Ani-Logics Outdoors

The night of November 6^th was hot in Minnesota, both with temperature and deer movement.  When I drove to my hunting location, my truck said it was 68 degrees.  It was less than ideal rut hunting weather to say the least.  I knew the time of year was right, so I decided to go hunting anyways.  The previous evening, I hunted over a cut bean field, but from that stand I could see a small clover field.  I watched 3 small bucks and 7 does/fawns feed in the clover field that I couldn’t hunt because the wind was not right.  I only saw 3 does eating in the beans where I was located.

Knowing that clover was the preferred food source during this warm spell, the next day I decided to go to another small clover plot tucked back on the point of a ridge.  I had a south wind which put my scent over a valley to my left.  Most of the deer enter this plot from the east or west, so I was confident I wouldn’t be detected.  Early in the hunt, I heard leaves rustling and sticks breaking behind me.  I turned around to see a doe run past as fast as she could go.  Behind her were 2 small bucks and one 2.5 year old 8 point grunting.  The two smaller bucks were trying to fight, but their antlers were so small it was more of a shoving match than a real fight.  The commotion of those young bucks being aggressive toward each other caused the doe to circle around the plot to the east.  Some time went by and one of the smaller bucks worked his way into the clover field, followed by a button buck.

The doe that had disappeared to the east also came back out, but this time she had a new companion.  Behind her was the most beautiful sight; an old wide racked 9 point buck that I called Big Peanut.  I believe this buck was at least 5.5 years old.  He was a familiar sight on my trail cameras, but this was the first time I ever laid eyes on him while hunting.

When he entered the field, he was facing me.  At one point he looked up at me but I stayed completely still and he didn’t realize what I was.  His attention was locked on the doe in the field.  After what seemed like an eternity, he finally turned his body and gave me a perfect broadside shot at 30 yards.  I remember trying to settle the pin behind his shoulder but it was shaking around considerably.  I released the arrow and it hit a tad high, but I knew it was a lethal hit.  I snuck out of the woods to call my friends Moose and Jake to help with the recovery.  It was a pretty slow tracking job, but it was consistent.  The arrow did not pass through and with the high hit I knew the blood trail wouldn’t be the greatest.  Nonetheless, he went down within 100 yards from the clover plot.

Here is a short video of the recovery.  I was a bit lost for words because I really wasn’t expecting the hunt to play out like it did.  Up to that point, I had sat for hours and hours without seeing a shooter buck, then he just stepped into that field and everything changed so quickly.

Here is a great picture of him last year during my post season survey.  He was fed all winter using Ani-Supplement Gold.  You can tell that his antlers did change much from last year, which tells me he is beyond his prime.  I am anxious to get the teeth back from the taxidermist so I can see how worn they are.  If you are ever wondering how to age a buck using the tooth ware and replacement method, check out this link from QDMA.

After the recovery was complete, we took him out the next morning for some pictures.  I thought they turned out very well thanks to the help of Berge at Archery Headquarters in Rochester.  Big Peanut gross scored 146 & 7/8” and field dressed 215 lbs.  Now that he is in the freezer I can devote some time to hunting in Nebraska.  I want to thank my beautiful pregnant wife for letting me pursue these wonderful beast during a large portion of the fall.  I couldn’t have done it without you!!

Hopefully you can beat the heat like I did if you are hunting over the next few weeks.  Even if you are not seeing a lot a deer, your season can change in an instant.  The only way to be in the right place at the right time is hunt hard during the rut.  Good luck!

-Tim Neuman, Wildlife Biologist