2 more bucks down from the MN 2009 Firearm Season!

During the WI archery season, Jeremy Gruber (little g) graciously spent numerous days with me in a tree stand in Buffalo Cty., WI. He was behind the camera and our goal was to get a mature buck bow kill on camera. We had some great encounters with some pretty good bucks (including a 135 inch 10 pointer that I passed up) but we did not cross paths with a buck that was on the hit list.

Since Jeremy volunteered so much time with me, I thought a good way to thank him would be to invite him to hunt with me and my dad during the 2009 MN firearm season. Jeremy quickly accepted the invitation and we made plans to drive up together the afternoon before the opener.

About three weeks prior, WI had their T-Zone hunt and it is not legal to harvest a buck during that weekend in that area. I took that opportunity and decided to bow hunt our land in north central MN. Fellow IDO Pro Staffer – Joel Nelson also accompanied me and we mixed in a little walleye fishing on Mille Lacs as well.

We did some quick scouting and found some really good buck sign. One rub in particular was on a tree that was about 7 inches in diameter and was definitely made by a mature buck. Joel decided to hunt near it that evening but only saw some does and fawns. I was hunting in another stand about 500 yards away and ended up having a great encounter with a mature 10 pointer that I guessed between 145-150 inches. I rattled him out of a swamp about 200 yards away and he quickly closed the distance. He ended up passing within 40 yards of me but I was unable to get off a clean shot. I was happy about the encounter and the next day I set up 3 trail cameras on the property hoping to get a better look at the big 10. One of the cameras hung right next to the big rub where Joel had hunted the night before. I was hoping that the mature buck would use that same trail again. I also hung a portable stand a mere 20 yards away just in case I captured him on that trail camera.

Jeremy and I arrived at our hunting land about 2pm on the Friday, Nov 6th and I quickly gave him a quick tour of the property. We also collected 2 of the 3 cameras (one is in a core area and we didn’t want to spook any deer that afternoon) and both were loaded with pictures and videos. As we anxiously watched the videos, it didn’t take us too long to get excited! The first trail camera (on a scrape about 600 yards away from the rub) captured 2 videos of the big ten that I had an encounter with 3 weeks prior. One video was on 10/23 @ 6:40 pm and the other was on 11/1 @ 5:20 am. The buck was tall and carried his mass all the way through his main beams. His right brow was considerably taller than his left, displayed a small kicker and was easily pushing over 7 inches long. The big 10 was actually an eleven pointer and now carried the name “Browser”.

The second camera that was set up on the big rub did not disappoint either. We captured Browser on that camera as well on 10/23 @ 5:05am. The very same day as the other trail cam video! My guess he was spending most of his time in this area in the morning due to the thick nearby bedding area and then making his way out to the field at night.

I decided that I would put Jeremy in that stand since it was so easy to find in the morning. I hunted in a stand near the other camera. About 7am, I heard Jeremy shoot two times! Shortly after, a text message arrived and it read “BBD – BROWSER!”. It’s great when a plan comes together!!! Even though it was just a little after 7am, I decided to get down and celebrate with Jeremy. I brought along the video camera and we did a short recap of the hunt and the retrieval of the big buck. Jeremy informed me that a doe came burnin out of the thick bedding area just after daylight and there was 3 bucks on her trail. One was a borderline shooter and he actually took the safety off but could not get a clean shot at him. The bucks were chasing her hard and they quickly went back into the thick cover.

Shortly after, another doe appeared with two different bucks on her tail. Both were small and Jeremy passed on them. It was only 6:45 and Jeremy had already seen 5 bucks! 15 minutes later another buck appeared from the thick swamp and was heading Jeremy’s way. Even though the buck was walking closer to him it was directly downwind and for fear of being winded, Jeremy squeezed off a shot. The buck didn’t know where the shot had come from and ran even closer towards his stand. Jeremy actually thought he had missed and fired off a second round. That shot most certainly found its mark and the buck dropped in its track a mere 20 yards away. After examining the buck, both shots had found the mark!

The buck actually had a triple brow and ended up having 12 scoreable points! It gross green scored 155 inches and field dressed at 215 lbs! Congratulations Jeremy on your new personal best buck!!!

