Hunting Lease Pics

[HOSS]

I just got back from a week of bow hunting on my west central Illinois lease. I am attaching some pics of the bucks that we harvested last week. The biggest was a 195" monster killed by my buddy John (I also included a trail cam pic from the outfitter that leases the property that adjoins ours). We have a self imposed 140" minimum requirement so the rest scored from 140 to 155". Mine is the one in the black pick-up with the drop tine.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Nice deer Hoss. I'd have passed on those. My goal is Bambi's lil bro. Most deer hunters hate me because I look for 18 month olds. If I saw that wall hanger in the cam pics, I'd have to go it tho.

During bow season about 6 years back, I was watching the buck we call "Bullwinkle" at my feeder from a tree about 20 feet out. My cell phone starts buzzing. It is a text from my bro-in-law saying "Shoot. Shoot. Shoot!" He's one the fence about a half mile away looking at Bullwinkle through a scope.

Bullwinkle was about like the one you got, in the black truck as far as scores go. His horns sort of grew outward instead of up. He had a strange rack. We saw him for several years but never during rifle season. My Bro-in-law wanted to take him in the worse way. I was sort of hoping a kid got him. Maybe one did?

There are some city folks leasing property adjacent to me on the north. When deer season starts, they run the deer all over me. The last few years they have taken several hogs and I appreciate that.

 

[HOSS]

backhoe, we all try to take a doe before we leave. The farmer we lease from appreciates it. Taking the does really helps in his crop loss and it helps keep the buck / doe ratio closer to a 1 to 2 or 3 scenario. I selected a nice 110 lb year and a half old doe for eating purposes. Our goal is to harvest mature 3.5 yr old or older bucks. In this area of Illinois a 2.5 yr old can easily score 125 P&Y so we upped it to 140 two years ago. We do not gun hunt this property and have not really pressured it (except for the rut) in 13 years. It is really nice to hunt lightly pressured bucks that have great genetics and age structure. Stan Potts (TV hunter) hunts the outfitters property next door. He stops in to see us every year and he was drooling over the big non-typical. There are 6 other guys in my lease. We are a close knit group that were friends before leasing the property and we have high ethical and sportsmanship standards. We used to have 9 guys but we culled 2 when they either showed signs of being unsafe, unethical or disrespected the land-owner.

One of these days I will hunt Texas. I have driven through on several occaisions and thought that hunting the brush country area would be a unique experience. I have hunted several states in the west, midwest, south and east but somehow skipped Texas. I have also hunted in Canada a few times and really enjoyed it. I have always thought that the brush country bucks would be fun to rattle in. Unlike most places in the east you can rattle a bit and move on to another location if it doesn't produce. The forested / agricultural areas here may limit you to 300 or 500 acres or even less so "moving on" is not really an option.

Maybe Bullwinkle left some offspring that will get your phone buzzing again from the BIL saying "Choote'em"!

 

[TexasBred]

Hoss the deer down here will look like big rabbits compared to those. You might get a nice set of antlers but not much on body weight.

 

[highgrit]

Sure some nice bucks y'all killed. Been slow here, haven't seen much of a rut at all yet. Good job and some great bucks.

 

[slick4591]

Hoss the deer down here will look like big rabbits compared to those. You might get a nice set of antlers but not much on body weight.

Had a partner that I worked with that was raised in Michigan and he decided to go hunting with us. We tried to explain to him that the deer wasn't as big here as they were back home. First morning he fired the first round, then another. When we picked him up he had two that still had milk on their breath. Guess we didn't do a very good job of splainin'. :shock:

Most hunters around here would pee their pants seeing those deer, Hoss.

 

[Isomade]

Hoss the deer down here will look like big rabbits compared to those. You might get a nice set of antlers but not much on body weight.

:nod: they don't get that big here either. Those are nice

 

[HOSS]

I think I still hold the record for our lease in regards to field dressed body weight. About 8 years ago I killed a big 9 point that had a field dressed weight of 256 lbs. We weigh all of our deer on the farmers cattle scales. This buck was 28" around the neck when measured 2" behind the ears. Absolutley massive. We mostly see field dressed weights of 190 to 230 lbs on 3.5+ year old bucks. I am not sure what live weight would be. I saw one this year, an old buck that I would guestimate to be 7.5 to 8.5 years old, that was gianormous. Long, big belly, thick chest and massive neck. He might push 300 dressed weight by my guestimation. Here in Tennessee the average mature buck will dress about 140 lbs. We see a 200 pounder once in a great while. I see tons in the paper where the hunter claims it will weigh 200 but having weighed and helped weigh hundreds of field dressed deer in my life (worked at a check station as a teen), I know they woukld barely make 150 soaking wet.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Occasionally we get some really big deer Hoss. Nothing weighing anywhere near yours on average tho.

You have to bear in mind that some of the big time leases bring in imported genetics and feed them year round. This results in the occasional deer that doesn't fit our norms.

We also get the occasional huge rack. My brother killled a 28 point back in '82 while I was in Colorado working as an I&C Tech, back in the day. Killed it out of my stand on Daddy's place. That buck had 9 guard tines. Buck held the state record for that year right up until the final week of season when someone down in the Big Thicket killed a larger rack.

It happens here but the big bucks with the big racks are few and far between.

 

[backhoeboogie]

And to add - that buck your friend killed would be a once in a life time experience around here. There'd be a lot of discussions for weeks and probably a pic or two in newsprint.

 

[slick4591]

Just to compare this to yours. This buck was killed by a vehicle this morning on Hwy. 380 about 3 miles outside of town. Now 15 years ago you didn't see a deer in this county, but all the talk is how gigantic this deer is, and he is for us

 

[Isomade]

Just to compare this to yours. This buck was killed by a vehicle this morning on Hwy. 380 about 3 miles outside of town. Now 15 years ago you didn't see a deer in this county, but all the talk is how gigantic this deer is, and he is for us

Yep, that would be a big deer here too. I've taken lots of deer but nothing like that.

 

[slick4591]

Yep, that would be a big deer here too. I've taken lots of deer but nothing like that.

That buck coulda been in your area a few days ago, Iso. I'm only 40 minutes south of Denison.

 

[slick4591]

Word out is that buck had 27 points. I can't see it, but one of the cops out there says that's what they counted.

 

[Isomade]

Word out is that buck had 27 points. I can't see it, but one of the cops out there says that's what they counted.

When I enlarge it I can count 22, but I can't see all of it.

 

[Jogeephus]

Those are nice and I hope you had some help getting them in the truck or you'd pull a gut.

Ours don't get that big either. The spots just seem so deliciously tempting to so many. Here is an average sized 3 year old I caught in a hog trap this morning. I could have sworn I baited the trap with pig corn and NOT deer corn. ;-) He had 8 points with about 16" inside spread. (I didn't measure it exactly cause he was a bit miffed and wanted me in a bad way) I let him go so maybe I'll get to take him next year when he has a little more mass to his rack.

This is the ultimate goal and about as big as they get here. This one was patterned a couple of years ago by a plantation worker and he set his boss on it. I think you could call this gesture job security. :lol2:

 

[Isomade]

I ain't never seen anyone catch a deer in a trap. :clap:

 

[Jogeephus]

ISO, I've never heard of it either and I've had this trap for some years now and its never caught one. Had it not been so sturdy it wouldn't have held him cause he tore the expanded metal out of the back but the 1" steel rebar stopped him cold. Only thing I can figure this was one hungry buck.

 

[kenny thomas]

More common than you think, especially is a year with a bad mast crop.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Nice, bucks, Hoss! I don't care where 'ya are, those would be nice.