8 1/2-Year-Old New Hampshire Monarch | Sea Bucks

S1.E15. Brett Joy still hasn't filled his New Hampshire deer tag. He hopes to change that, and decides to hold out for one buck -- Straw Man. He hunts hard, and finally, connects on the 8 1/2-year-old giant after tracking it in the snow all day.
0:45 A snowstorm hits New England and Brett Joy hopes to fill his tag on a big northeastern buck.
1:15 The temperature is in the mid 30s. Joy hunts in a rain and snow mix, but doesn't see much.
4:00 The deer movement is slow, but the guys are still trying to get a crack at a buck they call "Straw Man."
6:00 A good buck steps out, but it isn't the deer Joy wants. It walks on by unscathed.
7:30 The sun rises on a new day, and Joy continues his quest for a big deer.
9:00 Days continue to pass by, and it gets harder and harder to stay optimistic. Long, grueling hunts test the strongest patience.
10:00 Joy decides to check some trail cameras and see if there might be better deer activity elsewhere.
11:45 He decides not to hunt the afternoon, and instead, scouts and does some trail camera work.
13:30 By now, it's early December. Joy decides not to hunt in a treestand. He's tracking and still-hunting.
15:00 They take the snowmobile part of the way to their destination. Then, they begin looking for tracks. They find some, and begin following them.
16:30 The track they're following passes by a camera. They check it to see if their target deer is the one they are following. Incredibly, it is.
20:15 They find another of the buck's beds. They know it's closeby.
23:00 He finally lays his hands on the giant New Hampshire buck that he's been hunting since 2016.
26:00 Several miles back in the timber, they finally call for reinforcements.
27:00 The next morning, they take the deer to a check-in station. Joy's son tags along for the post-hunt camaraderie.

[@lanyoutdoors]

I love this New England series. I’m hoping to capture my first self film white tail hunt this year up in Maine. Hoping to get it done.

[@afk9handler]

High fence hunt

[@kevinamack6]

You earned that one. The rewards in life are always greater the harder we work. Congrats.

[@charliehay1520]

You are exactly right...we live in a I want it now and I'll have yours and mine society... No one wants to work for it...and unfortunately they will never know the blessing and gratification of working hard and achieving your goals

[@jpfishing95]

Amazing story. Hunting in a place like that for a deer of that caliber is like shooting a 180 in Florida. , but as a good hunter will always find, the journey was way better than the destination when you respect them like we do. The woods will be empty without your monarch, and the thought of him you had before his death, dreaming about a cold november morning the snow crunching and the anticipation rising, just that mysterious aura, the unknown, imagining what he would look like for all those 4 years, will be burned in your brain long after he's gone. I pity the hunters that don't feel the way we feel about these particular bucks we target, they'll never understand the chase for one particular animal and the bond it brings and how many days I've sat in a tree, we are far apart but right beside each other in our minds and passion for hunting mature deer. Awesome guys, awesome buck, awesome footage, and a awesone story. I don't comment on KZbin but this was fantastic.

[@matthewbeers7746]

21:45 if you know, then you know. Only a hunter could empathize with that feeling. Well done boys! Great hunt!

[@michaelc4990]

Awesome rack. How can anyone give that a thumbs down smh 🤦‍♂️

[@809FILMS]

congrats guys! I can't wait for Maine opener this season. I've been watching a buck for four year now we call him "big six" he was a tall six point at 1 1/2 . every year he grows an insane amount last winter I found his sheds> 14 inch g2s brows were 11 inches. I believe hell be a slammer this season best of luck this season!

[@markkimball1569]

Just wanted to say nice to see your family! I have a daughter who lives to hunt Turkey 🦃 and predators 🦌 I hopefully can get her out there for myself and my time bonding time with her!! Cherished everyday.

[@GarrettLaPolt]

Just listened to the THP podcast the other day and it turned me to the channel. The story on this buck had me extremely excited to see the video and it didn’t disappoint, congrats on an absolute stud! And have fun in the chase of getting on another.

[@burkage32burke83]

Welcome to New England hunting. Not always get a chance at a deer hardest places to hunt.

[@brandoncarey2329]

Lmao. Your not even wearing any wool or carrying a model 94 with open sights!!