Jeremy jumped in the tree with me over the weekend and we were hoping to get another buck kill on film. We were excited because later on that day we checked the 3rd trail camera and not only did we get Browser again on that trail camera, we also got a big 8 on camera that was definitely a shooter!

This deer was pretty wide and carried good mass throughout his long sweeping main beams (we named him Swoosh). He also had some character as his brows pointed towards each other. The trail cam video was on Halloween night so we were unsure if the buck was still in the area. We decided to set up on him that night and on Sunday. We ended up having some great encounters with several bucks but the big 8 did not show up.

I had to run Jeremy home Sunday evening and didn’t hunt the next morning. I decided my time would 100% be focused on harvesting that 8 pointer. I was back at it Mon evening and still no sign of him but there were still many does in the area. Finally my spirits were lifted and I captured Swoosh on a trail camera again. The photo was on 11/9 at 3:35am on the same scrape where I got Browser on. This scrape was over 600 yards away from where I was hunting and from the Halloween trail cam photo. Did he now move over to this area for good and should I start hunting him over there? I had a stand in the area and was good to go. However, I just didn’t think that I was going to see him during daylight hours in this area. I was thinking he only cruised this area during the night so I decided to stick with my game plan and keep hunting the thick area where I had captured him on video the first time.

Tues morning I had a great hunt, saw around 15 deer and passed on 3 bucks. A 2.5 year old was chasing does all around me grunting and even growled a couple of times! It was an awesome morning even though there was no sign of swoosh. I stayed with it and hunted the same stand that evening and never saw a deer. Wednesday passed by as well and still no sign of him. However, I was still seeing a lot of does in the area and that kept my spirits high. Thurs morning I woke up and there was really strong 20-30 mph winds coming out of the south. The stand in which I was sitting in was in a pretty small tree and I contemplated on whether or not I should even try to sit in it. I decided to go for it and took extra caution using my new muddy safety harness.

About an hour after sunrise I started seeing some does and fawns working their way by me and towards the bedding area. Finally a little buck showed up as well. About 8:30am another doe appeared in my shooting lane about 75 yards away and hung around me for about 15 minutes. Every once in awhile she would abruptly pick her head up, perk up her ears and look towards where she had came from. I knew something was up and there had to be another deer approaching her. I readied my rifle in the shooting position while pointing it towards the small shooting lane. Finally, I caught some movement in the thick brush and could tell right away that I was looking at a buck’s rack. I got a better look of it through my scope and saw a long sweeping heavy main beam with a good G2 and taller G3. It was Swoosh!!! I clicked off the safety and prepared myself by leaning against the tree to help support me in the wind. Just then the doe took off and went through the brushy shooting lane. The buck quickly followed her, jumped into the shooting lane but paused for a second which allowed me to fire off a shot. The buck continued through the lane and then jumped back through the shooting lane once again and headed back towards where he had come from.

Everything happened so fast but I felt confident about my shot. I waited for about 15 minutes and finally decided to get down. As I walked up to the spot where I had taken the shot, I looked up and was shocked to see the big 8 pointer laying dead a mere 20 yards away. His rack was facing towards me and it confirmed that I had just killed Swoosh.

I was happy to see that he died quickly and did not suffer. I sat down next to the deer and felt many different emotions as I always do. I reached out and brushed him on the side over and over again. It was my way of paying respect and to show appreciation towards taking his life. 15 minutes went by and I was still sitting there reliving the hunt. After I was done, I finally called my best friend and hunting partner – my wife Tina. She was elated as I was and we made plans to meet that night at Peterson’s Taxidermy in Arkansaw, WI where my good friend Kirk Peterson does all my mounts. She told me that she was happy that I conquered my quest in harvesting Swoosh and then stated that she’s looking forward to me coming home. I’m truly thankful and feel very fortunate to have a wife who supports my passion for hunting whitetails. Tina drove 100 miles (one way) on numerous nights just so we could be together. I then realized that I had only been home one night in the last sixteen. I’m not sure how many other wives would put up with that and once again feel very blessed to have her in my life.

After passing up over 30 bucks this fall, I finally pulled the trigger on a good buck! All the hard work and patience was certainly worth the wait. I would do the same thing all over again! Make the most of your hunts! Cherish each moment and be thankful that we have the opportunity to hunt in this beautiful country or ours. Thanks for reading and I hope to read your hunting report soon!