Moose Mountain Guide Service: 2015 deer season

The 2015 deer season was the best one yet that we have experienced at Moose Mountain Guide Service. We began our 2015 season in early spring with ordering seeds for the upcoming planting season. This year we tried many different varieties to hopefully get "one" the deer really liked. We had trouble with weeds, a lot of weeds, this growing season. (mostly wild mustard). The plots did not do as well as we would of liked, but the effort we put into pruning out apple trees and clearing brush around them paid off BIG time. So far we have found that clover and standing oats are what deer prefer in our area.

Dixie Crimson clover

We seen a record number of deer around our property throughout the year. We had all ages, from does with fawns to large old mature bucks.

We started to get pictures of one buck in particular that "caught" my attention. We nick-named him OLE GNARLY.

2014 picture of Ole Gnarly

2015 continuing to grow

He was a very "different" racked buck. With 4 pts on one side and 5 pts on the other. His left side had 2 main beams and one sticker type point.

He was a very impressive buck that had taken up a permanent residence on our farm.

The fall of 2015 came very quickly. I had purchased a bow earlier in the year and was very excited, to say the least, for the opening of bow season. I hunted every chance I could, even if it was only an hour sit after work. Finally I was in the right food plot when he showed up. I managed to stalk within 35 yards of him, but a doe that was feeding there also busted me. As soon as she blew he was on FULL alert. Four seconds later he was gone. I knew he did not know I was there and he only ran because of the doe, so I was not worried that he would be gone forever.
I decided to setup a ground blind near the food plot he was using on a regular basis. I had it setup and brushed it in pretty good, or so I thought. The next afternoon I was very anxious to sit in the new blind. After about 30 minutes of sitting Ole Gnarly walked up the path and into the food plot. Just like he was supposed to do. As soon as the ground blind came into his view he stopped on a dime and starred at it. He was starting to show he was getting very nervous about the whole situation that he had walked into. As he turned 180 degrees, I thought this is my chance. I picked up my bow and drew back as quickly and quietly as I could because he was less than 30 yards from me. In the process of drawing back, one of the limbs on my bow hit something in the blind. THWANG!!!!!! and with one very loud blow and one enormous jump he was history. Never to be seen in that food plot during daylight hours again. The trail cam caught him only one other time passing through at 2:30 A.M.

young buck enjoying an apple

Rifle season began and I had not seen Ole Gnarly since that dreadful bow hunting experience. I knew he was still in and around our farm checking "his" does. After seeing a few smaller bucks, and even passing on a respectable 8 point, I was not sure if I would ever see Ole Gnarly again. Which brings us to the morning of November 7. My wife and I had dropped the kids at Gram and Gramps and were going to hunt our lower farm. We walked in the half mile and came to the "secret" field, where we would split up and head each to our own stand locations. As we started to walk away from each other I turned back and asked my wife one last time if she wanted to go to my stand instead. She said " no, that she would prefer to watch the lower end of the field".
Within 25 feet of my stand I turned to my right to check the field edge one last time before climbing into the stand. I noticed there was a deer under the apple tree. I picked up my bino's and saw that it had a very respectable rack. I thought back on all the trail cam pictures we had under those apple trees and most of them where of Ole Gnarly very early in the morning or very late in the evening. He would never hang-out very long after daylight. I pulled up my muzzle loader and put the crosshairs on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger. Yes, I hunt mainly with a Thompson Center muzzle loader, and really like how it preforms. After the smoke cleared all was silent. After reloading I walked down to get my wife to help track the buck, and give him some time to expire. About 30 minutes later we started in after him. At first there was no blood at all, just tracks that told the story of how much that buck wanted OUT of that area. Finally one small spot of blood, then another and another. We found him about 40 yards inside the tree line. It was Ole Gnarly!!! My wife thought she may have to call 911 because I was so excited I may have a heart attack. Finally I was able to put my hands around, well on his antlers because they had so much mass my hands would not reach around them.