Iowa “22” late muzzloader

[Eastforkmarine]

Evening report,,,, suck , was like a day in 8r at home. 4 yotes , which obviously was our problem 6 long beards one doe .. two bald eagles.. la la la la la …. Great wind for blind where I killed Wednesday so we are headed in early for another day sit .. I Gota give perks to this 22 year old young lady ,,, she has sat all day every day on this trip .. great bonding time together couldn’t ask for a better Christmas,, well maybe a Christmas buck for My kid.. Merry Christmas all you guys much love Tommy B 

[whaler1]

Tough for sure. Brutal conditions and you guys have had a ball. 
That is what it’s all about. Great stuff. 

[sherman brown]

On 12/21/2022 at 10:50 AM, Eastforkmarine said:

Day 3 ,6 degrees light snow and SE breeze at 10-15 ,multiple doe at first light two small bucks sparing and one possible good one I only had in the scope for a few seconds.. we may hunker down in hotel tomorrow and Friday calling for -5-15 for highs and wind chills of -45-55 with blizzard like winds ..then hunt sat and Sunday. What better way to celebrate Christmas ,in the woods of Iowa ? I can’t think of any better.. I dare anybody reading this thread to argue that point.. 

I wouldn't even try to out your hunt or experiences on your hunt. but I just wanted to say always be prepared. I went ice fishing one day when the temp was around 20 with no wind so I dressed accordingly. after some time, the wind got nasty. then a short time later I got cold but hung on as long as I could as the crappie fishing was hot. it was a very long walk back to my truck. by the time I got to it I could hardly move I was so cold. fired the truck up and just set there waiting to warm up a bit before going home. turned the radio on and they said the temps had dropped to -17 with 20 to 25 mph winds. I wasn't even close to being dressed for that weather. after that I always checked the forecast before going out. but I had just started ice fishing way back in the late 70,s learned my lesson the hard way.

 

and I need to say I'm sorry for getting off track and high jacking your thread, but no harm intended. loved the buck and all of your story. because I am a deer hunter that can only dream about a hunt like yours. I don't ice fish anymore but still hunt our ML season. started deer hunting back in 1980 and hunted gun bow and ML seasons for many yrs. but now at 71 I only hunt with my ML. I still love deer hunting but don't know for how much longer.

[Eastforkmarine]

58 minutes ago, sherman brown said:

I wouldn't even try to out your hunt or experiences on your hunt. but I just wanted to say always be prepared. I went ice fishing one day when the temp was around 20 with no wind so I dressed accordingly. after some time, the wind got nasty. then a short time later I got cold but hung on as long as I could as the crappie fishing was hot. it was a very long walk back to my truck. by the time I got to it I could hardly move I was so cold. fired the truck up and just set there waiting to warm up a bit before going home. turned the radio on and they said the temps had dropped to -17 with 20 to 25 mph winds. I wasn't even close to being dressed for that weather. after that I always checked the forecast before going out. but I had just started ice fishing way back in the late 70,s learned my lesson the hard way.

 

and I need to say I'm sorry for getting off track and high jacking your thread, but no harm intended. loved the buck and all of your story. because I am a deer hunter that can only dream about a hunt like yours. I don't ice fish anymore but still hunt our ML season. started deer hunting back in 1980 and hunted gun bow and ML seasons for many yrs. but now at 71 I only hunt with my ML. I still love deer hunting but don't know for how much longer.

Merry Christmas sir !!! Yes Mother Nature is a bioch.. 

[Eastforkmarine]

Merry Christmas guys again ! Hoping for a Christmas miracle today.  Warm spell -3 with sw calm wind 5-10 , supposed to hit 20 today. It’s amazing how much warmer-3 feels rather than -13 , last day for us is this beautiful country side . Keep you posted. 

[whaler1]

Good luck guys!!

[sherman brown]

2 hours ago, Eastforkmarine said:

Merry Christmas guys again ! Hoping for a Christmas miracle today.  Warm spell -3 with sw calm wind 5-10 , supposed to hit 20 today. It’s amazing how much warmer-3 feels rather than -13 , last day for us is this beautiful country side . Keep you posted. 

hey buddy i will be wishing you nothing but good luck today in getting the trophy of your dreams. stay warm and shoot straight.

[Eastforkmarine]

BBD!!! 

[whaler1]

No way!

[Tomb]

What a perfect Xmas present..  can’t wait to see a very well deserved buck!!

[reeleyz]

At the 11th hour too!

[Eastforkmarine]

Gota give it to this kid she ground it out in brutal conditions.. all week minus Thursday. Had two other missed opportunities today both on other good bucks, too much of a story I’ll update you guys later on or tomorrow on our way home we Gota cape him out and debone him in the barn !!!!! Merry Christmas!!! We are blessed… 

[whaler1]

Absolutely incredible. Beyond blessed. 
No words. 

