I'll start this off. Been hunting every day of the season that I possibly could so far, including the crazy first two evenings of the season, when it was a sweltering 91 degrees. Most years I typically stay out of the woods for the first three weeks of October, but had no choice this year and had to hunt early. Reason being that I won't be able to hunt any of the November rut due to a sheep hunt I drew in Colorado. So really wasn't holding super high hopes for much whitetail success....but still you gotta try!

This is by far the earliest date in the season that I've ever been successful in tagging out. Took this buck over the weekend on an evening hunt. Was able to make a 30 yard shot and he made it about 75 yards on a dead run. The Grim Reaper head passed through both lungs. I'd seen this buck on trail cams, but almost always at night. The wind direction was good that afternoon, so I slipped in close to the area I suspected he was bedding and used a climber to get about 20 feet up in a silver maple. It was just very fortunate that he decided to get up and move past me, just a few minutes before sunset.

I wanted to see what he weighed this early in the season, so we brought him home whole and he scaled at 260# "live weight". He carries a symmetric 10-point frame, and has some nice brow tines and heavy bases. Had to wait for the next morning to get a few pictures in daylight. Credit to my wife for her picture-taking skills!