A 100 Year Old Man

[Barry Wensel]

Aw man.. so now you guys are looking over my shoulder? So if I miss I can't lie about it? Yesterday morning all I saw was a doe and fawn but I did see a bobcat. In fact I saw two bobs yesterday. When I first got up I saw something sitting in my driveway. I put the binocs on it and it was a bobcat just sitting there. I think he was on stand using the help of the yardlight for mice. I tried hunting yesterday afternoon but aborted after only a half hour with winds blowing in four directions. I got up this morning at 4:30 and the winds were howling. They said gusts to 40 MPH decreasing to 30 MPH later in the day. Wrong answer.. went back to bed. BW

[jonsimoneau]

Great couple of days in the deer woods. Excellent story.

[wckid2]

I really like to hunt whitetails and always like to harvest as well. Ive taken some big deer and not so big deer. Im always exicted about the harvest. I dont hunt deer just to kill. Ive always felt some sadness when I walk up to a deer that I harvest. I hope that I always have that feeling.

[knobby]

Great stuff Barry,especially the "Old Man" part of the story.  I like the phrase "let him pick his final bed". Very fitting. And to see him later watching you is neat. Like you wondered, how many times has that happened?
 If you'd filled your tag with him, look at what you would have been missing with those other bucks. Good luck with the rest of the season, and may it be the best of the season.
 Thanks for sharing your adventures!

[Dave Bulla]

Cool stories.  Still looking forward to some pic's of the ol' boy.

By the way Gene and Barry, whatever happened to Tyrone the melanistic buck?

[horseapple]

unbeleivable that this has 11 pages associated with it. great read

[Barry Wensel]

Jon Simoneau offered to walk me through the process of downloading the video footage to the computer but I'm half afraid I'm going to screw something up and erase it. Watching him slowly walk off still chokes me up. Gene sent me a trail camera photo of another really old looking buck he saw this year. Pretty impressive stuff. bw

[Cyclic-Rivers]

UB, glad your health has improved and you are in the woods again.

This Thread has my full attention.  Good luck tomorrow!

[Tsalt]

Originally posted by Barry Wensel:
He wasn't really running and I was totally confident in the shot. I'm usually very good at those shots. Unfortunately it was not meant to be. No excuses. I simply shot just below his heart missing him clean. Right about then I said to myself "Golly gee, gosh darn, son of a gun, dag nab it".. or something like that. I'll tell you one thing, when I was in my prime I bet I would have got him. I'll be right back... it gets better. BW

UB (I feel like I should call you Mr. Wensel), this makes me laugh out loud... Just like your videos I've watched so many times.  Hunting October whitetails is my all time favorite!!  And because of that video, we all know you can make those running shots like nobody's business!  I think you're still in your prime, there is just a bigger buck out there with your name on it.

[b.glass]

Have you seen the picture titled "The Old Warrior"?

The buck in this picture has a huge rack but his G1 and G2 are broken off clear down to the main beam, he has a drop tine on his left side with a broadhead sticking out of it, a tear and a bullet hole in his left ear, he's blind in his right eye with a long scar above and below his eye, he has a scratch on his nose that is bleeding, a scratch on his chest and barbed wire tangled aroung his antlers.

Love that picture.

[Dave Bulla]

Got me curious so I googled "the old warrior" and found it pretty easily.

Here's a link.

 http://country-art.com/ca/the_old_warrior.htm

[Follower]

What a fun thread to follow along and laugh, dream and ponder.  Keep the updates coming thoughout the rest of the season Barry.

[vtmtnman]

Shows that hunting is more than killing something.Good story Barry.

[Tdog]

Brother you did the right thing..Would love to see the footage..The connection we have with the whitetail can not be put into words..Well maybe one word..Respect..Hats off to you...

[Steve O]

Gene asked me to post a few "100 year old man" pics here, so I will post the pic and the text he sent along with it...stand by.

[Steve O]

"I can't say for sure how old this old this one is but he is not in good shape. Looks like he broke both of his front legs at the knees when he apparently got caught in a fence or maybe hit by a vehicle. I always marvel at how tough these critters are and how much pain he must have endured while trying to eat enough to stay alive and avoid coyotes for several months while his knees healed up. Amazing animals! This is yet another buck I've never laid eyes on. He's still out there."

Gene Wensel

[Steve O]

"This old boy has never been seen by me. I know he is still out there."

Gene Wensel

[Steve O]

"This old man walked by me at less than 20 feet on November 4th. I let him pass undisturbed."

Gene Wensel

[Steve O]

"This old warrior was killed two years after this photo was taken. His teeth determined he was 13 1/2 years old so he was 11 1/2 in this photo."

Gene Wensel

[Tdog]

Boy if that photo doesn't look right through you..That were respect comes in...