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White Oak Hunting Report
Tag along on some of our exciting hunts

Bobs Elk

The morning was foggy and cool, the perfect weather for Elk hunting. Bob was going after a big 6x6 bull, he had seen him earlier in the summer on a tour of the property. When the bull busted up out of the hollow it was decided then and there he would be hunting THAT bull. Although the other bulls seen that day were all trophies, that was the one Bob hoped to tag.

Bob, his Father Gary and a few good friends along with myself got in my camouflaged F-350 Crew Cab and we drove to the east end of the Pinnacle Flat. It was still rather dark in the woods; the sun wasn’t penetrating through the heavy foliage very much. It was a little misty, dead calm, no wind, maybe 70 degrees. It was quit walking conditions and the perfect morning for hunting. Bob, Gary and myself lead the way, the boys hung back 150 yards as we still hunted our way south. I expected to find the bulls in the low country, but the acorns were starting to fall so we were going to hunt our way down. We hadn’t gone too far when a bull was spotted on a narrow bench below us. He had already spotted us, we froze and glassed him. Bob asked if he was the one he was after. I replied I didn’t know. He was a good bull for sure, but he was going to have to turn his head for me to see his G-5’s and main beams to be sure. After a fe seconds, he bolted and ran down a ridge. I still wasn’t sure, but he had a great point length and mass, plus a good spread. We crossed over the ridge and saw him standing down the ridge looking back. Not seeing many people about, curiosity got the best of him I suppose. We closed to less then a hundred yards and when he turned his head, I felt it was him but he was a great bull even if he was the wrong bull. I told Bob we should continue to look for more bulls. I wanted him to see all the bulls before he took a shot. Bob told me he wanted this bull, right now. So we got a rest and waited for the bull to move one step to the left. The smoke poured from the 50 caliber muzzleloader. Although I told Bob to reload quickly, the 2nd shot was not needed. Bob did indeed get his bull; a big 6x6 with fantastic mass and points and maybe the most perfect mirror image symmetry I have ever seen on an Elk. When you could get up close and put your hands on him, what a super animal! Bob asked me to mount his trophy in the graceful semi sneak position that will really showcase that symmetry.

While Bob and myself were admiring the bull, Gary and the boys arrived on the scene. A lot of back slapping and hand shaking and congratulations were in order. Now that’s the perfect morning!

Garys Fallow Deer

It was early evening and Gary and myself were in the 2nd story of an A-Frame cabin watching over a big flat with scattered walnut trees. Gary had asked me to guide him for a chocolate Fallow buck, or maybe a spotted (if he was real big). It was very dry and the leaves were noisy. I felt the odds of slipping up on one were not very good. We opted to hunt “Texas Style” out of the A-Frame. The cabin had dormers and windows on all four sides, so we got comfortable and waited for evening to settle in, and hope a good buck would show himself.

It was very slow so Gary and I passed the time talking quietly. Gary kept a keen eye on the flat to the north. I periodically checked the west and east windows. While looking east, glassing some distant fields down over the hill about 250 yards, I noticed a deer in the brush only 50 yards from the cabin. He was watching the same meadow that I was watching. He moved his head, he looked huge. I slipped over and whispered to Gary that there was a potential shooter only 50 yards away. I got the glasses on him and was disappointed to find that one antler was huge and the other only 60% to 70% as large. It was too uneven in my opinion to be a shooter. Gary glassed him and sat quietly waiting for me to say something. I told him I felt we should pass this buck. I was confident we would get a better buck.

After several minutes passed, Gary asked if the buck was still there. I went and looked out the window and noticed the buck hadn’t moved. He was patiently surveying the open ground below him. Gary said he could quitly move to the window and take a shot. I said we would hold off because we had two more days to hunt. Several minutes later, Gary told me he had hunted five other preserves from New York to Missouri. He had seen and harvested other Fallow deer and yet this was the biggest live Fallow deer he had ever seen – and I wouldn’t let him shoot it. He asked if I was very sure we should pass this buck up. I said we will get you a bigger buck, he said OK. We saw a few other bucks but nothing worth harvesting until just before last light.