[@-lovefromnh]

I have one. Although I do have a side mounted scope.

[@LillyLegacyWWOD]

Hahahaha I’m laughing out loud watching the deer take out the little man 😂

[@johnholmes2502]

Congratulations on persistence, hard hunting and an amazing buck!

[@jimmystevens9028]

I've lived in the western mountains of Maine all my life. I love hunting the big woods at the end of civilization. Its just you and nature. the memories made are great. I tagged out a couple weeks ago..lol I got some people coming this weekend for the 2nd week of muzzleloader season. Just got some snow, the hunting will be great. For myself I'm onto partridge and coyote hunting. I've got some big bucks still alive on camera, definitely plenty out there.

[@markkimball1569]

Boy even this ol hunter is feeling it ❤️. Love seeing a true ethical hunt with passion and respect for this buck and our hunting traditions. Congrats!!

[@WMBCS]

Guy works his a$$ off to kill a awesome buck and people are crying about Oh he used a rest, a trail cam and Pre hung stands. What a slacker Apparently 4 years of hunting a buck that is eventually killed after a 4 mile track job is “cheating” lol Congrats on the buck you earned it. Cleary he had tons of time on this deer.

[@Bluegrassterrapin]

I miss the N H. Northwoods and Mtns, deer tracking and hunting those great giants that haunt those northern forests. That was a great journey and hunt. Thanks for bringing us along on what was a classic and great Northern N.E. deer hunt. "Find peace out in the woods And you will always be able to find yourself" ~ Me.

[@charliehay1520]

Best part for me was little man enjoying checking in that deer with his dad...i remember going with my dad 38 years ago and my boys going with me...and I can't wait to take my grandson..

[@joshuanewsome5298]

This is an amazing story! Thanks so much for sharing. Sometimes we need stories like these to remind us that perseverance and determination allow us to do the unthinkable.

[@joshuanewsome5298]

Did you shoot this guy out of his bed?

[@paulcarpentier6533]

Wow,ups and downs,Glad you took that buck as it would not last 3 months.He lost35 pounds.Lilttle boy funny, I laughed.OmG.thanks man.

[@richiek1131]

Incredible story....you guys epitomize class and dedication.....you deserved because you sure as hell earned it...👍

[@oldschool3484]

I noticed you are using drones to record things. I pray none of you guys are not using those to spot Deer just for vid.. I dont tnink so but I thought I would mention it. Personally I do not think trail cams should be allowed either. Nevr used one and I know many a hunter would not fill the tag without this stuff. Not like the old days ..

[@flip66five]

Well considering New Hampshire's entire 90day harvest is less than a quarter of other states opening day...yah...its tough... x10 if you hold out for top tier studs...

[@nhdeerhunter7012]

Great hunt! NH hunting is tough

[@kylebarcomb6192]

Nice hunt sometimes ya gotta take advantage of gr8 conditions good job nice buck,i luv tracking deer

[@daveranard2697]

Very strange editing when he recovered the buck. No right antler, then it had a right antler and a tag already on the left base. Weird.

[@ronniereeljr4339]

Congratulations on a beautiful buck well deserved for all your hard work and prusiitance 😎💯

[@nickchernoby1508]

Deer like to be stationed to watch in the direction danger comes from he was waiting for you

[@doubleedge7250]

What kind of rifle are you using buddy? My brother is a lefty and always looking for quality left hand bolt actions. Great buck!

[@stevepuyear2738]

It's a Tikka, looked like a 270WSM he loaded in the chamber. I have 2 Tikkas in 270WSM, absolutely love them, have a 223 also. All are super accurate with my handloads and barrels clean easier than any other factory rifle I've had.

[@brandoncarey2329]

I would say this about some of the comments. New England is old school. We grew up sitting with a cold wet butt against a tree or some of us pack our climbers in and ouf. Pre hung stands seem like fancy Hollywood stuff. I am not saying anything bad just explaining it. Trail cams didnt help Either!

