The last 5 days I have played cat mouse with a buck I am certain will score in the mid 160's as he is bigger than the 153 B.C. buck that I got 6 years ago. This buck is in what may be the perfect sancuary, and I need ideas from other hunters, I have tried everything I know.

Let me explain the situation. I live and hunt in river bottoms country with mixed open crop land heavily cover drainage ditch banks and tangles of brush. This buck is holed up in a triangle bordered by two big drainage ditches. At one point of the triangle is a very thick patch of brush about 7 acres where the two drainage ditches converage. There is no tree large enough to put a stand in with the exception of 7 huge cotton wood trees which a climber wont' fit on. As the triangle widens there is a milo fielf of about 40 acres that has not been combined yet and as the triangle widens still further there is a milo field of about 80 acres that has been combined and offers nearly as much cover as the field that hasn't been cut yet. Since the ticket at the point of the triangle is too thick to hunt from the ground, I have set up a hide on each of the two ditch banks that elevates me about 6 feet above the field near the thicket. It denpends on the wind which one I hunt.

So far I have seent this buck on three different occasions in the last 5 days as he moves from the thicket out into the milo field and back into the ticket again. Really all I have seen of this buck is the top of his head and his rack. He is going to have to be within 35 to 50 yards to stand a chance of putting my tag on him.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how to set up on this buck? It is starting to affect my sleep.....LOL. I know I have never tried to hunt anything like this in all my 36 deer seasons. It is frustrating to see a buck of this caliber three times in five days and not be able to get to him.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight.......RiverRat

[ 11-24-2003, 05:56: Message edited by: RiverRat ]

River Rat
Welcome to the world of REAL hunting. Once I had a BIG buck located. Knew where would be every morning, as I knew where he slept. Depending on the wind I would try to sneak up on him. Saw him several times, just could not get a shot. I was hunting with my Ruger No1 45/70. I had a tremendous amount of fun and excitement hunting that buck. He lived in a fairly large patch of timber, my wife hunted nearby, in another patch of timber. While I was actively tracking this buck he circled around into the area my wife was hunting. I heard her shoot [Ruger No1 243]. He is on the wall as I type this. I had a lot of fun hunting him, and I am very glad my wife got him, as it is her best buck to date.
You seem to have a good plan. The wind is the most important thing. If you have the patience to hunt like you are walking in a minefield, and can catch a time when the ground is wet, ei quiet, then I would go in after him early in the morning at daybreak.
There is no finer hunting.
If you get him great, if not you both will be the richer for it.

[ 11-24-2003, 07:21: Message edited by: N E 450 No2 ]

Take your time and let the buck make a mistake- the element of surprise is your trump card- keep watching and sooner or later you will get a chance. I have found that when I try to force the issue, the buck shows me he knows his backyard better than I do.

Can you build a small ground blind at the edge of the milo field close to the thicket and wait for him there?

NE 450 No.2
I thought about going in the ticket after him, but it is so thick, I don't think I would stand a snowballs chance in hell of slipping up to with in a few feet of him for a shot. It is tempting to go in after him. But right now he don't know I am there and I don't want to tip my hand just yet. I still have a week. A couple of inches of wet snow would help a lot if I went in after him but according to the weather that isn't going to happen. Congrats to the wife on the buck! Give your self an assist. I slipped up on a buck that scored 136 3/8 years ago and shot him with a bow in his bed, but the situation was perfect to do it. I watched him bed down under a big oak tree a 150 yards from my tree stand, he faced away from me in to the wind. I crawled to within 20 yards of him, he went about 50 yards and went down. That was on 22nd birthday. I am 51 now. Memory is still vivid of that late October morning.

amosgreg,

Thought about the ground blind my self, but there is only about 2' between the milo and the thicket and due to the contour of the thicket edge I would be resticting my view to a matter of a few feet instead of a few yards that I can see when elevated on the ditch bank.