We saw another buck about 175 yards out, he was a white buck looking at the cabin. He was very big, the wrong color, but very big. After about 10 seconds he bolted and was gone. I don’t have a clue what tipped him off. We headed in to the lodge and had a great supper, and later spent hours swapping hunting stories. While we were hunting Fallow, Rob Randy, Don and Bobby were hunting Boar. They all were successful, but very tired – turns out the Boar were very good at running and hiding. Good guides and good clients with perseverance finally put 4 good Boar in the walk –in cooler!

The next day, the Fallow deer were tough as usual. We still hunted the big timber, figuring the wind put the acorns on the ground and they would be there. We did see a few good bucks, but by the time I could glass them and decide they were shooters, we would be busted. We started to make some finesse drives; low key pushes that deliver deer to certain areas, hopefully slow enough for a rifle shot.

Bob made several pushes. He did very well despite never having hunted the property before. A few drives produced some very good bucks. We never had an opportunity to take a shot, but we were finally starting to see them. Finally I called back to the lodge and had some reinforcements come out to help. With more people driving, the deer had a tougher time getting back through the drivers. Some still did, but finally just before dark on the 2nd day, several shooters crossed through Elm Meadow.

I am glassing fast and hard. Gary and I had already talked about making sure we both had the same line of sight and same size perspective. When we would count, we would both start at the same place. After the 6th buck, there was a good spotted Fallow deer, but just as quick as he entered the opening, he disappeared in the brush. Several bucks back I noticed a huge white buck. I was sure it was the buck we saw 24 hours earlier. I told Gary to get the 2nd white buck in that group. I said he is the wrong color but the right size – if you like him, take him. Gary dropped him at about 180 yards.

Gary came for a chocolate, maybe a big spot, but he left with a white. This buck was the biggest live Fallow deer Gary had ever seen. This time I told him to take him.

Friends, Boars and Goats

We had a good friend and client return to hunt with us again. Paul from Maine brought his father (Sonny) this time. Sonny had never hunted on a preserve before. He had heard Paul’s stories for years so he thought he would spend some time with his son and give it a try.

The morning started out with the clients double checking their bow and rifle on the ranges – some minor adjustments and both were “dead on”.

We decided to hunt Barbarossa first. Paul wanted to harvest a good one with his bow. Floyd was his guide on this day. I wasn’t along, but the story was that it was a tough hunt which required drivers, a lot of work and a couple of arrows later they had a big Ram down. By lunch time it turns out that as one of the arrows was released, the Ram turned his head, the arrow hit the horn, didn’t hurt the horn or the Ram, but scratch one arrow. I rode Paul hard about looking at the ribs, not the horns. The Ram was a beauty – had a good coat, complete with a bumper crop of burrs – I will remove them when I mount it for Paul. The horns were massive, very heavy all the way to the tip and each horn was 42” long! 84” of horn on that ram, wow! That’s about when I caught up to them. I got to admire the trophy as we loaded him on the 4 wheeler to head to the cooler.

It was hot already so we make sure the harvested game is immediately cared for. That is a must for meat so it doesn’t have that “gamey” taste which is in my opinion not a taste that game animals have naturally. It is the lack of quick field dressing, skinning and refrigeration. The retention of body heat for even a short period of time will ruin the taste of any good game meat. As Sonny later commented on the great health and condition of all the animals he saw while on the hunt, the health condition is a major factor in the great meat quality of these animals as well.

Sonny’s objective was to have a good hunt with his single shot rifle and go for a smaller Boar or Sow. He did not want a mount, just pictures and some good eating. We were going to stay off the bigger animals and try to get a shot on a 100 to 150 pounder.

