Monster Big Woods Bucks

In a previous post during the bear hunt last spring,I said Kenny Hargrove has large hands when I took a picture of one of the large bear tracks at one of our baits.In this post I've used Kenny again to illustrate just how big some of the bucks in our hunting area are. Kenny and I decided to check out a new cut by a local timber company in hopes of getting some good photos and video tape and we wern't disappointed.This new cut is approximately 5 Kms. from Pioneer Lodge. It's actually comprised of two cuts about 3Kms. apart. We knew there were some good bucks in the area,but we were quite suprised at both the numbers of deer and the amount of buck sign.We saw about 35-40 deer at the first cut and managed to get some good video of a very large buck.This guy didn't have his horns,but we new instantly what we were looking at just by the sheer size of this deer.Although this one deer stood out from the rest,we could tell from the tracks that there was at least two or three more bucks in this area that would dress out over 200 lbs. All the deer seemed to be in good shape so far this winter. We think the deer at this cut are coming from an area of about 4-5 Sq.Kms. When we went to the other cut about 3 kms.away,there was a whole new bunch of deer using that area,including another absolute brute of a deer.The photo on this post is one of this deers track.Deer of this size are in a league all of their own.Ken and I both agreed that this deer and one other were in the 250+lbs. class. Until you get up close and personal with one of these deer,you can't really appreciate their size. We are hoping the weather will remain moderate for the rest of the winter and if it does,we should have a terrific 2008 deer season.Any sports wanting to get in on some of this action,just call or e-mail and we'll set you up on the trail of one of these big NB bucks!

Kenny's Biggest Bucks

Kenny Hargrove has taken lots of bucks through the years. Of course,a lot of those deer were smaller ones such as spikers or four pointers,right up to small sixes and eight point basket racks.But he has also downed some really nice ones ,especially the last few years. These bucks shown in the photo were all really nice bucks. The one on the left weighed in at 268 lbs. dressed. The 12 pointer on the right was killed on the Hargrove Homestead about five hundred yards from the house! This buck was killed early in the first week of the season,with his face right in the apples. Ken and I both believe that the first week of the season is often as good as the last week for taking one of these big bucks.If you can get them coming to bait,they will come with consistancy before the rut kicks in and they aren't as spooky from increased activity in the woods. I guess what I'm really saying here is these big bucks can be taken just about any time,if you do your homework and set up properly for them. I will be posting a photo of my best bucks in the coming weeks,as well as Duane Hargrove's best bucks taken in the last four years. It is important to note that these bucks were all taken in the last five years,not back in the 1980's when eveyone seemed to be getting a big one.Our deer herd has grown steadily over the last five or six years and now we are starting to see the results of mild winters and good management on the part of the DNR.The kill this year was the highest in many years and so far this winter the herd in our zones are managing quite well,so this should bode well for the 2008 deer hunting season. If any sports would like to book a hunt for one of these big NB bucks,just e-mail me or give me a call,and we'll fix you right up! The last week of the 2008 deer hunt has been booked,but we have prime time slots left for any deer hunters who are serious about downing one of these monster NB bucks.

Hunting season is winding down.

By all accounts,it has been a pretty good hunting season this year. There were lots of ducks and geese to keep everyone who was out there into some good shooting.The moose hunt was a great success for most hunters lucky enough to draw a tag.There were several nice bulls shot in our area. The deer hunt this year was considered a great success for most hunters who participated.Although we took a couple of smaller bucks,a seven point and a nice little eight,we couldn't quite connect on those big one's we were chasing around the last week of the season. Kenny had a beautiful ten point buck with ivory tips on his horns walk out behind him and was gone before he could get the shot. Duane,from Fredericton,joined us on the last week to try to take a huge buck whose weight would be over 250 lbs. dressed. He was in the right place,but again, the big buck got by him and was gone before he could get the shot .It was right at dark and the light was very poor,so I guess he had a pretty good excuse. The rut was late again this year and a lot of the really big bucks survived another year simply because they wern't fevered up and travelling around very much. All the biggest bucks were just getting going good when the season ended.All our areas were showing heavy buck activity in the week after the season ended.This bodes well for next season as we were hunting about a dozen really big bucks that survived the hunting season. The photo for this post is from one of the areas we hunt that is known to hold bucks with a lot of mass . Kenney and Jamie were out for a rabbit hunt and managed to bag an even dozen as well as two grouse.The rabbit population is high this year,so it's not a problem to get a bunch of them. This is great fun and you don't need a dog because there are so many of them. So there are some good hunts to be had yet for those who still want to get out before we settle into some serious ice fishing on Grand Lake!