OK, so Texas rifle opening weekend is over, so time for an update.
Story is for anyone who wants to read a long story....for those who don't scroll to the bottom and see the score.
We saw this deer the first weekend of archery season in OK, I was up there for the weekend and it was hot, OSU was playing and I figured I would just chill inside and watch some football. My son told me to check the cameras as there was a new buck on one...sure enough there was. My son said, "that's what you get for watching football instead of hunting"....but I would don't have been hunting that stand anyway due to wind and all that.
So we keep an eye on things and sure enough this guy starts being a regular between two feeders, showing every other day at one, always early morning. After a few weeks of this and bad winds, I finally got a weekend where wind wasn't terrible for that stand he was semi-regular. Sit Saturday AM and nothing. Saw some deer, and a new to me younger buck which sparred with another dink for a bit that morning, but this dude no showed.
I sit another stand that evening, it was hot, wind wasn't perfect for the stand I sat that am, and dang if this dude didn't show up at that stand. Second time in 4 weeks we had seen him show in an evening time frame. So now, I am thinking is he going to show again in the AM given that we had seen him every other day at that stand and he skipped a day but then was there the evening? I thought about it, talked about it with my son, and we both felt the best odds of seeing him would be at the stand I hunted Saturday AM, where he was on camera Saturday evening.
Here is where it get s little interesting. My wife had told me she wanted to leave and be back home (2 hours) for lunch with her family Sunday....talk about pressure. We both laughed and said you know what is going to happen, that buck will show, I will shoot him and then it will be time crunch city.
Wake up super early Sunday AM, feeder goes off at 7:15 (pre daylight savings time), I wanted to be in the stand super early because he had been to that feeder and on camera as early as 6:40 that week. I shower, walk to the stand, quietly get in, and just kick back and close my eyes for the wait. It was dead calm quiet. Beautiful morning, a little warmer than I prefer, but so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The occasional bird or squirrel makes me alert, but for the most part, I would stay as calm and quiet. I knew I needed to get my crossbow at the ready when the feeder went off as the simple noise of doing that might be enough to keep anything away....so a few minutes before 7:15 and I hear another feeder spin. That one had been running a little quick and it made me wonder if being the first to spin on such a quiet day would attract the deer there instead of where I was. I started getting that nervous energy of "anything can happen" and had to be ready.
It is amazing how long the anticipation of what is a few minutes turns into what seems like 15 minutes. Mental game is a big part of hunting, anyone who says it isn't hasn't been a successful hunter, they are just a lucky shooter. Feeder goes off....I have 5 seconds to get my crossbow up on my shoulder ready for a shot with minimal movement. Easy. Then I wait. And wait. Again, mentally, you say, "well, maybe he is at the other feeder now., but you just gotta go with the cards you were dealt". Stay alert. Birds are late to wake up today. It is still really dang quiet. But noises are happening, just the normal woods noises we all know and grow to love most of the year and hate during the wee hours of the deer season. 10-15 minutes of real time go by. I hear something in the brush behind the feeder, straight ahead of me. No way it could smell me, what little breeze that is blowing is from my right to left, not from my back where it would drift to the feeder.
Its a big body, has to the the dude. I see antlers bigger than I have seen all season so far. He circles around some trees. I look with my rangefinder, it is him. My heart starts pumping. If I ever lose that feeling when a target deer is in sight and the shot is near, then it is time to hang it up and get a new hobby. To keep movement to a minimum, I keep my rangefinder up and wait for him to clear the trees and feeder. He is feeding the furthest from me, but he is clear of all obstacles. He typically circles around the feeder and could give me a better shot, but will he...I range him, 28 yards. I know that shot is easily done with my equipment, I would prefer it closer. But this is where I lose my mental battle. Preference vs will he. I wait, he is not anxious. He is quietly eating. If he just presents a perfect broadside, I will shoot. He does. Then slides his close leg forward, giving me the perfect shot. Trigger is pulled.
I see the lighted nock hit where I aimed it. It flew true. I see the dude run off, lighted nock bouncing along until it breaks off and I see the bolt fly to the ground. I hear the dude run off, and then the sound of crashing, that unmistakeable noise any decent deer hunter has heard....thrashing for a few more seconds, then quiet. I knew he was down. I knew the general idea, but it was decently thick early successional growth so he could be hidden around any corner and I could easily miss him. At least it wasn't a field of tall grass. I collect my thoughts, get down, go to the bolt, and initially think dang, did it hit shoulder blade and barely stick him? But the closer examination reveals what the early morning light wasn't, it had good blood and it buried deep before the leg broke it off.
I start the trail, find decent blood pretty quickly, take a pic and send to my son who was anxiously awaiting updates both mornings. He was stuck at work. I wasn't. I then tracked this blood trail and became discouraged quickly. Scant blood. an occasional burst of exhalation blood made me feel better, but it was a tough sled to push. An abrupt 90 degree turn away form a well worn path, easy to confuse a novice tracker, which by itself would have been enough....remember the time crunch thing. My panic was starting to set in. Last thing I want is an angry wife, but I am not leaving without this deer. I could smell him, I knew I was close....but blood was not as forthright as it should have. The occasional exhales of blood and abrupt turns turned to multiples of each, and then the trail crossed itself....which way did he go and which way was I really tracking in this mess. I remembered some blood was in a weird orientation on the leaves of some of the trail, was I now backwards? I kicked myself. I texted my wife,"are you awake?"...."yes"....."can you bring Maggie (our viszla) to where I am please"...."and if the tracking collar is charged put that on her"....meanwhile I turn myself around and retrack this whole circle-path crossing thing. I figure out the dude made a figure 6 type move and made some really tight turns, tight left, went about 15-20 yards, probably no more than two hops for this dude, near 180 degrees, then straight back toward the original path but coming in 90 degrees from the original trail. Once I get that figured out, I start looking where he should have crossed and bingo, big exhalation burst and the track resumes. Into the woods, massive blood now. He is close, but he isn't. Where is he. I scan around, blood is everywhere yet. he is seemingly hidden. I circle around just looking in bewildered amazement at how difficult this track has been and how nice it owl have been to have a second set of eyes, especially now and...oh there he is. He made another 180 degree turn and was headed back out to toward the original trail again, but got stopped as he expired and was laying on his belly with his antlers tangles in some greenbriar. (see my pic in the whitetail photo contest)
I ended up walking back, grabbing a Kawasaki mule and had my wife and dog come out and see him. She took some pics, I field dressed him, we packed up, dropped him off at cinnamon creek for meat donation and caping, and with some time to spare, we made it to Sunday lunch. I would normally process the deer down and cape out myself, but time constraints made that impossible. My wife and I were correct, I would shoot that dude Sunday morning.
Scored 151.25
Extra beam accounted for 17', 13 on the main part and he had 4' split.
I figured he was a base 130-140 deer with 15-20' on the extra beam. Most of you were really close. Good job.
