Tagged out

[Cuts Crooked]

Well Front stuffer season is over today...and I filled my last tag at 1630 hours! 

Was working my way through a marsh, back towards the road thinking I wasn't going to fill my third tag this year. A deer, thought it was a doe, got up about sixty yards in front of me and headed straight towards me. Brought up my Yukon and it spotted me. As it turned I put a 250 grain Shockwave in it's spine, at the base of the neck, dropping it on the spot. Turned out to be a dropped antler buck. 'S ok, he'll eat just fine! Drag out was fairly easy, due to the snow...well it was as easy as walking in 20" of snow, with serious drifting, can be.

That's my favorite way to end a season!

[pozoutdoors]

Congrats!!!! I got three does the first weekend and didn't do anymore deer hunting. I have been out looking at deer though!!!! I took some homemade deer salomi to the farmer I've been hunting on alot this year. His wife said. Oh, you got one!!! I told her I have taken eight does on them so far. They just thought that was great!!! I am a trophy hunter too. But when a farmer tells me that they want me to shoot as many as I can. I do just that. I figure it's a good trade. I get a good place to hunt and the farmer gets rid of some of his deer problem!!! I will be back out there this week. But with my .25-06 this time. I have two doe tags in my pocket. But will probably go get some more!!!

[Cuts Crooked]

I got two does early in the late season. One with my .50 "flinchlock", the other with Frankenstien (my .54 gun built from spare parts)so I had a great season. Was in Des Moines yesterday morning and saw a nice ten pointer going across Martin Luther King near the intersection with Fluer! Thought about trying to take him but I would have to have stepped down really hard on the gas pedal!

[IOWA DON]

I got 20 permits before the January antlerless season began figuring that being retired I could hunt any time conditions were good, that I would probably fill out early and maybe even get more permits. This was the longest rifle season so far (three weeks) but the conditions were the worst so far. I got the last tag filled yesterday (next to last day of season). I've got a lot of land to hunt in one of the southern counties where in previous years I could snipe deer off at long distances. This year each week brought new problems. During the first week the snow was so deep that a lot of the minimum maintenance roads and all the field roads were impassable. Also, when I did shoot a deer there was a lot of deep snow to hike through to get to the deer and get the meat out. I am 60 years old so a 30-minute hike (one way) though deep snow is not just a lot of work but also may be dangerous if too fast. In addition there were some unpicked corn fields in which I think many deer may have been staying. During the second week the snow melted some but it was often foggy so my lazer rangefinder would not work well enough to give a range reading so my long-range rifle could not be used to much advantage. During the third week it was often warm so some of the minimum maintenance roads had turned to mud and were again impassable. Also, by then the deer had herded up and were mostly on property where hunting was not allowed. I was not seeing many deer where they would be in prior years. The only reason I got all tags filled was that I got some new property to hunt which included an alfalfa field in the middle of a lot of posted property. The neighbors deer could not stay away from it. I got 12 deer there. Finally, during the 4 previous rifle seasons I had only shot one (or maybe 2) shed-antler bucks. This year of those 20 deer 3 were shed-antler bucks. If this is typical for this year I am a little concerned that there won't be much of a buck crop next year.

[pozoutdoors]

I hear that!! This has been quite a winter indeed!!! I'm glad to hear you got your tags filled!!!! I never shot any shed bucks or button bucks this year!! I think there will be plenty of bucks left. I know there are still alot of does left!!!