I hate to start a story before the ending can be written. Maybe I'm afraid of jinxing the outcome, but I will take that risk.
This story starts back in 2012. At this time(up until last season) I was primarily shooting with training wheels. I dabbled with a recurve and had even managed to harvest a young shed out buck with trad gear the previous winter. The season was dwindling and I hadn't managed to get onto what I would consider a "wall hanger" buck all year. In the final weeks of season, mother nature decided to blanket the area with six inches of snow. I started getting pics of a decent 2yr old 8 point at one of my feeders. He still wasn't quite what I was looking for, but was just the motivation I needed to get the old stick and string back out. After a week of practice, I was feeling good about my shooting and the buck had become a regular at the feeder. Only thing left to do was move my stand in closer. I had been set up 30yds out, but needed to be 15 or under for a confident shot. The first evening on stand started as usual with does and youngsters first to arrive. I kept scanning the woods, waiting on the 8pnt to arrive. That's when I noticed a buck hobbling thru the woods. He was an average 8pnt 2 yr old, with beams that appeared to go more up than out. He stayed about 50yds off the feeder and just watched as the other deer fed. Finally he just turned and disappeared into the woods. When I got home that evening, the wife asked if I had seen anything. I told her about the high beamed buck and thus the name stuck. He would be known from here on as "High Beam". A few nights later I managed to arrow the buck I was after, but that's another story. I left the feeder and camera running and within a week High Beam started coming in. Turned out he had an injury to his front right leg that was keeping him from putting weight on that leg.
For most of 2013 I assumed High Beam had either been taken by another hunter or become prey to the local coyotes. Then in late November after an inch or two snow, he was back. He still had a knot on the right leg and only visited the feeder after dark. He would only stick around for about three weeks before moving on. I never laid eyes on Hi Beam. His rack hadn't changed much from the previous year just a slightly bigger version. The biggest change was his brow tines. They got a little longer and projected forward towards his nose. The right brow also developed a small split at the end.
2014 would be almost an exact repeat of the previous year. High Beam showed up towards the end of November, but was only around for a couple weeks. This however, would be the first year that I would get daytime pics of him, but still did not lay eyes on him. You gotta love when you you get daytime pics of a buck your after and you can see your tree stand in the background. At 4 1/2 years old, his rack got heavier, but tines got shorter, especially his g3s. He did however still have those long forward projecting brow tines.
Last year, 2015, would bring some changes. This was the first year that I would hunt deer season 100% with trad gear. I began season with pics of several nice bucks and hopes were high. I missed a mid 130s ten point in the middle of November but ended up taking a mid 140s fifteen point in January. Surprisingly, those details aren't important to this story. While checking cards the first week of November, all I could say was WTH. Hi Beam was back and for the first time I got pics of him working a scrape. I had wondered if he even took part in the rut. His rack was the same....but different this year. Now 5 1/2 he again gained some mass and lost more time length. His g3s had all but disappeared, but he still had those brows. The right still had its fork, but the left now split into three points. A few days later I would finally get to see Hi Beam for the second time. The rut was on and I was still on stand late morning. I heard something coming from behind me. When I turned to look I couldn't believe my eyes. He was on a hard trot and heading my way. Pictures had not done him justice. He was a brute. As he approached, I drew back. He never slowed, and there was too much brush for a clear shot. Hi Beam got a free pass. I would only get one more pic of him a few days later on a midday stroll down a logging road. After not getting any of the usual winter pics I again was thinking the worst.
Now to 2016. This year has started slow to say the least. The feeders have been getting more pics of raccoons than anything else. A few pics of does and the occasional 1 1/2 old buck. I did one nice buck at a mineral lick in early August but that was it. Then like magic, there he was on camera again. September 23, the night before season opener. And again on the 24th. I had never got pics of him this early in season. And WOW!!! Hi Beam had put on some serious mass!!! And again, his rack had morphed but still had those tell tale brow tines. Unfortunately the same day I pulled the card from the camera, I also went for a walk around the property checking what oaks were dropping. But I hunted that night anyways. The wind was right and I knew Hi Beam usually didn't hang around long. The hunt was a bust, with only a couple of squirrels to be seen.
I have never dedicated a season to an individual buck, and don't intend to this year. But this buck will definitely get a lot of my attention. Hopefully there is another chapter to this story. And hopefully that chapter has details of the final hunt.
Topic: Nemesis conquered!! (Read 1576 times)
