I knew that a lot of hunters would be in the woods for the opening of turkey season, so I got to my stand early so I would be well ahead of them. The stand I chose was situated along a thick funnel of briars between two bedding areas. I assumed that turkey hunters would be hunting the adjacent oak ridges, and I hoped that they might push deer into the thicket below. Plus, I thought the colder weather might get the bucks moving and figured they would travel through the funnel in search of does.
Despite my initial optimism, the gusting wind and steady rain dampened my spirits as I sat in the darkness pondering whether I could actually endure an entire day in the tree if the conditions didn’t improve. Not willing to give up my final chance at the nice bucks I’d been seeing, I covered my video camera with a Gore-tex hat and pulled my collar up around my ears.
Here’s a look at my video set-up, complete with a fluid head to help make panning shots smoother; An inquisitive squirrel came down my tree for a closer look.
The first hour of daylight brought nothing to my stand except an inquisitive squirrel who just couldn’t decide whether I was friend or foe. It came within about four feet of my head before going about its business of gathering a winter’s supply of acorns. The squirrel’s activities gave me hope that the deer might also be on the move.
Shortly after eight o’clock, the wind died down and the rain ended. I decided the calm period might be the perfect time to do some calling. I began with a few soft grunts, keeping a close eye on the thicket to my downwind side. After the grunts yielded no results, I pulled out my rattle bag. I rolled the fake tines together for about thirty seconds and followed up with more grunts. Then I picked up my bow and continued scanning the underbrush for movement.
I hadn’t finished searching the entire perimeter around my tree when I heard what I thought were several grunts behind me. I wasn’t positive, so I decided to grunt back to verify the noises. I let out a short grunt and was immediately answered by an unmistakable series of loud grunts. I mimicked the buck with several louder grunts of my own and slid the call back in my pocket. The buck began grunting continuously, and I could hear brush crashing as he approached. I finally caught sight of his huge gray body bounding through the briars toward my stand. I could also make out several thick, heavy tines smacking the brush has he closed the distance to about 40 yards. I came to full draw and waited for him to enter my shooting lane.
At a little over 30 yards, he stopped broadside in the opening, and I sent the arrow on its way. It entered high above the buck’s front shoulder and he bolted, trying to circle back the direction he had come. He staggered badly and after about 50 yards, he vanished in a dense patch of briars. I was convinced the hit was solid, but I wasn’t sure the buck was down for good.
That’s me trying my best to stay calm; I’m very glad I was harnessed to the tree!
I have to apologize to the PSP readers, because I was unable to capture this buck on video. His charging approach left me little time to draw and aim my bow, much less position and focus the camera. I did turn the camera on after the shot, but I’ll admit that most of that footage is filled with excited stuttering and a lot of rambling while I passed the time until I thought it was safe to pursue the buck.
Bright red blood in the wet leaves confirmed that I’d made a good lung hit.
When I finally got out of the tree, I was delighted to find plenty of bright red blood on the ground where the buck had been standing when I shot. I also recovered my arrow about 10 yards into the blood trail. It had passed completely through the buck, but the rear of the arrow didn’t make it out of the opposite shoulder, and the shaft had snapped right in front of the fletching. Knowing I had a low exit wound gave me added confidence, and I slowly crept toward the thick briar patch where the buck had disappeared.
The recovered arrow was missing its fletching and nock; The fixed blades held up well on the big whitetail despite exiting through the opposite shoulder blade.
I kept my bow at the ready just in case the buck hadn’t expired, but as I neared the dense green thicket, I caught sight of two tall tines and a heavy beam sticking up from the forest floor. The buck was down for good! I was overcome with joy and relief that I’d made a good shot despite having to shoot so quickly.
The blood trail was heavy where the buck crossed a small creek; The downed buck in a thick blackberry patch.
As I finally stood over the buck, I was amazed at his body size. He was easily twice as big as any deer I’d harvested before. The smell of his pungent tarsal glands was heavy in the humid air. I wrestled him from the tangle of briars to get a better look at his thick antlers. The right beam contained a unique triple fork that was palmated at the base. I was ecstatic, but I was also concerned about getting the giant whitetail to my truck, which was about a half mile away. I started making phone calls to see if any of my friends could give me a hand if they weren’t out hunting themselves.
A view of the palmated right beam
I was a very happy hunter after finally getting to hold the heavy antlers.
As luck would have it, my friend Jake had harvested a turkey earlier in the morning and said he could meet me in a few minutes. A couple of cell phone messages including a photo of the buck’s heavy antlers prompted two more of my buddies to volunteer their help. When the drag crew got a look at the buck, everyone decided that we should find out the live weight of the brute, so we postponed field dressing it until we could weigh it on Jake’s scales. I didn’t keep track, but I’m guessing it took the four of us about an hour to get the buck out of the creek bottom.
The creaking scale stopped just shy of 255lbs; The drag crew was glad to have the bruiser out of the woods…I owe you one, guys!
Back at Jake’s house, everyone offered their best guess of how heavy the buck would be as we excitedly hoisted it out of the truck. I stood in disbelief as the scale settled at 253lbs! After we skinned the buck, his neck measured 25 ½” at the smallest point. I hadn’t really considered it before, but the guys convinced me to get him mounted since he was so heavy and had a unique rack.
You couldn’t have removed that smile with a 2x4!
The events of that day are still running through my mind, and I almost can’t believe how they unfolded. Sometimes it’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, and a little luck goes a long way. I’m leaving for Colorado in the morning and I can only hope that my good fortune might continue with the elk in the mountains. I know, I’m asking an awful lot. I just pinched myself and I’m still awake. Good luck to everyone during the rut and I can’t wait to hear how you all did when I get back. Hopefully, I’ll have some good photos and stories to share too. Watch your top knots!
No comments:
Post a Comment