I got out and hunted Thanksgiving morning before our family dinner. I sat a new stand and didn't see anything which isn't unusual giving the recent close of the Missouri firearms season. Still it was a good morning to be in the woods. I got out of the stand at 9:00 and started to head home. I thought I would sneak up to a spot I've seen some does early in the fall. I did this more out of curiosity rather than a real hope of getting a shot.
I got to the crest of the hill only to find the soybean field had been harvested and was empty. My eyes then turned towards the south and the location of my other stand. The same stand where I killed a small buck during the early archery season.
Right there before my eyes and my now totally exposed body was the largest buck I've even seen personally. He was a twelve point standing at a perfect side profile with neck that would made the guys on the muscle magazines proud. He was just standing there stretching like a yard dog after getting up from a nap. I dropped to one knee and watched him turn away from my location and slowly take about 20 steps towards the south and then lie down again in some tall weeds. I could still see his antlers amongst the brush. He was now facing directly away from me. I had a slight crosswind from the northwest. Not a great wind as it was coming from the northwest and I was directly north of the buck.
It was a perfect scene out of one of those wildlife paintings with the big buck standing in front of the empty tree stand. I didn't sit the stand this morning because I thought the north wind would be wrong since I have a food plot to the south of the stand. I actually chuckled a little while watching the buck through my binoculars.
I sat there for several minutes glassing with binocs and trying to decide what to do. I kept looking at all the ground in between the buck and myself. I decided to make a stalk however unprobable. I pulled off my pack and my boots and slowly set off on my path. All I had between myself and the buck was some small cedars and a large open field.
I live north of the Kansas City Airport and we get a considerable amount of plane traffic overhead from airplanes taking off and circling for landing. I used the airplanes as well as the intermittent breezes to assist me with my advances. After about 25 minutes I had covered about half of the distance across a completely open field. I was still a good 50-60 yards away from the buck who was still beaded and hadn't made a move.
Ten yard later I was within the red zone and things would soon fall apart. I was already wishing I had hugged to some more of the cedar trees instead of the thin trail through a brushy grassy CRP patch. I was watching carefully to place my sock covered feet in the softest looking spots. As fate would have it my last step was one in which I crossed my left foot over my right in order to land in an bare spot of ground. Suddenly the bucks head was up and then his body. Unfortuately I was paralyzed with my left foot crosed over in front of my right in an terribly awkward pose. Pretty comical looking back on it now.
I watched the buck stand and then turn, and then stomp the ground and then... remarkably move towards my position about 5 yards. I was now about 40 yards from the buck. I'm not sure if it was the sight of such a majestic animal that made my brain unable to move my feet but they felt like concrete.
The buck turned slowly to my left and started angling up and towards my position in an attempt to get a nose full of the smell of me. I'm guessing he was still 35 yards out at this point and on full alert. Finally he stepped out around one of the cedar trees and stopped with the early morning sun at his back, fully illuminating his massive neck and antlers. His body posture was commanding, as if to say "so you really thought you could sneak up on me huh". And with that he snorted almost laughing and was off leaving me a perfect image of his head and neck which will have to subsitute for the taxidermy mount on the wall. I never even started to draw my bow and my legs were still crossed.
Amazing what being in close to a deer can do to your brain. Mine sure couldn't do much with my feet at that point. Probably just as well because the prospects of a 35 yard shot on a fully alerted deer are probably pretty low.
Not sure what to do now. Maybe I'll go sit that stand but I'm guessing he has taken the does he was bedded with and moved on down the road. He has left me daydreaming today of what might have been.
Topic: Thanksgiving buck....almost (Read 389 times)
