Shot a big buck Friday afternoon....

Thanks guys. I've been waiting a REALLY long time to even have a shot at a buck like this. I've missed my opportunities by not being there at the right time over the years and in this case I made time. The guy that hunts next door killed a real nice 10 point last Friday morning and he was texting me about it. Then he mentioned that he had seen a "big stud" trotting north towards our farm on a doe's trail. That really piqued my curiosity. There are truly world class bucks in this area but they are only seen once a twice a year. But, I knew they love to pin the does down on a couple spots I hunt and I couldn't help but to wonder if that's what happened with this big buck he saw. A little while later he texted me and said they were picking "all" the corn around my spot. We have been plagued by standing corn all season. I knew this was it...my chance. My kids have been perpetually sick for weeks and Mitch was hospitalized last Thursday with pneumonia and flu. My Mom was here to help because I've been on the river guiding so much and just can't juggle all of it and honestly as good as business has been the last thing I needed was to get sick so I was staying out of the house as much as possible to avoid it. I looked at the long range forecast and realized that I'd probably only get out for deer once or twice more before our gun season closed. I figured I'd have to use my bow or go buy a muzzleloader for that season. I was telling this to Angie as she sat in the hospital with Mitch and she said,"Honey, go hunting...I already talked to your Mom and she's fine with it. Plus, you have to go feed the cows anyway". So, I browned some veni cube steaks and put them in a skillet with gravy to simmer and got a bag of veggies out of the freezer and did the dishes and as fast as I could and pointed to the cupboard where the plates are as my Mom has forgotten how to be a homemaker as of late. I got my hunting clothes on. My Mom was fine with it and Mitch was excited as he knows how big some of those deer are out there.

I snuck in with the cover of high wind a well placed oak ridge to screen the thicket that usually holds the deer and stayed low like I was sneaking in on the enemy. I just had this feeling that I was being watched or could be at least. I got into the stand that I had not hunted the entire gun season at about 3:30 central. I checked my phone to make sure Angie didn't have any news about Mitch as the doctor was supposed to visit any minute. I noticed a couple of inflammatory messages from my buddies regarding the Bears/Lions/Matt Stafford/DJ Moore saga and replied with some dandies and snickered as I stuck the phone in my pocket. I hope Jay Cutler never reads anything I say about him because he will definitely kick my ass if he does.

About ten minutes later I saw a mature doe walk into the freshly picked corn 150 yards out front on the neighbors. She continuously looked back over her shoulder as she foraged for corn. Not the "Oh my god a buck and I have to run" look...more of a "I wonder how long they are gonna stay in there" look. I constantly scanned the brush to see what she was looking at and tried to triangulate the exact location. After another ten minutes I scanned a 360 with the glasses and saw nothing. Then I went back to visual scanning and immediately noticed three white sticks where none were before. I threw the glasses up and could clearly see what appeared to be the tips of ivory tines sticking up out of a the densest part of the thicket. I repositioned and pulled the gun up to check the view through the scope. It was much further than I normally would even consider shooting with that gun.

After a few minutes he stood up. I was shocked at how big he looked. I have never seen such a rack in real time...only while in a vehicle scouting. Then I did something really stupid...I grunted to him. Twice. This old boy looked right at me in the tree. He stared at me with such intensity that I absolutely know he saw me but apparently I didn't compute as a threat. Maybe just a big wad of dumbass. Anyway, he stared at me for at least two minutes and it seemed like an eternity. But, this is when my heart rate started to actually recover and I went into predator mode so it worked out pretty well. I waited for him to look away and eventually he did. He was licking his chest off and pushing his antlers straight up so I could get a really great view of them. I decided then that if he presented any kind of shot I was going to try. Then a doe stood up in front of him. He pushed forward and his front third was screened by her rump. I also assumed at this point that with the grunts I'd made they were going to be leaving soon. He was licking her in all the right places and several times lifted his hoof as if he was going to mount. It was truly amazing to watch and I can only hope that he was able to spend most of the day with her that way. I finally put the gun up and got comfy and starting to slow my breathing. I figured I'd aim for the top of his shoulder at a good 125 yards as my gun was 2 - 3 inches low at 100.

Finally she moved forward to give him space and judging by his posture he was going to mount as he pushed his chest forward, lifted and stretched his torso out somewhat. Her tail raised and I fired. I had a roughly 2 by 3 foot opening that was clear. After my first shot absolutely nothing happened. He just stood there and then raised his nose oddly. I'm not sure if he was checking the wind or if I hit him. Fortunately, the low recoil of the .44 allowed me to stay on him and I fired again and immediately he charged forward, ran into the doe and crashed through the brush. Then he made a hard right towards me. As he closed fast I stayed on him and then saw his legs start to fall behind and he face planted into oak leaves and spun around. There was no gasp. Barely a twitch. It took maybe 4 seconds. I had him in the scope and when I saw him completely motionless I set the gun down and checked him with my binos. I looked at the gun and then at him and repeated this process a couple of times and said out loud, "I just killed a giant buck". I went down the ladder with the gun slung and ran to him with the gun at port arms just in case. As I approached him I realized he was even bigger than I thought. I couldn't believe how big he was actually. I set the gun on him and grabbed his antlers and some nerve activity kicked in and he tossed the gun aside and about broke my wrist. Not good. It took a few seconds and he went motionless again.

Then I got really excited. I called Angie and told her to tell Mitch I killed a huge buck and couldn't wait until he saw it. They were both congratulating me over the phone "Yay Daddy!". Shortly thereafter the doctor came in to see Mitch and said his turnaround was fantastic and that he wanted him to finish one more bag of IV antibiotics and then send him home the following day. Good news all around..an epic day!

Angie shot a nice 8 pointer opening day nearby and this is the same location where I shot my buck last year during archery and very close to where I lost the other buck I shot during archery last year. It's also very close to where Angie shot her big buck last year.
 
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If the duck hunting didn't suck so much maybe I wouldn't be ate up with deer. Kinda hard to get excited. Hunted this morning. Rolled out the red carpet. Perfect habitat, perfect wind, tons of decoys well set. Great hide. Zero ducks seen flying. Pathetic!

Not sure if this is him but it sure looks similar. This was taken under one of the my stands on 11/7 last year when I was staring at empty skies on Lake St Clair...wasting my time duck hunting when I could be grouse or pheasant hunting, steelhead fishing or, deer hunting.
11710cropBIGONE.jpg

 
Congrats on a great buck Jay.

Our gun season starts on Saturday and I hope one of the guys in our group has an encounter with a similar deer. We have a bunch of good bucks running around and everyone has seen their share this year with a bow in hand.

Glad to hear your son is doing better as well.

-D
 
Jay,
I buck of a lifetime for sure. You will never forget that hunt. Congratulations on that buck.

..............deer hunting still ain't as good as duck hunting though. (-;

Jim/Fowlfishing
 
That is a nice buck! I guess you can concentrate your efforts on the ducks for the rest of the season now,,,,
 
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