Backyard bucks?

MeekAndMild · December 14, 2008, 09:56 PM

I was wondering if anyone else had a buck in their backyard that they've been following for a long time? I have one that I've been tracking, stalking and never quite connecting with for 4 years. Sometimes when I leave the woods I'll find his tracks where he has walked up to just out of visual range and then walked away.

I call him Bullwinkle. I've seen him four times and smelled and heard him a lot more. The first sighting was 3 years ago and he was about a 6 pointer with heavy horns, then I saw him once 2 summers ago when his horns were at the clubbed stage. The third time was yesterday and the fourth today and it looks like he has kept growing.

His home base is about 5 acres of mixed cedars and small pines with tiny meadows, a scattering of bearing-sized oaks and a million briers and brambles. This is part of a bigger swamp, maybe 30 acres total, but I seldom see his tracks outside of his little area. There are a couple of other big deer which live on the surrounding hillsides, but none as big as him.

Many deer would run into the next county if you jump them but Bullwinkle just fades into the next thicket. He knows me and I expect that he knows I'm the one who sows the green fields and puts out the corn in late winter after deer season. So he stays close.

Now this is the kicker. I have built a couple of enclosed blinds for the time when I get too old to climb the hills and wade the swamps; I like to sit in them some afternoons and read, contemplate life and watch the other, lesser deer. His favorite bedding spot is some crowded little pines about 30 yards behind one of these blinds, on the side with no windows!

hogdogs · December 14, 2008, 10:11 PM

Nope I have never had an identifiable (to me) individual to track. As a kid I never lived in one house long enough to do more than see the venison for the deer...

Brent

siv · December 14, 2008, 10:42 PM

I live in rural minnesota so with the slug season, deer don't last long enough for me to be able to follow a certain one. I wish the slug season would be more strict so that deer would be able to get big enough to actually get a trophy buck.

Gnarly · December 14, 2008, 10:53 PM

Great story,MeekandMild!

Our local deer vanished the day we got the big winds from Hurricane Ike.

Have spent many hours since, trying to find fresh sign,dead deer,coyote sign,gutpiles,buzzards, rubs & scrapes....ANY sign!

Alternated with trying to get KY Dept of Fish/Wildlife Resources to listen to several dozen of us,to reduce seasons/bag limits,etc.

Before there are too few deer to hunt....I have Grandsons old enough to tag along next year....

But it pleases me that you have an Enigma Buck in your backyard!

----Gnarly

shortwave · December 14, 2008, 11:06 PM

A truely backyard buck was shot this year in Ohio right outside a man`s backyard and will be the 2nd largest buck in State of Ohio ever taken with bow. Shot by a guy a friend of mine knows. Green scored 245-250,18" g-2`s, field dressed at around 315lbs. This deer is crazy big and story behind it is just as crazy. This is one you`ll read and see pics of in the near future.

HAMMER1DOWN · December 15, 2008, 07:44 PM

i got one for ye, I work at a grain elevator in the midle of nowhere , but one year we started to deal with corn and whitetail deer started to show up never any bucks but there was this fawn that i guess left its mom and was constantly hanging around. Well that was about 4 years ago and last year if i would have brought my bow he would be on my wall he grew to a whopping 6 by7 he was an absolute monster.. But i havent seen him this year and fear some one else might have him on his/her wall(i just hope it weren't none of them darned canadians that are not even 500 yards away from work

)i have nothing against canadians. haha but i do have his sheds from the last three years

Swampghost · December 15, 2008, 08:01 PM

Shot one out of my bathroom window in NC. Ol'#1 never let me live that one down, she was asleep at the time and a 30-40 Krag makes a REALLY lousy alarm clock for a nurse working second shift.

BTW, sitting on a toilet seat and using the windowsill for a rest makes for a very clean shot. The deer dropped where it was standing.

hoytinak · December 15, 2008, 08:07 PM

I've got this little guy that's been showing up every day in my yard for about a month while now. I could set my clock on him showing up about 9am (this was yesterday morning). I've been putting some corn out for them, also have a apple tree that they really like. It'll be nice if he sticks around so I could watch him grow up. Also have a doe with two fawns that are in the yard every other day.

JonnyReb · December 15, 2008, 08:15 PM

I've been tracking one for the last 3 years. He's got a perfect rack, which is rare as most around me are scrubs. I only see him on my trail cams and i only get him at night. He beds on an adjoining property that i can't hunt. He only passes through mine and only at night. He uses my 4 wheeler trail.