One thing is on my side, this buck hasn't been hunted all season. And as long as I don't screw up and spook him he should remain unaware of my presense. When I go to my hide on the ditch banks, I walk accross a little better than a 1/2 mile of open bean field or corn field depending on which ditch bank I hunt. Wade accross the ditch and slip into my hide. I leave the same way after dark. So the game continues. I have to work today, but tomorrow I will be after him again. this buck has chosen his core area well. Thanks for the suggestions keep them coming.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight........RiverRat

[ 11-24-2003, 17:50: Message edited by: RiverRat ]

I agree with Duane. Don't force the issue. Let the deer go about his normal routine until you're sure, very sure of a game ending shot. He may even be aware of you but if there's no aggressive moves on your part, sooner or later, he's gonna slip up. Hopefully, you'll be waiting. If not, there is always next year.
I've only done it a couple of times in my life, but there is a lot of difference between hunting deer and hunting A deer isn't there.

Riverrat I don't blame you for loosing sleep. I would too! As everyone has said, keep at it util he slips up. Take mind that the RUT should be hitting your area soon, so there should be a window of opportunity for him to make a mistake. Lastly, what I would do is all else fails and it is towards the end of the season is that you may want to try and do a planned drive with a some friends.

Don't forget to pray to the good Lord above, he did give my my biggest buck to date.

Good Luck

I am so far removed from being a whitetail hunter I shouldn't even post, but....

Would he respond to a grunt or rattle of antlers?

I would try to call him to me or to an area which is more open for shooting.

Elkslayer,

I am on lunch break and thought I would check to see if anyone else had posted. I appreciate your comment. That maybe a viable option. Although I have never had any luck with grunt calls or rattling, this just might be an opportune time to try one or the other or both. I really don't know if I could call them in to a more open area, since the only open areas are fields that are combined and void of cover. I believe it would be best done from my ditch bank hides.

The rut is in its closing phase at this time in this part of the country and maybe a little enticement of this type would work. I sure hope the wind lays some tomorrow. It is 31 degrees with a 25 mph wind blowing out of the northwest.

Thanks for all the suggestions, keep them rolling in.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight........RiverRat

Update:

Well, hunted all day and saw the big one again as he ran a doe out the thicket into the milo field, back into the ticket and and didn't see him any more after that it. Was 4:10 PM when he disappered back into the thicket. That makes four times in the last 6 days I have seen him and haven't been close to a shot yet. He has picked the perfect sanctuary to reside in.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight.......RiverRat

Can you borrow a ladder stand you can pack in and rest against one of the trees? I am west of you and the rut is still going on here. Try using a doe call, one of those cans, made by primus I think, are supposed to work good but I've never used one. I would suggest a doe in heat scent, put a drop on the heel of one of your boots.

Good luck!

The only additional advice I can think of right now is:

1. Make sure that if you are using a variable power scope that it's turned to it's lowest setting - you don't want to lose a precious second getting on target - especially at that range.

2. Consider setting up a scent-dripper/mock scrape on the edge of the thicket. It will drip everyday, whether you are there are not, and you MAY be able to alter the bucks pattern to visit it daily.

3. If it gets too frustrating, give up and send me directions to the 'secret spot'.

Good luck - we'll be waiting for the pics.

Hey Rat,

My 1st thought is NAPALM but,

Seeing you are in Ind. I assume that it is cold enough to have him feeding heavy, I assume he is rutting hard and I assume you are using a slug gun. If this is assumed correctly you will get him, just dedicate the time he will slip up.

I had an experience similar to this some years ago in N.C. on a ranch I was cleaning out. This was not a trophy by any means, the opposite really, he was a huge 24" wide fork horn that had at least 3 generations of offspring that I culled but he was tough to get on. I had killed around 200 deer on this property in the previous weeks and no longer had the stomach for the blood letting. I would have to HUNT him or retire from this life.
To make a long story a bit shorter I ended up watching him leave a last light to go feed and breed and I slinked into his bedroom and slept with him til dawn. I killed him a 7 ft when he stirred at 1st light. I had nodded off and he woke me when he moved to get comfy for the day.

I killed him and then cryed like a fool for about a 1/2 hour. I drove 18 hrs to our corparate office and resigned. That was the end of my ranch managment / trophy deer operation career.

ED

Push him where you wish and thump him.

Of course that takes some patners who are willing and have the savvy,but it surely do work.....................