[rod hog]

great buck cant wait for the story

[Legacy]

AWESOME

 

[fishshack]

Wow!!!!  Beautiful buck.   Congrats 

[Smat64]

Thats awesome. What a vacation. Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas. 

[sherman brown]

2 hours ago, Eastforkmarine said:

Gota give it to this kid she ground it out in brutal conditions.. all week minus Thursday. Had two other missed opportunities today both on other good bucks, too much of a story I’ll update you guys later on or tomorrow on our way home we Gota cape him out and debone him in the barn !!!!! Merry Christmas!!! We are blessed… 

she did the work and deserved to be blessed with a buck of a lifetime and on Christmas day. we should all get Christmas presents like that from the hunting gods. but the big God made sure it would happen for her. congrats on her buck and KUDOS to dad for getting her out there. I am really just speechless at the quality of her trophy buck. I do want to hear about what led up to her shot and what type of shot she had to make. because it looks like a perfect hit right in the boiler maker.

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Great thread and amazing ending for a father and daughter! Congrats to you and Mal !

[GAMBLER]

Congrats Mallory!  Awesome trip for both of you!  

[Gator]

Putting in the time and keeping the faith! That's how you move mountains. She's probably still riding a high this morning. Great first buck, and worth waiting for. Does she want a mount or a Euro? Given my choice, I prefer Euros, but I am known to be a cheap date.

[Spacecb]

Congrats Tom and Mallory on and Great trip and trophy buck. I had no doubt that one or both of you would score. Lookin forward to hearing about your hunts. Tom your seasoned for a long winter on 12+ inches of hard water. Think cold!! I would lean towards a euro but I'm partial to them. Free euro for the lucky lady if interested.

[Reel Doc]

Have enjoyed every post on this thread.  Congratulations on a great trip and to both of you for getting it done!!

[Eastforkmarine]

Hey guy!! Thank you for all the comments and support, she is still on cloud nine ..she’s driving now I just did 11 hrs behind the wheel.. where do I start ,,, Christmas morning last day . Emotions were all over the place, apparently she was praying all night for a chance . Well we got into blind early it’s was a Crispy-5 and would eventually warm up to 11 which felt like heaven, at 0730 looking behind her through icy blind windows she says doe … here comes 8 walked within 10 yards , heater going and dead down wind of us , they would eventually wind us and move up to the top of the draw we sat in the bottom of . Ten minutes later a beautiful 8 wide ,heavy 125-130 ish 3 yr old comes directly in the same path as doe ,, ff dad a buck !!!!!! He’s ten yards, I turn open window he’s staring directly into my soul don’t move I whisper, he gets cagey start to trot up draw I open window all the way ,say, get on him , she does but he stops looks back all she can see is his head and butt. He trots out of our lives , as you can imagine she’s crushed that was my only shot it’s over , never heard my daughter swear that much ever, that’s all I wanted for Christmas, let’s just quit, all that time, what a joke I am , I guess I can’t kill a good buck , you would have smoked him,,, it went on for an hr. After I calmed her down and got her back in the game , her comes a small 6 she passes, next another group of doe, another high 4 point she passes on , it starts to snow I tell her their going to motivate now , just as I say that here comes a real nice 6 point heavy horns long beams I told her shoot him if she wants he’s coming in from up wind perfect , she is on him and whispering to me to stop him , I never heard her so she attempts a grunt ,,, it sounded like a rabbit getting choked out ?? Scared the crap out of the buck he bolted , she turned to me and as you can imagine oh boy , had to listen to all that again,, we are just increasing chances today that’s all ,putting your time in , it will happen,,, then another group of doe come in down wind and bed for an hr after watching them they finally got up and all paraded by the blind at 20 yards we saw so many we lost count, then at 4 she’s see another deer coming out of the cedars after everyone else did , I can’t see this deer yet ,, it’s 40 yards out and up wind coming right in she’s on him I finally see him from behind a tree ! I say to her kill this one , looking directly over her right down her gun barrel I let out a soft grunt he stopped BANG !!! We watched him wobble away and go down!!!! She was buck blind , didn’t know if she hit him , did he go down? I don’t remember aiming, I said good that’s USUALLY the best shot!! It was . We had to cape him out debone him in the barn I wanted to do a full shoulder on Her first buck and you can’t bring brain matter or spinal cord out of state into NY .  My bucket list is definitely not just a sip from Iowa it’s going to be a yearly trip now , it a special place I suggest anyone reading this thread, to go while you still can , life is so short. It’s something I’ve never experienced, and to see it With Mallory made the trip . Thank you all for the inspiration along the way and happy to have shared this experience. Much love Tom and Mall 

[whaler1]

The absolute best!  Couldn’t be happier for you guys. What a difference a few years makes.  Truly blessed.