Wind: West, 6 mph
Temp: 42 degrees
Hunt time: 4 hours

Beautiful morning! I went back to the same area I hunted this weekend but in a different nearby tree stand that was perfect for this wind. I last hunted this stand the morning of October 6th.

Last year, Matt harvested his largest buck to date, a great 11-pointer that scored 144 inches, in this same stand… I’m hoping to have some of that luck today! Driving to this timber, there was a possible shooter on the road that ran into this area. Good to know he’s in the area and hope he’ll come around! On the way to the stand, I grabbed the card out of a trail camera that was setup on the path and there is a real good 8-point on there – same one we have photos of from another nearby timber, but not the same big 8 that I had watched this weekend (that one has a broken brow).
Around 7:30 a.m., I did a rattling/grunting sequence and soon heard what I could tell was a buck coming up from out of the bottom bedding and pond area. The trees are so thick in that spot so I had trouble seeing it at first, but soon enough I saw it coming up the trail that I had entered the stand through. Nothing suspicious… good!

When I first saw him I thought “not a shooter” but I decided ah, I’ll look him over through the binoculars anyways. Whoa – he’s quite a bit better than a thought! Whoa! It’s the buck I passed Saturday morning and was so unsure about if I did the right thing!

This time he strolled up perfectly broadside at 15 yards, stopped, took his time, and I am so happy because I really got to look him over this time. I didn’t think he seemed as mature this time and I sure hope he is able to make it another year or two as he has the potential to be an absolute stud!

He has some of the best main beams I’ve ever seen. They come out and then completely wrap around to almost touch. On his right side (yes, he IS missing that brow), after his G3, his main beam completely blades and flattens through the end. SO COOL! He’s got tall tines and such a neat characteristics to how they look. They aren’t perfect and smooth, they are unique.

After I let him pass, he went behind some trees about 40 yards away and for about 10 minutes racked and shook a young tree like crazy! Very neat to watch! I think he was frustrated he didn’t find the bucks fighting on top of the ridge and took it out on the tree!

Soon at 8 a.m., I was shocked to look up and see two coyotes running across the nearby grass field!!! I harvested my first coyote my first hunt out this year, but I was always shocked before that I had yet to ever see a coyote from the tree stand – even in the far distance!!! I’ve seen bobcats, foxes, etc. but never a coyote! So not only did I harvest one this fall with my bow, I now saw two more! And one of them was HUGE!!! Holy moley!!!

I know this area has too many of them – it is the same timber I harvested mine, and every time I hunt this timber I hear a bunch of them hooping and hollering right before it gets fully dark (always scares me since I soon have to get out and walk through in the dark! Ha!). I think my family needs to learn to actually coyote hunt this winter!
Then the timber, the field, everything was just completely dead until at about 9:50 a.m. I spotted two does feeding in the field and soon followed by 8 hens that came out to also feed.

It was dead again after that and I was not feeling well at all this morning so I didn’t stay as late as I was hoping to today. I got out of the stand, moved Matt’s trail camera to a different scrape, and by the time I made it back to my Jeep, I was hot and tired and just laid down on the ground… I woke up about 1/2 hour later! Lol… you know you are giving it your all when that happens I guess!