The rut was my only hope but i'm afraid it's another year till i get a chance..

nevermind the date as i dont set it, this was taken in sept.

ammoeater · December 16, 2008, 03:01 PM

In my buddy's backyard. No hunting inside the city limits (Toms River, NJ).

HAMMER1DOWN · December 17, 2008, 07:33 PM

Hey ammoeater a well placed bow shot would take care of him in a quick bit

hogdogs · December 17, 2008, 07:55 PM

AmmoEater, Just cough real loud when you drop the hammer... No one will be the wiser...

Brent

MeekAndMild · December 17, 2008, 08:46 PM

Well I told the same story at work and all the women are laughing at me so now I've got to get Bullwinkle no matter what. Looks like I'm going to spend more time trying to pick him off rather than just relaxing in the woods.

Those pictures are cool.

Dr. A · December 18, 2008, 03:55 PM

Here are a few from my back yard... Mind you its illegal to shoot any projectile in town, or I'd be shooting from my bedroom window the total 11 yards to where this was filmed. But where would be the fun in that?

I did get a 160 class buck this year, but that was in the country.

ammoeater · December 18, 2008, 04:08 PM

I know, believe me I've thought about it. The thing is, my buddy just found out last year he has a brain tumor. He is down in the dumps and doesn't work anymore, and he has a bunch of those deer eating right out of his hand (not the big guy yet). They come walking right out of the woods when they hear his screen door close. His wife said they are the only thing that gets him out of bed anymore, so I'll leave them be.

shortwave · December 18, 2008, 04:40 PM

ammoeater, those are beautiful bucks. Sorry to hear of your buddy. Our prayers are with him.

OJ · December 18, 2008, 06:11 PM

Here's my friend in my next door neighbor's back yard - we see him and his harem about every week -

Dunno why he avoids our yard - we have a welcoming committee

scorpion_tyr · December 18, 2008, 06:36 PM

I hope you "connect" with your buck real soon.

I don't hunt myself, but I'm not against it or anything. I know a few people from my area who love it when deer show up in their back yard. Watching TV with a buddy and then seeing him reach to the side of the couch, grab a rifle, and fire it out an open window at a deer was a very "memorable" experience. It was also one of the reasons I stopped going to his house. Oh... and no, unfortunately he didn't get it.

rshanneck2002 · December 18, 2008, 06:55 PM

i have a rather sizable pond out behind me which is roughly 4-500 yds outside the city limits here in MI and it draws many deer to it especially when its hot and dry for awhile.,during bow season i hope for a warm and dry oct and they come in like a magnet.since i have lived her i have taken a seven pt with a 22in spread with 10- 12 in tines and brow tines that were 10 in. also a nine point with the same tines roughly with a 19.5 in spread. since i have lived here i take a big buck roughly every 2 yrs and i never bleed it for the smaller ones or does and i never gun hunt there only bow.it is a genuine "honey spot" that i will hunt at till i die or cant climb up into a treestand., these spots are rare here in southern MI anymore, but these suburban bucks are huge,fat and sassy.in the fall find the girls and the big boys wont be far behind. i sit all summer long and watch them come in last summer we saw a 12.,10, 8 and 5 pt together at the same time,then along came a coyote down for a drink and zoom they split,but it sure was pretty.

jckeffer · December 19, 2008, 03:02 AM

Some frequent visitors to my backyard. Haven't caught their Dad yet (Nice little 4 point - western count)

freakintoguns · December 19, 2008, 03:17 AM

im jealous! id love to see more wld life in my backyard then squirrels and a occasioanl Bobcat.

jaymag · December 19, 2008, 10:39 AM

Here in ma. alot if nice bucks are pushed into back yards of homes,in thickets.When hunting public land this is always a good idea where I hunt.

December 14, 2008, 10:53 PM	#4
Gnarly Member Join Date: June 4, 2008 Location: Western KY Posts: 43	Great story,MeekandMild! Our local deer vanished the day we got the big winds from Hurricane Ike. Have spent many hours since, trying to find fresh sign,dead deer,coyote sign,gutpiles,buzzards, rubs & scrapes....ANY sign! Alternated with trying to get KY Dept of Fish/Wildlife Resources to listen to several dozen of us,to reduce seasons/bag limits,etc. Before there are too few deer to hunt....I have Grandsons old enough to tag along next year.... But it pleases me that you have an Enigma Buck in your backyard! ----Gnarly __________________ ~~ Pray for Peace but reload more ammo ~~

