came back by a couple hours later and Forren dropped it with a 20-yard shot with his .50-caliber muzzleloader. The buck's main beams measured 25 inches, with an inside spread of just over 20 inches and 5-inch bases. Jack Bryant's whopper of a seven-pointer
Those G-2s don't just look tall, they are tall, measuring over 13 inches. The buck's inside spread is about 20 inches. Jack said his buddies are encouraging him to take this buck to the Virginia Big Game Contest next September. I hope he does because I'm really looking forward to seeing it in person. I suspect it will be among the highest-scoring seven-pointers, if not the top one, at the contest. The thing is, because of the way that contest is set up, this deer will have a tough time winning its class because it will be in the category for seven- and eight-pointers. Even though the tines are long, it's just hard to make up for that "missing" eighth point, especially in the ultra-competetive muzzleloader class. Unfortunately those rules sometimes prompt less-than-ethical actions. A few years ago at the contest one of the winning bucks won only because the hunter knocked off a short sticker point so the deer would be in the 7/8 class and not the 9/10/11 class. I know it happened because I saw pictures of the deer while the sticker was still there. But, like I tell people who wonder how their deer will place, plaques and ribbons are nice but that's not what it's about. It's about sharing successes and letting others enjoy the trophies. Every year the Big Game Contest features deer that have people saying "Wow" but that don't win their category because of the way the contest is set up. This is definately a WOW buck. Something is missing on this 10-point "buck"
Like this deer, killed by David Sowers in Floyd County on Nov. 28. It's a doe, but carries a nice set of 10-point antlers. Antlered females are rare, but not unheard of out there. I'm sure this wasn't the only one killed in Virginia this season. December 11, 2007Bobby Hodges kills 10-pointer from trailcam shot
We would. In early archery season my friend Freddy McGuire shot a beautiful seven-pointer that he had a number of trailcam shots of. (I'd seen the deer in person one evening while Freddy and I sat watching one of his food plots.) Here's the second. This buck first appeared on this blog on September 20. Bobby Hodges of Salem killed the trophy while hunting his small piece of property on Wildwood Road. From the looks of the rack, and from what the sender of the trailcam shot let me know, I'm 99 percent sure this is the same buck. Hodges said he was just out for a meat hunt when the big boy showed up chasing two does. The buck had 10 total points and Hodges said it weighed 162 pounds field dressed. December 7, 2007Huge Craig County buck killed by James Swingle
Change of pace: a buck that's still alive
It probably helps that this guy was hanging out around the Blue Ridge Parkway. Steve Grubb with a nice 8-pointer
Actually, this buck might not qualify as a shooter in that neighborhood, where Grubb once had a big whitetail attack his 3-D target. Yet another buck from Bedford County
Tom Watkins was headed to his stand one afternoon when he saw this guy come out of a thicket chasing a doe. He had no need to hunt in his stand that evening. December 6, 2007Another Eckstein with another nice buck
This has been a busy week for pictures and I have about a dozen in the hopper. I'll get them posted as quickly as I can. Craig Eckstein with a Bedford County trophy buck
Here, in his words, is how the hunt unfolded: "I hunt a very, very thick cutover. The pines and briars are so thick you can't see 20 yards; their bedding area is pretty much the same as the feeding area. They never have to leave (and rarely enter the hardwoods nearby)! But I have one lone tree in the middle of it, and I cut some shooting lanes thru the thicket several years ago. I spend the day staring at a few very small openings, waiting for them to step into them. On the 9th, the buck made the mistake of stepping out of the thicket and nearly stuck his snout into my Tinks 69 scent bomb. That was probably the first, and definitely the last time he smelled Tinks." December 5, 2007Bragging rights for the Dixons? Jackie's monster 9
The rack's outside spread was 21 7/8 inches. It's also clear that this thing has some impressive mass. I love those heavy bases and the cool sticker near the right brow tine. The deer's live weight was 183 pounds. Jackie was using a Remington Model 7 Youth in the .260 Remington caliber, with a hand-loaded 120-grain Nosler ballistic tip bullet. December 4, 2007Mandi Lazenby's "guide" gets his own nice buck
This wasn't the shot I planned to post next, but I came straight home from an all-day assignment at Smith Mountain Lake and the final picture from the Dixon family trifecta is on my work computer's hard drive. I'll try to post it in the morning. And, let's just say I saved the best for last with that one. Speaking of trifectas, I was pretty happy to complete one of my own Saturday morning when I shot a doe in Botetourt with my rifle. So I've gotten one with a bow, muzzleloader and rifle this season. I'm not giving up on shooter bucks just yet, but it's been a pretty thin season for me. I guess I've seen two decent bucks all season, a fair 7-pointer during bow season and a mature six-pointer that I passed up with a muzzleloader. Unless something dramatic happens in the next month this will probably be my slowest season for seeing shooters in a while. December 3, 2007Here's Barry Dixon with a nice 10-pointer
As promised, here's another shot of Barry Dixon of Troutville with another trophy. He killed this 10-point buck on private land in Botetourt. The buck's live weight was 156 pounds. Barry's rifle was a Browning A-Bolt (he's a man after my own heart as that's what I shoot) in .300 Winchester Magnum caliber. The bullet was a 180-grain Nosler P/PT handloaded by his dad. In short, that deer didn't go far. November 30, 2007Tech student Matt Wimmer with a beautiful 8-pointer
Matt took the time to write up a great description of the hunt. One of my favorite parts is his description of determining what a "shooter" is. I like to say that if you have to think about whether or not it's a shooter, it probably isn't a shooter. Matt's approach is the same. It's a great story so I'm posting the whole thing here: "As per our family tradition, I hunted the entire week with my uncle (and my brother once he got out of school) in Roanoke and Franklin Counties. On Monday, it was just me and my uncle and we began our morning in Franklin County. My first bit of luck began when I popped a large doe as I was coming out of my stand to meet for lunch around 12:00. Once we got the deer to the truck, we headed to Vinton to drop her off at Hunters for the Hungry and proceeded to take a short siesta back at the house before heading to a spot in Roanoke Co. around 2:30. Continue reading "Tech student Matt Wimmer with a beautiful 8-pointer" » Austin Brugh all smiles over his first buck
Jamey and Austin were hunting together in a stand when the buck walked right under them and Austin made a perfect shot with a .410 loaded with buckshot. Ten-year-old Greg Fralin with is first buck
November 28, 2007Mike Webb with a great Bedford County buck
I've got a half-dozen more shots in the hopper and will post them as fast as I can. |
