You have two close buddies that you hunt with. Lots of good natured ribbing about who is the Best Hunter, but you all are happy when anyone of the group gets a HUGE Trophy Buck.

You happen to notice your buddies are spending a whole lot of time on two Sections of the land. Nice places to hunt over there, but that can be said for the entire place. You do ask if they have seen any Trophy Bucks and they offer up the traditional, "An occasional nice one!"

Your job keeps you away during the majority of the week, but when you check on your buddies, they are both still focused on those two sections. But no mention is made about a real WHOPPER Trophy Buck. You do wonder, but they are your buddies.

Meanwhile you are doing a good bit of hunting from some other areas. Nothing wrong with these areas, but they just don’t seem to get hunted as often as some of the others. You actually prefer hunting these places because there is less chance that the Deer have "Patterned any Hunters" moving in and out.

Late one afternoon just as you are preparing to come out of one area called "Yellow Jackets", you spot what seems to be a nice Buck across a field, just inside the edge of a woods, about 250yds away. It is obviously watching one of the small Doe herds that has moved into the field. You check your watch and have enough time to check him out a bit, even though the shot would be way to iffy in the dim light. You slowly move your binoculars into position and ease around a HUGE Oak you’ve been standing behind to look at the Buck. All you can see is a large body Deer which you know to be a Buck, but no knowledge about the actual size of his antlers. He is thrashing around and has trash flying in the air trying to get a Doe to join him inside the woodline.

Eventually you have to leave the woods you are in due to the time. You have an escape route that prevents those Deer from seeing you leaving.

As you and your buddies get together someone asks if you saw anything. You mention the Doe herds, the smaller Bucks and then toss in, "An occasional nice one!"

A couple of weeks pass and the Rut is approaching, but not quite at a peak. You have worked your way back to the Yellow Jacket area. There off in some 4’ tall Beans is a HUGE WHOPPER TROPHY BUCK RACK, moving slowly along the row at about 300yds. You know this is a Bottle Neck as some folks call it, but you and your Buddies call it The Interstate. Lots and lots of Deer traffic between the two sets of woods. No clear shot presents itself - until - another decent Buck is standing near you.

Eventually the HUGE WHOPPER TROPHY BUCK makes it to the end of the row and stands there completely broadside, in the open. You are cutting your eyes back and forth, but can’t chance moving. You realize your breathing needs to be done and slowly try to do it without sounding like a rifle with a muzzle brake being fired. The close Buck could alert the WHOPPER and you might never see either of them again. So, you just have to wait and stand still.

You know you will be gone the entire next week because of work and the Rut will be in Full Swing about 10 days away. You end up having to pass on both Bucks and are completely worn out afterward. It is time to quit and you head in.

Do you mention the HUGE WHOPPER TROPHY BUCK to your buddies and wish them good luck in nailing him?

IF YOU are really really really really really good buddies, then sandbagging has become an artform among you. NOTHING is sacred and everything is fair.
I go back and tell them with a straight face that I struck out on a nice 4 point that got spooked and I saw it two ridges away from where I did.
IF they are good friends they take you at face value. If they are REALLY... then they know you are sandbagging and will hunt at least 2-3 ridges opposite from where you told them...
so
in essence you have told them where to go.

depends on a couple of factors...

just how 'close' are these buddies? I mean, would you donate a kidney to them if they needed it?

What is the liklihood someone else other than you or your 'buddies' would harvest the deer? If on a large lease with multiple people, or on a small property with pressure across the fence, I'd probably let them know and have them go after him. Otherwise, I'd just keep my mouth shut and hope he hasn't been pushed off for the next time I hunt.

I would say nothing. It is probably the same one they have been searching for.

300 yards and broadside. With the 7mm Mag I've been using for over 30 years, that deer goes down. I'd be occupied with field-dressing, not worried about talking to my friends until the buck is hanging.

Mac

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
Do you mention the HUGE WHOPPER TROPHY BUCK to your buddies and wish them good luck in nailing him?

They were told and I'm still not sure they Hunted this Trophy Buck. One guy mentioned he used that Stand "1-time" and got a couple of Doe.

But it did have a happy ending. We had a Full Moon during the middle of the Rut. So, I slept in and went to the Stand about two hours after sunrise. An hour and a half later I spotted a nervous Doe ease out of the woods across the cut field. She kept looking back, so I "re-focused" the Wind Rivers to look into those woods.

Finally spotted an Antler Tip, which moved just a bit. Then he went into the Trash Tossing mode again and walking up and down the woodline - just inside the Brush along the edge.

There was an opening to the left about 25yds, but I never really expected him to move that far. I kept the rifle ready, but not shouldered. So of course the Buck moves into that opening, runs into the field maybe 2-3yds and goes right back into the Bushes - no shot, but he was a nice one.

Watched him for about 25min and FINALLY the Doe decided she had enough foreplay and she eased into the woods. Afterward, the Buck was just standing there REALLY happy about the situation. And then he jerked his head toward the field. I believe the wind changed slightly and he got a whiff of where that same Doe "had been standing" out in the field.

You could tell it was bothering him very much. So he began easing toward the edge and staring. He would just stand like a statue trying to see what he could smell. And every couple of minutes he would reposition slightly, not much though.

Finally he presented a shot opportunity and tasted great.

quote:

Do you mention the HUGE WHOPPER TROPHY BUCK to your buddies and wish them good luck in nailing him?

No.