December 15, 2008, 07:44 PM	#6
HAMMER1DOWN Senior Member Join Date: September 26, 2008 Location: Close Enough to Canada to say "EH!!"... MT Posts: 418	i got one for ye, I work at a grain elevator in the midle of nowhere , but one year we started to deal with corn and whitetail deer started to show up never any bucks but there was this fawn that i guess left its mom and was constantly hanging around. Well that was about 4 years ago and last year if i would have brought my bow he would be on my wall he grew to a whopping 6 by7 he was an absolute monster.. But i havent seen him this year and fear some one else might have him on his/her wall(i just hope it weren't none of them darned canadians that are not even 500 yards away from work)i have nothing against canadians. haha but i do have his sheds from the last three years

December 15, 2008, 08:01 PM	#7
Swampghost Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: Florida, east coast Posts: 2,106	Shot one out of my bathroom window in NC. Ol'#1 never let me live that one down, she was asleep at the time and a 30-40 Krag makes a REALLY lousy alarm clock for a nurse working second shift. BTW, sitting on a toilet seat and using the windowsill for a rest makes for a very clean shot. The deer dropped where it was standing. __________________ NRA Patron Member

December 17, 2008, 08:46 PM	#13
MeekAndMild Senior Member Join Date: August 2, 2001 Posts: 4,988	Well I told the same story at work and all the women are laughing at me so now I've got to get Bullwinkle no matter what. Looks like I'm going to spend more time trying to pick him off rather than just relaxing in the woods. Those pictures are cool. __________________ In a few years when the dust finally clears and people start counting their change there is a pretty good chance that President Obama may become known as The Great Absquatulator. You heard it first here on TFL.

December 18, 2008, 03:55 PM	#14
Dr. A Senior Member Join Date: July 17, 2007 Location: Salina, KS. Posts: 215	Here are a few from my back yard... Mind you its illegal to shoot any projectile in town, or I'd be shooting from my bedroom window the total 11 yards to where this was filmed. But where would be the fun in that? I did get a 160 class buck this year, but that was in the country. Last edited by Dr. A; December 18, 2008 at 05:25 PM.

December 14, 2008, 09:56 PM	#1
MeekAndMild Senior Member Join Date: August 2, 2001 Posts: 4,988	Backyard bucks? I was wondering if anyone else had a buck in their backyard that they've been following for a long time? I have one that I've been tracking, stalking and never quite connecting with for 4 years. Sometimes when I leave the woods I'll find his tracks where he has walked up to just out of visual range and then walked away. I call him Bullwinkle. I've seen him four times and smelled and heard him a lot more. The first sighting was 3 years ago and he was about a 6 pointer with heavy horns, then I saw him once 2 summers ago when his horns were at the clubbed stage. The third time was yesterday and the fourth today and it looks like he has kept growing. His home base is about 5 acres of mixed cedars and small pines with tiny meadows, a scattering of bearing-sized oaks and a million briers and brambles. This is part of a bigger swamp, maybe 30 acres total, but I seldom see his tracks outside of his little area. There are a couple of other big deer which live on the surrounding hillsides, but none as big as him. Many deer would run into the next county if you jump them but Bullwinkle just fades into the next thicket. He knows me and I expect that he knows I'm the one who sows the green fields and puts out the corn in late winter after deer season. So he stays close. Now this is the kicker. I have built a couple of enclosed blinds for the time when I get too old to climb the hills and wade the swamps; I like to sit in them some afternoons and read, contemplate life and watch the other, lesser deer. His favorite bedding spot is some crowded little pines about 30 yards behind one of these blinds, on the side with no windows! __________________ In a few years when the dust finally clears and people start counting their change there is a pretty good chance that President Obama may become known as The Great Absquatulator. You heard it first here on TFL. Last edited by MeekAndMild; December 14, 2008 at 10:19 PM.

December 14, 2008, 10:11 PM	#2
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Nope I have never had an identifiable (to me) individual to track. As a kid I never lived in one house long enough to do more than see the venison for the deer... Brent

December 14, 2008, 10:42 PM	#3
siv Member Join Date: June 4, 2007 Location: Leota, MN Posts: 33	I live in rural minnesota so with the slug season, deer don't last long enough for me to be able to follow a certain one. I wish the slug season would be more strict so that deer would be able to get big enough to actually get a trophy buck.

December 14, 2008, 11:06 PM	#5
shortwave Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2007 Location: SOUTHEAST, OHIO Posts: 5,970	A truely backyard buck was shot this year in Ohio right outside a man`s backyard and will be the 2nd largest buck in State of Ohio ever taken with bow. Shot by a guy a friend of mine knows. Green scored 245-250,18" g-2`s, field dressed at around 315lbs. This deer is crazy big and story behind it is just as crazy. This is one you`ll read and see pics of in the near future.