[@-lovefromnh]

I used to climb big pines and sit or stand on their limbs. When I wasn't doing that, I was 17 and a friend gave me a stand and I shot my first buck out of it. I grew up hunting the same locations year after year. Not sure why pre hung stands are Hollywood. Deer use the same bedding areas through the years. I just bought my first climber and portable stand last year. I'm 37 this year. Born and raised in northern NH. Nothing Hollywood about it. But I do remember sitting on the ground with a cold, wet butt. Great memories of being in the woods or on the edge of a field with my Dad and brother!! I have been lucky to share those experiences with my daughter, the turkey slock master. Good luck this year! Take care and God bless.

[@doyouhavegainsonyourphone4507]

ME, NH and MA are all easier to hunt than the hardest state which borders all of them: Vermont.

[@partridgepimp3363]

It doesn’t border Maine

[@doyouhavegainsonyourphone4507]

@@partridgepimp3363 You’re correct, but it’s reasonably close

[@jordanwonderling3339]

What is the name of the rest you were using to hold your rifle?

[@leadhead7338]

New England….. You forgot Vermont!

[@jbsaskoutdoors5846]

Hats off to this guy! Most guys would give up. Say it’s bad weather. He hunted threw harsh conditions and stuck with it! Congrats on your deer. Amazing job! Put in the time and soon enough your chance will come!

[@timezup8637]

And that's why we do it!

[@markkimball1569]

Heart is good and I salute you!🍺

[@michaelbushey2787]

Wow. What a great video. That buck was def. On his way out. He probably wouldn't have made it through the that winter. You did him a great service. Clean kill no suffering. Im from vermont and have hunted new england my entire life. Let me tell you. That is a trophy buck from NE. If he weighted only 160 at that time when he should be bulky. That deer should be 260 with those horns.

[@judee00]

I just want everyone here to know. 160lbs is a good deer. Nice rack! But you can't eat the rack. 200lbs gets you a 200 pound patch. If he was 200 plus around Northern NH he'd bee considered a great deer. Overall a great story and nice deer. Congratulations! Glad to see your from NH and passing down the tracking tradition to the little man there.

[@adamdrouin2295]

This video really highlights what hunting in New England is all about. Long sits with no deer sightings, often times crappy weather and low deer densities. The difficulty it takes to harvest a nice buck in the northeast makes all of the hard work involved worth it

[@brianfabry4823]

Great hunt Guys ! Persistence and positivity pay off. That heart was gigantic !! Wow

[@NFAGETSOME]

Wow amazing old buck, such and emotional roller coaster. Like Mathew B. states below, I think only hunters can understand this. Thanks for sharing, very cool ending with your boy. Congrats on a true deep woods buck of a lifetime! Amazing how much weight they can loose when traveling so far, often and many times with no food.

[@-lovefromnh]

Congratulations on an old stud!! Good luck to you all this year! Take care and God bless. -Love from NH

[@johnfilliol9840]

As a Ontario deer hunter who hunted like you guys in big crown land bush. great hunting by good hunters. keep up with this way of hunting. It’s not about the stuff that companies want you to buy but don’t need, Good video! Thanks

[@rogerramjet7567]

Seems like the real big ones take a big struggle. You just have to be up for it!! Just like elk hunting. Perseverance is the key. Well done !!! Beautiful buck.

[@joemajinska588]

Great buck. Loved both of your pod cast with Zach at THP(was actually listening to the first while I was painting the living room for momma tonight). I see a trip for this Michigander to the East Coast next year.....

[@MacSalad823]

Imagine if you didnt hav cameras and gun vises. How hard it would be to really hunt for a trophy

[@toddhopwood9732]

Bitter sweet moment

[@bryanroberts]

Its always awesome when a story comes together like this one. He probably would not have made it through the harsh winter being drug down like that. CONGRATS!!!!

[@joelfradiska8029]

Damn didn’t even try and get the kill on camera 🤷‍♂️ anyways great buck

[@Nick-hv5tt]

That kid taken out was funny he did not let go of that hot coco haha just like how us boys fall we never drop the beer .

[@mattmarchand5115]

Epic video. And I do wonder if the old boys have had enough. Beautiful buck!

[@jasonwitham]

great camera work, cool video.... kinda expecting to see some cars come down that road

[@fagnernascimentoneide7952]

Muito legal

[@danielfetchak1865]

My favorite way to hunt. Great job he's beautiful🦌

[@fagnernascimentoneide7952]

Massa

[@TrapZoneCanine]

Such awesome footage and amazing persistence!

