catman529
Well-Known Member
Thought I would share the story on this tank of a buck that I've had my eye on the past 2 seasons.
Summer of 2016 gave me the first trail cam pics of this buck, at least that I can recognize. He seemed to be mature, and was real wide with a distinct claw shape to his left antler.
The rut came in mid November as usual, the woods were on fire and there was at least one hot doe in the area.
On the morning of November 18, 2016, this deer I called Wide 8 came in behind a doe and gave me a perfect 20 yard broadside shot. I let the arrow fly and saw it barely touch the brisket as the deer ran off a little ways and then looked around for a while.
Then he turned around and slowly came back...he was 3 steps from giving me another shot, when his doe moved off and he turned and followed her away.
15 minutes later, I shot my biggest buck to date which was a younger 9 point that came in and got a 15 yard double lung shot.
...
Fast forward to this year. Back in February, I was kayaking with tnwakeboarder down the creek that flows through this property, fishing for bass. He looks up on the bank near where I missed the buck last year, and sure nuff there was one of his sheds lying right on the bank.
I didn't have as many buck pics throughout the summer, but my top 2 deer, one called Tall 9 and of course Wide 8, were back. Tall 9 had exploded in antler growth, and a new guy showed up that was even bigger.
Wide 8 didn't grow much at all, almost the same rack as last year. I knew he was at least 5.5 though.
Wide 8 slid down to #3 on my list, and after filling one buck tag on public land this year, I started considering passing this deer if he gave me a shot. He was mature, but there were two other giants using the property, and I have gotten picky with my last tag.
So finally, yesterday, November 11, I headed back into the woods, this time with Zach Markus hoping one of us would get a shot at a good one. I showed him a tree I've climbed once or twice in the past, figured it would be a good spot. I headed in to where I missed wide 8 last year.
Walking into my spot, it was already getting light out, and I saw a white flag run off, and the whole woods stunk of a rutting buck. I pretty much blew my chance from the start, but Zach texted me around 6:50 AM that he had just grunted in a big one and shot him at 8 yards.
I got my canoe to retrieve this one, and I am very glad I did. He was the heaviest deer I've ever seen, and also the toughest. Despite the huge blood trail, it was a long track job and he had to be finished off in the end. He may have been the dominant buck in the area, and maybe I'll have better odds of seeing one of my top 2 deer with him out of the herd. I'd guess he's a minimum of 5.5 years old and maybe older.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Summer of 2016 gave me the first trail cam pics of this buck, at least that I can recognize. He seemed to be mature, and was real wide with a distinct claw shape to his left antler.
The rut came in mid November as usual, the woods were on fire and there was at least one hot doe in the area.
On the morning of November 18, 2016, this deer I called Wide 8 came in behind a doe and gave me a perfect 20 yard broadside shot. I let the arrow fly and saw it barely touch the brisket as the deer ran off a little ways and then looked around for a while.
Then he turned around and slowly came back...he was 3 steps from giving me another shot, when his doe moved off and he turned and followed her away.
15 minutes later, I shot my biggest buck to date which was a younger 9 point that came in and got a 15 yard double lung shot.
...
Fast forward to this year. Back in February, I was kayaking with tnwakeboarder down the creek that flows through this property, fishing for bass. He looks up on the bank near where I missed the buck last year, and sure nuff there was one of his sheds lying right on the bank.
I didn't have as many buck pics throughout the summer, but my top 2 deer, one called Tall 9 and of course Wide 8, were back. Tall 9 had exploded in antler growth, and a new guy showed up that was even bigger.
Wide 8 didn't grow much at all, almost the same rack as last year. I knew he was at least 5.5 though.
Wide 8 slid down to #3 on my list, and after filling one buck tag on public land this year, I started considering passing this deer if he gave me a shot. He was mature, but there were two other giants using the property, and I have gotten picky with my last tag.
So finally, yesterday, November 11, I headed back into the woods, this time with Zach Markus hoping one of us would get a shot at a good one. I showed him a tree I've climbed once or twice in the past, figured it would be a good spot. I headed in to where I missed wide 8 last year.
Walking into my spot, it was already getting light out, and I saw a white flag run off, and the whole woods stunk of a rutting buck. I pretty much blew my chance from the start, but Zach texted me around 6:50 AM that he had just grunted in a big one and shot him at 8 yards.
I got my canoe to retrieve this one, and I am very glad I did. He was the heaviest deer I've ever seen, and also the toughest. Despite the huge blood trail, it was a long track job and he had to be finished off in the end. He may have been the dominant buck in the area, and maybe I'll have better odds of seeing one of my top 2 deer with him out of the herd. I'd guess he's a minimum of 5.5 years old and maybe older.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