December 15, 2008, 08:07 PM	#8
hoytinak Senior Member Join Date: July 5, 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 5,721	I've got this little guy that's been showing up every day in my yard for about a month while now. I could set my clock on him showing up about 9am (this was yesterday morning). I've been putting some corn out for them, also have a apple tree that they really like. It'll be nice if he sticks around so I could watch him grow up. Also have a doe with two fawns that are in the yard every other day.

December 15, 2008, 08:15 PM	#9
JonnyReb Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2008 Location: Central N.C. Posts: 157	I've been tracking one for the last 3 years. He's got a perfect rack, which is rare as most around me are scrubs. I only see him on my trail cams and i only get him at night. He beds on an adjoining property that i can't hunt. He only passes through mine and only at night. He uses my 4 wheeler trail. The rut was my only hope but i'm afraid it's another year till i get a chance.. nevermind the date as i dont set it, this was taken in sept.

December 17, 2008, 07:33 PM	#11
HAMMER1DOWN Senior Member Join Date: September 26, 2008 Location: Close Enough to Canada to say "EH!!"... MT Posts: 418	Hey ammoeater a well placed bow shot would take care of him in a quick bit

December 17, 2008, 07:55 PM	#12
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	AmmoEater, Just cough real loud when you drop the hammer... No one will be the wiser... Brent

December 18, 2008, 04:08 PM	#15
ammoeater Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2000 Location: NJ Posts: 169	I know, believe me I've thought about it. The thing is, my buddy just found out last year he has a brain tumor. He is down in the dumps and doesn't work anymore, and he has a bunch of those deer eating right out of his hand (not the big guy yet). They come walking right out of the woods when they hear his screen door close. His wife said they are the only thing that gets him out of bed anymore, so I'll leave them be. __________________ If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, - go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen! Samuel Adams Philadelphia Statehouse 1 August 1776

December 18, 2008, 04:40 PM	#16
shortwave Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2007 Location: SOUTHEAST, OHIO Posts: 5,970	ammoeater, those are beautiful bucks. Sorry to hear of your buddy. Our prayers are with him.

December 18, 2008, 06:11 PM	#17
OJ Senior Member Join Date: December 25, 1998 Location: COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, USA Posts: 1,570	Here's my friend in my next door neighbor's back yard - we see him and his harem about every week - Dunno why he avoids our yard - we have a welcoming committee __________________ OJ - SEMPER FI - DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY NRA ENDOWMENT LIFE MEMBER

December 18, 2008, 06:36 PM	#18
scorpion_tyr Senior Member Join Date: November 10, 2008 Location: East Texas Posts: 1,326	I hope you "connect" with your buck real soon. I don't hunt myself, but I'm not against it or anything. I know a few people from my area who love it when deer show up in their back yard. Watching TV with a buddy and then seeing him reach to the side of the couch, grab a rifle, and fire it out an open window at a deer was a very "memorable" experience. It was also one of the reasons I stopped going to his house. Oh... and no, unfortunately he didn't get it. __________________ “Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them my supreme delight.” - Thomas Jefferson

December 18, 2008, 06:55 PM	#19
rshanneck2002 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2008 Posts: 194	i have a rather sizable pond out behind me which is roughly 4-500 yds outside the city limits here in MI and it draws many deer to it especially when its hot and dry for awhile.,during bow season i hope for a warm and dry oct and they come in like a magnet.since i have lived her i have taken a seven pt with a 22in spread with 10- 12 in tines and brow tines that were 10 in. also a nine point with the same tines roughly with a 19.5 in spread. since i have lived here i take a big buck roughly every 2 yrs and i never bleed it for the smaller ones or does and i never gun hunt there only bow.it is a genuine "honey spot" that i will hunt at till i die or cant climb up into a treestand., these spots are rare here in southern MI anymore, but these suburban bucks are huge,fat and sassy.in the fall find the girls and the big boys wont be far behind. i sit all summer long and watch them come in last summer we saw a 12.,10, 8 and 5 pt together at the same time,then along came a coyote down for a drink and zoom they split,but it sure was pretty.

December 19, 2008, 03:17 AM	#21
freakintoguns Senior Member Join Date: October 6, 2008 Posts: 496	im jealous! id love to see more wld life in my backyard then squirrels and a occasioanl Bobcat.

December 19, 2008, 10:39 AM	#22
jaymag Senior Member Join Date: October 4, 2005 Location: springfield,MA Posts: 239	Late season bucks? Here in ma. alot if nice bucks are pushed into back yards of homes,in thickets.When hunting public land this is always a good idea where I hunt.