Buck Down! October 2018

[Shan]

Gang,

It's taken me a while to be able to get this story up but I thought you might like one last deer hunt before the turks are in full swing.

Special thanks to Rob DiStefano for helping me get my profile up and running (lost my password and my old email acct was deleted) 

This hunt had some ups and downs but ultimately led to my biggest whitetail to date... 

[Bisch]

Sounds like this might just be a good tale to hear!!!!

Bisch

[Trenton G.]

It's always the right time of the year for deer stories! 

[Shan]

Early Morning on October 26th I found myself checking the wind reports and trying to decide where I wanted to hunt. I had been doing some in-season scouting throughout the previous week and identified a hot little patch of white oaks that were dropping a mere 30yds from a known bedding area. I decided to set up on the downwind side of those oaks and intercept the deer between the oaks and their bedding.

The white circle annotates the white oaks. The red is the bedding in the thick pines, and the green are the suspected deer trails coming out of the fields. Blue arrow indicates wind. Took this screen shot from my saddle after having been set up for over an hour. I sneaked through the woods to avoid bumping any deer in the fields.

[Shan]

It was a cool, clear morning and my anticipation was high. I took this pic at first light because the woods were just so serene.

[Shan]

Only a few minutes after I captured that picture I heard heavy footfalls to my north. I slipped my bow off its hook and peered into the gloomy, unlit under story of the forest. After a few minutes of searching I caught movement. The deer zig-zagged its way toward me, apparently feeding on the heavy mast fall as it slowly inched in my direction - I couldn't yet tell anything about the animal other than the fact that it appeared to be a good sized deer...

[Terry Green]

Great story for sure..... Rob definitely takes care of business.. Looking forward to hearing more.

[Shan]

As the deer came into bow range I could tell that this buck was a "sweeper", a "hammer", or whatever people call big bucks in your area. I was amazed at his width! I had never seen a deer like this. My nerves began to set in and I was aggressively searching for a shot opportunity, not wanting the old buck to wind me as so often occurs with these wise, old deer.

He kept the zig-zag pattern going all while feeding directly towards me and offering nothing but hard quartering shots. Eventually he worked his way to within only a few feet of my tree  and I knew that if he took another step he would smell where I had climbed the tree and be gone in a flash!

 I worked my way slowly to the right side of my tree (using a tree saddle) in order to be able to lean as far down and to the left as I possibly could.

He took one more step while browsing and then looked directly up at my tree sticks! I knew the moment was now or this buck would be forever gone...

[Shan]

In one quick motion I drew, canted my body as far as i could go, anchored and let fly an arrow. I don't like taking straight down shots but I knew my heavy Robertson (65#) and heavy arrows (650 +gr with 300gr VPA) could get the job done.

The string loosed, the arrow leaped from my bow and the buck tore off in a flash! All seemingly in the blink of an eye.

View straight down where the buck was standing...

[Shan]

At first I thought it was a clean miss. The dawn had not yet fully come and I could not make out the flight of my arrow. I cursed myself for taking such a shot and shame hung with me in my saddle. Why had I done that? Maybe the buck would have fed past me and given me a perfect quartering away angle... maybe, maybe, maybe.

I sat there waiting for light and kicking myself for my lack of ethics, woodsmanship, shooting ability and whatever else I could conjure up. After 10 minutes or so it was light enough that I should be able to see my arrow sticking out of the ground; a reminder of my own stupidity.

But alas! When I peered down, there was no arrow there! I picked up my binoculars and scanned and scanned and finally picked up just a broken fragment of my shaft protruding from the ground. I had hit him and it looks as if the arrow had completely passed through! Good news. 

I quickly climbed down and found this.

[Shan]

White hair and frothy specks of blood told me it exited his chest straight through the bottom and I had caught at least one lung. I excitedly packed my tree saddle and sticks onto my pack and sat at the base of the tree. After an hour I could no longer take it. I had checked the forecast and saw that rain was coming in a few hours which also expedited my decision to track.

[Shan]

After a few yards...



And then more...

[Shan]

After 40yds the blood began falling more steadily. I could also see where the buck had stumbled and I knew he would be down shortly.

[Shan]

After going 40yds I saw white ahead on the trail and instantly knew what that meant... I quit following the blood and stalked slowly up to the white belly while looking for any signs of breathing.... there was none!

My buck

[Shan]

He was an old monarch. 5-6 years old (butcher estimate) and 27.25 inches wide. By far my most unique buck and definitely the most mature buck I've taken. I was thankful.

You can see the entrance hole in the previous pic. Here's the exit. Arrow sliced angling through one lung and the back of the heart. All told he ran about 65 yds.

[Shan]

Part of me was still upset at myself for taking the straight down shot. I mentally told myself not to do that again. I was lucky this time and thankful for whatever odds were working in my favor that day.

Man, I love bowhunting. The highs and lows. The experience in nature. All of it.

[Shan]

Thanks for reading and good luck this season.

[kennym]

All around excellent!!

[yeager]

Congratulations on a successful hunt and a great buck!

[goingoldskool]

Great story and a truly unique buck!
Congratulations