I was staying with Sonny to help him, Floyd and Paul was on recon. We spent a lot of time looking with poor results. We found a big red Sow bedded down. I slipped in and out without disturbing her. Because we didn’t want a big animal like this Sow, I like to leave them alone so she doesn’t get in the way later. It took a long time to find some Boar. The cover in the Boar area is very heavy and it’s hard to locate Boar if they hold tight as these were, and then they disappear quietly, leaving us to start all over again.

By this time, Danny and Robert were involved in helping to cover more ground. Eventually a different herd of about 6 to 8 animals were jumped. Sonny and I found ourselves in some chest high brush making a stalk. We kept getting closer. We couldn’t see anything but an occasional top of a hump or an ear. We would see the brush and weeds moving around the animals as we came in closer as they busted us and ran out.

Eventually someone would push them back and we would have the same problem. The few open shots we had were only open for a few seconds at a time and Sonny could not get on them. After about an hour, some of the Boar were getting aggressive. We saw Robert get attacked and one big Boar got way too close for comfort for us. We had nothing to climb in our area. After the Boar ran off, I told Sonny to follow me. We were getting in a stand before one got us. After we were safe in one of our big Oak stands, I felt a lot better.

I broke branches off a nearby tree to give us an open shot to the base of the bluff. We eventually got a shot and Sonny shot right over a Boar. It was then I noticed Sonny’s scope was set on 9 power, way too high for the cover we were in. I turned it to 3 power and told Sonny to relax because that was the reason he was not able to pick them out of the brush. I said the next Boar through that area was a dead Boar. It took about 5 more drives but the next Boar (a nice 100 lb Russian) ran across a stream and hesitated a second. Sonny dropped him on the spot!

By then it was very hot and we were very late for lunch. We got some quick pictures and while Danny and Floyd field dressed the Boar, I drove the clients back to the lodge for lunch. Then we went back and got the Boar and the boys and head back to the lodge. It was a very exciting hunt and I believe Sunny is hooked. He wants to get a Corsican Ram on his next hunt!

I immediately went out to help the boys on a Fallow deer hunt (that’s another story) and didn’t get back until dark. It was then I had a little time to spend with Paul and Sonny. They had time to get a shower, have a couple cold ones and rest up. Paul asked me about a silver Spanish Goat that was in the Boar area. I told him he was a beautiful animal but very smart and fast. He asked if we would get on him first thing in the morning. I said we would give it a try. He asked if he could bow hunt him and I said no, then I said I felt we know right where he would be and if we didn’t have a bow we would have a bow shot. So here was the plan. Paul would carry his bow and would have an opportunity. Floyed (his guide) would carry the rifle. As soon as the goat bolted, throw down the bow and get after him with the rifle. If he gets out of sight we didn’t know if we would find him again.

Paul did a lot of hunting in that same area on Saturday and never saw the goat. It was other clients that saw him and were talking about how big and attractive he was – that’s what got Paul’s interest. Paul checked his rifle before breakfast on Sunday and it was still on. Around here we take accuracy real seriously. Sometimes we only get one chance.

After breakfast, Floyd and Paul took off. The goat was found bedded at the top of Coats holler, right where we expected. The goat stood up and hesitated for a second. Paul released the arrow and hit him in the horn. I think the goat was spinning to run out of the hollow. Paul is a very good shot and a serious hunter, but I still razzed him pretty hard. After a chase over 2 or 3 ridges, Paul brought it down with one shot from his 243 rifle. The goat had a beautiful coat of hair, a nice beard and long horns. Paul said mount him life size. It is great to see the admiration and respect our clients have for these amazing animals. When you see the amounts of money they are willing to spend to mount these animals life sized, to preserve such a beautiful animal for everyone else to enjoy!

Paul, like so many of our clients, have become good friends. We are planning to go to Maine and hunt Black Bear with Paul next fall. A lot of people think I have the greatest job in the world. I would have to agree. I take it very seriously and I love it!

White Oak Exotic Hunting Preserve Inc.
58488 Nighthawk Rd.
Salesville, Ohio 43778
(740) 685-6063