The official 2019 kennym lease thread NOW PICS

[Huntrdfk]

Nope, second trip Dave. Hope to keep it going in the coming years.

David

[GCook]

These kind of threads make TG for me.  Congratulations on all of the good hunting and kills.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[kennym]

I hope Steve posts his buck fight vid and Mike does pics of his deer!

The best part for me is meeting like minded folks !!

PS - still have a hunt open after gun season when the deer move in due to no pressure...

[David Flanrey]

That would be a great hunt Kenny. 

[Yellow Dog]

Finally caught up around home after returning from spending time with Kenny in Linneus last week. It’s been a race to get unpacked and do the fall cleanup at home prior to getting hammered by winter here in Michigan a month earlier than expected.

Rolled into Missouri Saturday evening. After hitting Walmart in Brookfield to buy our tags and provisions for the upcoming week it was on to the cabin. This was our 7th year hunting the lease and it’s always a pleasant surprise to see what updates the owner has done to the cabin in the previous year. What a great setup and it’s hardly recognizable from our first stay in September of 2013.

[Yellow Dog]

Kenny had contacted me the day before we made our drive from Michigan asking if we needed a couple of Honda four wheelers left at the cabin for us to use. With the snows of the week before, the two tracks to access the deeper tracts of the North and South farm were too wet for truck traffic.

What a leg saver, most of the North farm can be hunted by foot but to reach the western reaches of the South farm require a mile and a quarter hike. Not to sound like a softy, a hike of that length is no problem. Getting a deer out is a whole different story.

North farm

South farm

[Yellow Dog]

The weather report for the week of our hunt looked promising, dry with favorable and predictable winds. Cold weather was in the forecast but nothing out of the ordinary for that time of the year in Linneus.

I’d been there in January of 2014.......brutal to say the least.

[Yellow Dog]

Over the years this hunt has became a place where we can just relax and step out of the rat race for a week. The harvest is secondary to the experience and it’s such a great place to unwind. Nothing calms the nerves more than a Missouri sunrise.

[David Flanrey]

 

[Yellow Dog]

Through the years we’ve been able to make our way up to the number two slot to select a week to hunt the lease.

I can’t tell you how excited I was when the call came in the spring from Kenny and it was our turn to pick a week. The rut/pre-rut week was available. Didn’t take much thinking about that one other than making sure it fit everyone’s schedule.

It turned out to be perfect timing......big bucks cruising during daylight hours on the hunt for willing ladies. Not in lock down mode but just enough hot does to keep them on the prowl. The best time to be in the woods.

This guy was just chillin in the field, wind to his back and facing downwind on the lookout for any danger.  Not too concerned anyone was watching, he knew he could quickly get to safety if needed.

[Yellow Dog]

I spent the first couple of days hunting locations on both the North and South farm. I’d seen deer on all sits but nothing within shooting range. My companions both had “heart stoppers” in range but the angle or position didn’t produce a shot. We saw plenty of buck activity including this rub that Steve came across.

[Yellow Dog]

Tuesday morning found me in the #4 stand in the northwest corner of the South farm. With the stand facing north and the wind out of the northwest I was comfortable remaining undetected to a keen nose. About 8:00am I caught movement out of the corner of my eye about 50 yards southwest of me. Two deer, moving through cover too thick and far away to identify sex or size......

[Gator1]

This should be good

[Yellow Dog]

Their path was quickly taking them further from me and in a direction that would lead them straight downwind of my location. I did the only thing I could think of at the time, pull out my grunt call that’s been in my pocket on many memorable hunts since I bought it 25+ years ago. It’s been the undoing of many bucks over the years.

Three soft grunts and I saw a pair of legs through the brush immediately stop, change direction and start heading my way......

[Yellow Dog]

On a side note I’ve always been confident in my shooting but a mishap in the summer of 2018 involving a little dog and some clumsiness on my part took me out of the game for the entire 2018 season. I was sidelined by a broken wrist on my string hand complicated by a torn TFCC. It took me about six months to even get a bow drawn back and another three months to shoot with minimal pain. It still hurts but I’m working through it. Needless to say the layoff did nothing to help my proficiency or confidence and in the back of my mind I was painfully aware of that.

[Yellow Dog]

Based on that I made the decision doe or buck, if a shot I was comfortable with presented itself I was taking it. I had every reason to believe it was a buck due to its response to the grunt call.

As the deer continued in my direction and closed the distance I could finally identify him as a 1 1/2 year old buck. At 12 yards broadside I drew and released. The arrow struck him and he dropped in his tracks.

I lowered my bow and climbed down to put a second arrow in him. 12 yard shot, 8 yard recovery.

My 2019 Missouri buck.......

[Yellow Dog]

The Honda from Kenny and my Beavertail sled were just the ticket for the mile and a quarter ride to the truck.

[Yellow Dog]

If anybody can post some video shoot me a PM. Got some real good footage of a couple decent bucks tearing it up.

 

[Kopper1013]

Congratulations Michael! He’s a stud to me lol I’d be more than pleased with one like him right now

[David Flanrey]

Good shooting!