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Well I had the chance to head out yesterday morning and jumped all over it! I hunted my uncle’s farm up in Butler County Pennsylvania. When I pulled in at 6am it was 18 degrees Fahrenheit in the valley where he lives. Cold and crisp. The ground was frozen as I walked over it, making that crunching sound.

I took my rattling antlers with me and thought I'd give them a go. No one uses them up there and only a few people hunt the farm so I figured that it would be a good proactive way to hunt. I picked a spot next to heavy cover and grape vines. The bucks have been sticking to this stuff, reluctant to come into the open woods. I saw several does come through from 8am through 10am. I have tags for Butler County but my uncle says "no does" so I have to watch them. Pretty fun anyway as they feed along at 10-15 yards unaware that I am 26 feet above them

At 9am and 10 am I go through a rattle sequence of about 45-60 seconds. Some good clashing with my 130 class sheds. I follow it up with some grunts. No bucks. At 11am I decide to do one more round and then climb down to try the creek bottom area. After I clash the antlers for round 3 I put them down and pick up my bow. Not more than 3 minutes later I see a nice high 9 point with nice mass come down off the ridge heading for the action I knew that if he gave me the chance I'd take him. He filtered through the grapevines in my direction looking everywhere for the other bucks. He stopped 25 yards out at the edge of the cover and was about to go back in when I took him. A double lung shot but he managed to make it about 150 yards before he piled up. A heck of a will to survive. That is the furthest any deer has ever run on me after taking a double lung hit.

He is a nice buck but not a monster. I am pleased just the same. It was a great hunt. I have never taken a deer by rattling before. He is my first. It is an exiting way to hunt. This was the 21st legal buck that came within shooting distance of my stand this year. I can now concentrate on getting my 12 year old daughter a buck on her first rifle buck season this December.It was a great day

Edited by IronBuck (12/11/03 06:10 AM)

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