grandest animal you laid eyes on last year...

[Gdpolk]

A dove.

My grandfather went into a home for Alzheimer's and I inherited his 20g, his .22, his hunting knife, and a few other things. The following weekend I took papaws 20g squirrel hunting in remembrance of him but there were no squirrels to be seen. However there were lots of dove and my best friend said he hadn't ever eaten dove and asked if it was good to eat. So, we started dove hunting. As this was the first animal taken with a new to me family gun, it was a very special animal for me. I'll always remember it. I know it isn't an archery kill, but it brought back a ton of memories and getting to share that hunt and kill with my best friend made it a fantastic day in the field.

  Photo removed.  I appologize for posting a photo of a weapon other than trad bow.  Thanks for the heads up.

[dhermon85]

Thick chested, heavy horned whitetail. Probably had 8-10" brows. I was on the ground, he stayed across a fence a 20 yards through the trees. Think I'd call him an 'onion buck'.

[Wiley Coyote]

Had a good antelope buck come into a stand on the Spearhead ranch last September but he must have seen me move and within 10 seconds     was out of there!!  

[Friend]

[Brock]

On the PBS Georgia Hog Hunt in February....I was able to come within 15 yards of a legitimate 300# boar that is totally wild and living on very secluded island.  It was a standoff as he was slightly quarting towards me behind a tuff of river cane over his shoulder and vitals...and I was kneeling in pluff mud with a 40# pack on my back...longbow at hand with tension on the string...and breathing hard from adrenaline.  He turns and walkes straight away from me at a brisk walk....100yds to other side of clearing and proceeds on his way.  I track him for two more hours with no luck....    Come to find out from locals he is a bit of a legend....and has killed a couple catch dogs and they say he has 6" tusks.  Did not get close enough to measure but I do know he was at least twice as large as the one I shot last year at 168#.  A true, legitimate mature huge red furred boar...     Almost felt like seeing a Yeti.  Even without blood on the ground or pork in my freezer from him....to be that close to such a wiley and majestic animal that is the king of his domain....was an honor.

[twitchstick]

For me this year it was a bobcat that came within a yards of me. This bobcat is one of the biggest and best coloration of any have seen.

[katman]

My nemisis for 2 years, hopefully this will be the year. A real good one for coastal SC.
 

[Homebru]

A Colorado Shiras Moose at 35 yards in September.  No tag.  Mature bull after dark.  I could only see him as a head on silhouette.  He decided I wasn't worth his time and sauntered off to my left and beyond, croaking with every step.
homebru

[PeteA]

Southern Zone NY, bow only suburb 50 miles outside NYC public land. I had a very nice 10 pointer walk right to me. His basketball hoop rack stuck out beyond his extended ears. I first saw him at 80+ yards out from my natural ground blind, a fallen dead pine crossing a rock wall.  He changed direction and walked to within 40 yards broadside and checked the wind. He then proceed to walk directly to me as if he was on a string with not so much as a sapling in between us. He stopped at 3 yards and crossed behind a large tree. I shifted my butt on my Torges seat for a possible shot and he turned inside out. I was eating a PB and honey sandwich at the time
I first saw him. Threw it to the ground to get my draw hand on the string. To this day I am totally convinced he smelled and was attracted to the peanut butter.

[chinook907]

Probably this guy. A 10'+ brown bear with a 28 1/2" skull.
 
He got hit by an SUV and I think he made it further than the then destroyed SUV did. What a waste.
I bumped a big one in the brush at the headwaters of the same drainage a few years ago and I have to
wonder if its the same bear.

Pics aren't great as it was wet all around and I was only wearing sneaks.
.
 
.
Check out the length of the right front leg and claws at the end of it, relative to the guy in blue.

 

[Tree Killer]

After applying...unsuccessfully for 42 years for an Oregon bighorn sheep tag, I went up to northeast Oregon in December and got to shoot some bighorns with with my camera. This fella was pretty special....

 

[CoachBGriff]

I shared a bit earlier this year about a mature buck that came crashing into rattling horns.  He came bounding across the crest of a hill, but as soon as he laid eyes on my decoy, he locked up - at about 35 yards, quartering to.  He then preceded to carry on a staring contest with my decoy for a couple of minutes.  

Finally, he had enough and went trotting away.

[Homey88]

I saw a typical 10pt whitetail on the farm that I hunt. He was a perfect 10pt with white antlers. Hopefully  he made it through the winter. He should be a bruiser next year.

[fnshtr]

While I seen some decent WV whitetailed bucks... the grandest animal would have to be the 6x elk that I bugled in for my son.

He was tall and wide... but a little thin up top. When he bugled from 50 yards away... it felt like he made the trees sway!

Losing weight and getting ready for September 2015

[Amberjack]

No question.  This guy.  Like a Clydesdale with antlers he ambled across my property just before Christmas - taking his time.  My first clue was when my lab squeaked out a 'dad, help!!!' bark.  After putting the dog inside I took this picture through my binoculars.

 

AJ

[Whitetail Addict]

I thought I was coming down with a cold a couple days before our deer season opened last year. On opening day, I didn't feel right and had a little cough. I hunted with a cough drop in my mouth every minute and didn't see a thing. By the second day I had a fever and my cough was getting to the point that it was gonna make hunting tough. I didn't hunt that morning, but I tanked up on cold medicine and went out and sat in one of my brush blinds at 1:00 that afternoon and tried not to cough. Just before dark, I had a yearling doe come through. I made a judgement call, and shot her. It turned out that I made a good choice. I ended up with a case of pneumonia that took three courses of different antibiotics and most of the season to get rid of. So... That was the grandest animal I saw last year. Great pictures and stories, thanks.

Bob

[Claym]

Awesome pic Tree killer!    

Mine was a grey fox. I had him at 10yds right in front of me but could not shoot him because the landowner had told us not to shoot his foxes!

I've seen a few over the years, but never had one in shooting range before.

Bisch

[mangonboat]

Bob, sorry that you were sick through the season..there was some nasty stuff going around last fall. But your post reminded me that maybe the best answer is that the grandest animal I saw last season is the one whose body feeds my family this winter, and you certainly got that one.

[Owlgrowler]

I saw 2 125ish bucks, both within range, no shot. Pretty grand for NJ. But the grandest time I had last fall, and they're all pretty grand anymore, was the evening I stood on a small wildtrout stream and watched a mink trolling for browns.