Ups and Downs in Iowa

Rhino

By Rhino
in Bowhunting

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Rhino Monster Buck

Rhino

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My Iowa trip where I videoed my buddy’s bowhunt had it’s ups and downs. We saw an absolute brute the 1st afternoon but it was too dark to film and too far for a shot. The next morning we were literally covered up with bucks chasing does. We had just gotten into our stands when the 1st buck chased a doe right under us. We had 12 encounters with bucks before 10:00 (3 P&Y Class bucks) but we were holding out for a 140 class buck for the 1st 4 days of the hunt. At 10:10 a 10 point that I estimated would go in the mid to upper 140’s followed a doe right to us but stopped behind a small tree covering up the vitals. With his 1st move my buddy let his arrow fly but made the mistake of sneaking a peek. Hit hit the buck in the gut. The 10 point went about 50 yards and acted like he wasn’t even hit. He slowly moved back toward where he came from stopping several times to look back toward us. I could see a streak of blood coming down the backside of his gut from the exit hole. My buddy was sick. We waited 6 hours and followed the blood trail until it played out. We continued looking until dark and again the next morning until 1:30 but never found a trace. We even cut grid lines across CRP without a trace of that buck. frown.gif

It took a couple of days for things to settle down with us seeing a few bucks but no more 140 class shooters. On the 5th day my buddy decided he would take the next P&Y class buck that walked by. That afternoon a 20” spread 8 point came up behind us but had a broken G2 so we passed on him. Thirty minutes later a 1 year old buck approached with another 2 year old buck to his right. The crunching of leaves from there approach must have been too much for a 9 point P&Y class buck to resist that suddenly appeared out of a creek bottom to check out the other deer. When he stopped behind a tree my buddy came to full draw. When he stepped out my buddy shot at the quartering away 9 point and hit him way back. He was sick and totally disgusted with himself. My buddy is one of the best shots with a bow that I know but these bucks must have been rattleing him. After I gave him some quiet time I told him we still had a good chance to recover that buck. With the bad shot we sneaked out of there and let the buck lay overnight. That night he was beside himself. He had really lost any hope. My buddy told my friend Gene that he had to face reality. He said I’m just a goober. Gene asked him what he meant and he responded with, you know one of those guys that hits deer and never recovers them. Good thing my buddy has a good sense of humor because Gene and I couldn’t help but laugh. The next morning we had no problem picking up the blood trail and followed it right to his buck. Thank goodness because I sure didn’t want to drive the 11 hours home without having recovered that buck. Here’s my buddy with his 9 point and a smile on his face.

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I'm leaving for Kansas in the morning and now I GET TO HUNT!!! grin.gif

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ruttinbuc Monster Buck

ruttinbuc

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Re: Ups and Downs in Iowa

Have a great trip Rhino! Something magical about the place. Great story on your buddies deer. That is a dandy and must have been a thrill to be there for the experience. I feel your friend's pain in losing that 1st one. It happens! The buck will feed the hungry and turn to earth in his resting place.

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