Every year I try to take off the week before MO gun season which is the 2nd Sat in Nov.  I am lucky and have several acreages I get to hunt. This is the best week to bowhunt in MO as the rut is in and the bucks are moving.  I hunt around Kirksville, Mo.  I blew out of work last Thurs at 11:45 and was at one of my spots by 3:00 p.m.  I had hunted up there the week before and seen 3 good bucks from the same stand. One was a GREAT 10 pointer that came head on to me after coming out of the brush behind me. I had to turn completely around as he came 15, 10, 7. No shot as he was head on. He stopped at 7 yds and turned. As I got to half draw he looked up at me and spooked a little, turning and walking away slowly. No good shot. A short time later a big old buck with a grizzled white face came in downwind. He had a big forkhorn type rack, I couldn't see his brow tines. He was an old buck that was going downhill. He turned and left the way he had come.  Later a nice high 8 pointer came in following a doe that had her lower right rear leg missing.  I had seen her during spring turkey season. She was skinny and gaunt. Her rib cage and back were messed up. Must have got hit by a car or something.

By 3:30 I was at one of the properties I hunt. It is a long wooded draw. I have had some good encounters here the last 2 years.  As I walked in I saw that it had been logged.  Big beautiful oaks had been dropped everywhere. What a bummer. I almost left but didn't have time to go anywhere else.  I got in a tree with my climber and 20 min later a spike and a little six pointer came in. No time for pics as they came in on the trot. The 6 busted me trying to get the camera but came back later RIGHT under my stand for a 2nd time. Well at least they are stilling traveling thu the area.

Here is a pic of the logging and a view from my tree stand. I will try to do some everyday.

Looks like a dandy place John. Good luck!

I don't know if I have enough pictures to drag this story out to long. Friday morning I had a six point at 5yds and the next day a medium 8 pointer came in on a different piece of ground. I was moving around hitting several properties. I had deer in good bow range everytime I went out. There was good sign.





The next morning was Saturday and I was going back to the property where I had the big ten point close.

Sat morning a small six came by.  He was limping and not putting any weight on his right rear foot. Must of been fighting I would guess.

About 6:50 am I see a good one coming. He stops about 50 yds away and works a scrape and a licking branch. Then he heads my way. This is going just the way I envisioned it when I picked out the tree for my climber.

He comes into my shooting lane, stops and looks the other way just like he read my playbook. I pick my spot, and cut loose. He breaks outta there like a possessed demon and I hear him crash for about 50 yds or so. Then it is silent and a few seconds later I hear some more brush breaking.

I can see most of my arrow on the ground.

IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y295/jkmolongbow/brokenarrow.jpg[/IMG]

It looks like my whole arrow but I can just see the back half. It looks like the front half is buried under some pine needles. Did I miss? No it must have been a pass thru but the feathers looks awful clean for that. The pic is deceiving because I picked it up before I took the pic and it fell apart. I will wait a half hour. The limping six pointer comes back by while I am waiting.

IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y295/jkmolongbow/brokenarrow.jpg[/IMG]

Oops! Caveman in a computer chip world

Oops again

After a half hour I get down and look for blood.  The front half of my arrow is gone. I slowly head the way he went and I see first blood.

Second blood.

I ease ahead a few more yards and............

Congrats on a great hunt and deer, love the pics too.          

I get to field dressing and find several inches of wood arrow and the WW  behind his heart in his lungs. I shot left some a drilled him thru the shoulder. The arrow got both lungs and the WW was in his lungs. I cut it out for reuse.

Here are some more pics. He is my best ever but I saw 3 others that were better than him on the same property. Have to wait for gun season to get over before I can bowhunt again.

Way to go....good shooting, John!!

Nice John!

Hey there's that smiling JKMO with a nice buck!
Congrats John, he's a dandy  

Reason to smile     Mac~

Reason to smile     Mac~

Way to go John!  

Very nicely done John!!