Update:
Hunted hard all day yesterday and didn't see him. Had 2 does with in 15 yards of me and hoped he would follow them out but he didn't. Maybe he was layed up resting from chasing the doe the day before. Didn't get to hunt this morning due to a house full of company for Thanksgiving, but it is raining hard this morning so maybe he would n't have moved anyway. Tried rattling about 1/2 hour before dark yesterday but nothing. I will be in my ditch bank hide this afternoon waiting again.

erict:
Appreciate your offer of help. I have been called a lot of things but a quitter I am not.......lol

EO:
You are correct in your assumption that I am using a slug gun. I just wish in this instance I could use my 308. There is a small opening in that milo field that is a lasered 227 yards from one hide and 246 yards from the other one. I think every day as I am sitting waiting, he is going to show up in that little clearing in the milo and I won't be able to reach him.

Happy Thanksgiving To All!

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight.......RiverRat

You know his travel route from the thicket to the fields. When the wind is right can you construct a natural ground blind within shooting distance of his secret travel lane. I have walked within 5 feet of a nice 8 pt. bedded buck and he just let me walk by him and stayed put.

As long as that buck has no clue your around he will not deviate from his normal travel routes. When the rut ends, his travel routes may change and he will revert to cover, food, water and forget about the ladies.

If he knows your there and you pressure him he will move to another part of the thicket to avoid you. Most deer live and die in a one square mile core area. Only major changes can drive them from an area they are comfortable, that has good cover, ample food supply, and water.

Make a large detailed pencil drawing with defined trails, bedding areas and an X where you have seen the buck. You may find you can find the perfect setup to take that buck from something in your drawing you over looked. Even in heavy cover situations using the super slow approach can reap many rewards when hunting deer. Remember that buck lives and thrives there, he has no watch, and is guided by instincts, his stomach, and the rut. The hunter is limited to day light hours only and that is a smaller portion of that bucks 24 hour life cycle. Many a fine buck has been out smarted just by simple deductions not a complicated plan that fails.

change of pace....
back off into the milo field, downwind, I assume its tall enough milo that you can sit on the ground or on a very low stool ? bring your shooting sticks and be very very still... I have used this in the past hunting sweet potato fields in arkansas with a muzzle loader and it worked better for me then trying to ambush them in the tree line. I would just wait till they got out into the field and started to feed and relax a little. something to think about anyway...

RiverRat,

If, by chance, you happen to get one of those 'long' shots, do you have any idea of the max. effective range of your slug and it's trajectory?

It seems like you've thought of almost everything, but would you feel confident taking the 90, 110, 120, 140 yard shot (if you had a chance to laser it first)?

Not sure if it's your 'bag', but those 200+ yd. shots across the field should be fairly easy for a decent shooting Encore/Contender pistol, which appears to be legal in Ind. - maybe next year.

I just got a phone call tonight from a friend telling me of a similar 150-160 class buck that has been seen three times in the past week less than 200 yards from my house - twice during the day - so I might have my own stories to tell soon!

Update:
Hunted Thanksgiving afternoon till dark in the rain. Saw nothing at all. Got up Friday morning to go again, and hurt all over. I got to my hide and sat there for nearly two hours hurting bad and shivering uncontrolably. Packed it in and went to the house. Come to find out I had a 102 fever and went to the mec center. Strep throat. DAMN IT! The doctor has put me to bed for a few days. Looks like my deer season is over. Kind of hard to hunt when you have a fever and feels like you are swallowing razor blades. Season closes tomorrow. Bummed don't even describe how I feel.
I am sure he will survive the season as no one else is hunting near him and he seems to stay pretty close to his core area. He should be even better next year.

erict:
I feel very comfortable with a shot up to 150 yards if the wind isn't a factor. The gun I shoot is an 870 Remington with a 24" Hastings rifled barrel that has been pinned to the reciever the trigger reworked to break at a clean 3 1/2 lbs and a Leupold 2 X 7 VariX-III scope in custom mounts that are attached to the reciever that has been drilled and tapped. It will shoot sub 2" five shot groups at 100 yards and sub 4" five shot gropus at 150. Past that the rainbow trajectory starts showing up. I have shot it to 200 yards and the accuracy is good enough, but range estimation be comes critical. With a 100 yard zero I can hold on hair to 150 yards. And that is where I draw the line. Good luck with the big one in your area.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Shoot Safe, Shoot Striaght........RiverRat

[ 11-29-2003, 18:28: Message edited by: RiverRat ]

Get better RiverRat! Yep, he will be a monster next year. Now you can plan you hunt to get him. Scout early! Scout often.

Hope the meds kick in real soon.