[@jeffchilders236]

What's up with that Funeral Home music

[@Andy-kp2iy]

This is the most stupid, fake and set-up video ever. Let's just take a random shot in the woods and make a dramatic sequence.

[@mdtnak]

It certainly is interesting that they did not walk up the blood trail like most everyone else does, nor is it shown after the fact. Just walk around the corner of a boulder and there it is... no hit site, no tracking, no indication of how far it ran, very careful to not show anything other than the head and neck until further into the video, very characteristic trees from the previous scene while he is looking at the buck on the ground are missing when they get up to the buck... things are just off. My first take was that something does not feel right. Likewise, it is extremely difficult to just walk up on a buck of that age making the noise that was being made and shoot at a relatively short distance. Bucks are old for a reason. Not sure it is 8.5 years old... looks like a lot of ~4.5 years old that I've seen harvested in the NE. Sending the teeth out for cementum age analysis would definitively answer that question. Regardless of how contrived it comes across, it is certainly a nice buck, so kudos on that.

[@brettjoy5285]

@@mdtnak I watched the buck fall over.....no need to blood trail. He was laying dead 10 yards from the hit site. Teeth were sent to deerage.com for cementum annuli aging, that's who we know he's 8.5. We weren't being loud, we had extremely sensitive microphones inches from us. Thanks for watching.

[@doughtyma1]

@@brettjoy5285 who was the hunter?

[@dougpayne95]

@@doughtyma1 @Brett Joy is the hunter

[@charlesfredrick4789]

Congratulations. You guys did a great job.

[@ronmacdougall9612]

Awesome hunt chief,congrats.

[@robertayoder2063]

How u age him on the hoof like a 3 or 4 in midwest

[@captainhowdy1116]

Awesome buck. Congrats man.

[@colbykinney5633]

He might not have made it through the winter.

[@thomasparker8449]

tracking is the best! Great job!

[@calebgauthier1280]

The heart is one of my fav deer treats

[@mattboyden4297]

Ol' boy had a huge heart in him !

[@timothyfondakowski1573]

Great Buck 🦌 rutted out

[@jasongriffin8849]

I'm pretty sure the buck I've been after for two years got harvested on Halloween morning. Glad you were successful with your hunt.

[@CRonoldo7]

Think I saw that floating around on Facebook. In the bed of a red pickup?

[@jasongriffin8849]

@@CRonoldo7 no. It would've been in the back of a grey Nissan pickup. I know the guy.

[@gdeanley6]

What a hunt! congrats!

[@davidcross5688]

That gun sticking up is prob filling up with rain

[@davidcross5688]

Never mind, just seen that umbrella....lol

[@outdoorian9546]

What part of nh?

[@jonathanfunnell4167]

BEAUTIFUL BUCK

[@gregorystacy470]

Victory.

[@mattswisher6678]

Sweet

[@jasontoole8251]

Nice one

[@Sfgle]

Sweet

[@cohenj87]

This is a spike compared to the Minnesota Monarch!

[@rightreasons7908]

Finally, someone making interesting videos about killing mediocre bucks.

[@austinphillips9966]

Says it’s hard then they hunt pre hung stands gtfo

[@garrettward6059]

Can you explain the correlation? I guess hunts can only be hard if you don't have pre hung stands? How weak minded do you have to be to think that hanging and hunting is the only factor that makes a hunt difficult?

[@austinphillips9966]

@@garrettward6059 anybody can sit in a stand. Get out and fucking hunt

[@garrettward6059]

@@austinphillips9966 what an amazing explanation LOL

[@austinphillips9966]

@@garrettward6059 you wouldn’t even be Able to hold my jock strap

[@garrettward6059]

@@austinphillips9966 your comments are indicative of a very articulate and intelligent individual. I hope any children you have or may have will inherit this special gift from you!

[@paulaltman6176]

So cheating a hydraulic arm and gun rest to hold the rifle

[@charlesfredrick4789]

I don't think the rest has any hydraulics on it. And I don't think it's cheating to take a steady rest whenever possible.

[@mdtnak]

Sorry, I don't agree with that sentiment. A device that facilitates holding the gun steady and better enables an ethical kill is good thing.