As the horn hardware goes, 2016 proved to be a solid year.
First buck taken was a big-bodied 9 point (my first 9 on the heels of several 8s) I named "Flame", as in 2015 he had a couple of really curvy flame-like tines.
Here's some pics of him from 2015.
First afternoon of gun season he chased a doe into the plot I was hunting, following her to within 30 yards or so of my stand. Hit him rock solid and he made an arching jump, crashed HARD twice in an initial run into cover only about 30 yards deep, and left a heavy blood trail for about the same distance. Felt confident I would find him well under 100 yards away from the spot of the shot... but he fooled me. Didn't actually go much further. Only about 160 yards total, but after pausing when he initially ran through cover, he made a 90 degree turn then ran a semi-circle that took him just across my property boundary and put him about 50 yards deep into a heavy thicket on the neighboring property. Spent too much time searching for him on my place and only willingly crossed over my boundary when the buzzards made clear he was just over the line a matter of yards. Taking his life without the justification of harvesting the meat left me filling sick, but I was at least glad to confirm that he had quickly bled out and hadn't suffered long.
"Flame" had been the dominant buck on my property throughout the summer bachelor season so I was curious how his void would be filled. Didn't take long to get my answer. As rut heated up, a buck I named "Bo" for being a 10 (some of you guys around 50 and up will get the reference) showed up.
My daughter caught a stomach bug at school this past Thursday so I kept her at home Friday and catching up on work Friday night I stayed up so late that I struggled to get out of bed early Saturday morning, despite the frost on the ground that I knew would likely push some deer foot traffic. Told the Mrs. I just wanted to make a big mug of coffee and scout from our second story bedroom window. While sipping on the java I quickly spotted a beat-up 6 point looking afraid to step into my largest plot. Stood like a statue for 5 full minutes before he did a 180 and limped off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeXI1oC17Zc[/video]
Seeing the beat-up 6 point and his hesitancy to enter my plot made me optimistic that "Bo" might be holding court in the plot so I told the Mrs. I was going to sit in the afternoon. Cool afternoon temps found a few does feeding about an hour earlier than usual. With about 45 minutes of daylight left two does that had been feeding in a narrow "sliver" clover plot crossed over into my larger primary plot, and about 10 minutes later I saw Bo's rack break into the picture. Thankfully he didn't rush in aggressively enough to put the does on the run and he moved slowly enough to allow me time for a clear shot.
With a wife and daughter that rarely eat meat, calling it a season and happy to do so with a few young thinner framed 6s and 8s getting a solid additional year for growth, Good Lord willing.
"The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank GOD for the United States Marine Corps." Eleanor Roosevelt, 1945
