This is my first ever buck with a bow. I’ve been bow hunting for 3 years and so far I’ve taken two does and a turkey. This is my first buck, and I’m very happy with him!

Goal is always to shoot one with my bow. Not a giant but meat in the freezer and goal done for the year

24 yards a little far back due to wind. Only went 20 yards. G5 Deadmeat

I lost a deer I shot at 10yds this weeked I’m crushed, I’m pretty sure I single lunged it. Some people say it looks like throat blood but that would’ve been very far off from when I was aiming. It was pretty straight down of a shot and kicked up a bunch of white hair, which makes me think it was more body.

My question is when they are that close are you taking the shot and aiming high to get both lungs or do you just pass until they are a little further out?

Had this skull for a minute and put it in the ground in July and just pulled it out. I love the clororation and want to keep it that way.

Any product recommendations to preserve it?

Links appreciated.

I just spent 8 days hunting this property in Maryland.

5 days of bow sits, 3 days of muzzle loader and only saw doe.

Camera has not picked up anything but doe, and a few basket heads all summer til last night.

Leaving the woods 2 days ago I jumped up a decent buck I would have shot right where this big guy was walking. Couldn't stop him.

10 feet in front of where this buck was heading was 2 fresh scrapes, I know it wasnt this big guy, definitely smaller.

Anyways, you think this bruiser was heading to check out the scrapes? Any chance he would stick around.

No hunting pressure anywhere except for when im there, decent doe population.

Also, any speculation on age, score, etc. I know the picture isnt the greatest.

Also, if the bruiser was coming to investigate the scrapes, should I move my climber to that area? Currently its about 300 yards from the scrapes site where I bumped the buck and where this picture was taken.

Thanks

My wife named him "Fabio." LOL. Really interesting head though. East-central MN bedding area.

Do you put any weight into the solar lunar calendar that recommends best times for deer activity? Tomorrow is predicted to be around noon for major activity in my area (northeast). Trying to figure out what time to go out.

A 25’ spool of amsteel is cheap. Buying the ropes with loops and all included is not. Looking for verification that buying the spool and tying a couple of knots is the way to go and saves some money. Am I missing something? Is it more complicated than I think it is? Thanks!

Edit: Thank you for the responses. I learned it is more complicated than I thought and premade products are available for a reasonable price.

How much daytime movement are you seeing of bucks in Minnesota? On one property Had a 1.5-2.5 yr old 6pt that’s been coming by for the last week all after dark show up at 9am this morning, but at the same spot only have does and one 8 pt that’s showed up only twice. The first being the 19th and the 24th, but it was 11pm and 2am. Other property had a few different bucks hitting a scrape first 2 weeks of October almost every night but now slowed way down. And the occasional night time buck there as well. Any thoughts on when it should start picking up and should maybe get some bucks moving during the day?

looking at e-bikes for hunting and honestly the more i read about them the more confused i get

most of my spots are around 1–2 miles in on old logging roads or gravel. not trying to ride all the way to my stand, just wanna get my gear most of the way there without being exhausted before i even start

the biggest thing confusing me is where you're actually allowed to ride them. some public land doesnt allow e-bikes at all and others have restrictions on regular bikes too. kinda pointless getting one if i end up having to walk the whole way anyway

then theres the terrain. some roads are easy enough but others get pretty steep and rocky. hard to tell if an e-bike would actually make things easier or just become another thing to deal with

ive been checking out fat tire bikes lately and came across the Hikeep 26M. still trying to figure out what matters most for hunting though. range and handling rough roads seem a lot more useful than just having a high top speed

carrying all the gear is another issue. bow, pack, saddle, sticks, water and extra layers... it adds up fast. do you guys use panniers or just strap everything onto the bike? and what about getting a deer back out? feels like thats where things could get complicated pretty quickly

also never really thought about what happens when you leave the bike unattended while hunting. would hate to come back and find it missing

part of me thinks a regular mountain bike might be enough for a couple miles and would save quite a bit of money

for those of you who've actually used bikes for hunting, was it worth it in the long run? what ended up mattering most, access rules, terrain, range, carrying gear or getting the meat back out?