Spurchaser
Well-known member
I write all my special hunts down so one day when I can’t remember, my boys can read them to me so maybe I’ll remember…
November 26, 2024
This story starts about September of 2022. We first saw this buck then when setting out peanuts for hogs we’d seen in an area way South of where I have my stands.
He showed up on the hog cam and what caught our attention was his split G2 on his right side and a drop tine off his left main beam.
We figured him at 4.5yr old and he wasn’t close to where I hunted. Plus the fact I was chasing another deer, I wasn’t really into following him.
Well, I killed my buck that November and started wondering whatever happened to this guy.
The early Summer of ‘23 I’d placed a camera on a line of Sawtooths way South of me and one at what we call our duck hole looking for hogs.
When his pic showed up at the duck pond my son text as I was texting him, lol. He had lost his drop, but still had the split G2 and looked really good for that early in development.
We have “sections” we hunt and even though this wasn’t anyone else’s section I just kept feeding at my location. It was right before archery season when he showed up eating peanuts in front of one of my cameras. He had shed his velvet and looked really good, but for some reason we couldn’t agree if he was now 4.5 or 5.5. His body was really nice as were his antlers.
I finally got to see him in person and after passing him I realized he was definitely 5.5. I never saw him from the stand again, but had a ton of pics of him. I knew he made it through the season from pics up until he dropped his antlers. Our only concern was how run down he was after the rut. He looked really rough and honestly we didn’t know if he’d make it.
I kept a steady supply of peanuts at 3 natural feeding locations near a water source hoping like crazy he’d make it. I looked for weeks for his sheds, but never found them.
This past July he showed up on camera and we knew he’d survived! He was almost a regular on the feed all the way up until archery season. He’d be on camera a week, then gone a week.
Once the rut hit, I knew he’d be back if he made it through it without being shot off the property or hit by a car crossing the highway. I honestly didn’t have a clue how far he’d travel North, but I knew how far he’d travel South and that was concerning enough.
After over a months hiatus he showed up looking like he’d lost 50+ pounds. Guess he remembered where the peanuts were and stayed for 3 straight days. I finally got the wind I needed and placed a climber where I could catch him working his scrape line on the edge of the drain.
The following morning was looking like my best bet! Finally got cool weather and the wind was perfect. He’d been showing up between 0800-1030. I’d gotten up earlier than normal to make sure I was up way before any other deer showed up coming from the peanut field north of our property.
As I was standing by my drivers side door of the truck getting my safety harness on my phone alerted me of a pic on the camera where the feed was. It was him at 0545!! I knew better than to even walk that direction so I sat in the truck texting my son to tell me, DON’T do it, lol. I went on home and text my Boss telling him I’d be at work that day after all.
As luck would have it the wind switched and he disappeared again. I was off this week and went yesterday morning, but the wind wasn’t as forecasted so I waited a while before going in to hang my climber and went ahead and fed even though the last pic of him was Nov 22 at 10pm and not even on one of the cameras over the feed.
I knew this buck liked to work the edge of the drain and my climber was set on the closest pine to that edge. This drain comes from our big pond to the North and heads South then takes almost a 90 degree turn to the East. I was on the East side almost at the 90. To my North on that side is a big field with 2 year old planted pines that are almost as tall as the broomsedge. Everything South of me is what I refer to as Plantation pines.
I got in the stand this morning well before daylight and deer started filtering by and through right at first light.
Now here’s what’s crazy, a really nice 8pt with 6” brows came through and I pulled back on him. I don’t have a clue as to why I didn’t release, but thought I’d rather eat a buck tag than shoot something other than what I made up my mind to take this season.
Now along this drain are oaks and every single one of them is dropping acorns. I can see deer about 85yds away in the drain on the peanuts and I have 3 does 25 yards in front of me on acorns. This one particular doe is giving me the stink eye and I’m frozen in place.
Of course when I can’t move, I hear what I thought was fighting or someone trying to take down a tree! I can’t move my head much and can only cut my eyes North and I see an entire oak limb swaying back and forth and flashes of brown and antlers. I can see this buck backing up, then rushing forward trying to take this giant limb off this 100yr old live oak!! This buck almost looked like he was tied up to that limb. After a few minutes he quits and I lose sight of him.
The doe finally looked that direction and I was able to grab my bow and lay it horizontally across my climber. She must have caught movement cause now she’s looking at me while doing the up and down head motion thing! I’m trying not to look at her and trying to find the buck!!
I spot the buck now at 100yds and angling towards the edge of the drain. This joker hit every scrape along that line and finally gets to 50yds and is working another scrape. I know there’s another to the NE of me and one a little South. I’m thinking I might have a shot if this doe would just blink or something!! The other does get nervous at the sight of the buck, but that ONE doe will not take her gaze off me!!
That buck finishes that scrape and turns to the the does. Still, ole girl is boring a hole through me!! Ole boy lets out what sounded like a growl instead of a grunt and she turns her head.
I don’t think I’ve ever stood up, attached my release and got ready for a shot that fast in my entire life. He got to the chop in the brush and made a left and I drew. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think much, I just put it on his shoulder as he was walking and released!
I knew when I saw blood out both entry and exit, I’d made a decent shot!! I thought maybe be a tad back, but I could see good blood out both sides. Now, I only thought my heart was beating fast before the shot, afterwards I tightened my safety strap tight because I thought I’d hyperventilate and pass out, lol. My first call was to my son and through a hushed labored voice I told him I’d gotten him! I hung up and called my wife next. My son then called me back and said he was on the way to help me track!
I stayed in the stand a solid hour and waited until my son showed up to guide him exactly where the buck was when I shot. He immediately found my arrow and said climb on down, we got blood, good blood.
I climbed on down and we started on the track. What’s funny is we had 2 tracks about 4ft apart, he was spraying out both sides! Now this shot was a little back but we followed blood for almost 150yds at a nonstop walking pace. We found where he’d fallen and got back up and the blood just quit. I was starting to panic and I told my son, blood doesn’t just quit. His reply was it does when it runs out. I’m frantically looking for blood thinking what a stupid comment that was when I asked again, “How do we just lose blood???” And he again replied, “When it runs out.” I looked up at him about 10yds in front of me and I asked if he had blood as I’m really starting to panic and to appease me he says “Yeah, sorta.” By that time I was beside him looking for blood and he pointed to my buck. Turned out the hour wait wasn’t necessary, lol. That buck died with his legs under him like he was posed, lol.
Not sure of his score yet, but he’s by far my biggest archery buck ever!!
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