I have had a very blessed season this year that started in Illinois. We have the privilege of hunting some good property's in illinois and started this year in mid october. I hunted several trips down and it was a bit slow with few shooter buck sightings in our group. I decided to sit a tree in a piece of woods that I hadn't hunted as much in the last couple years but was a proven track of river bottom in the past. About an hour after first light I heard a doe running 100 yards or so over my shoulder and looked to see a nice 120 class 8 point on her tail. They went off behind me and I sat for a few minutes enjoying the beautiful morning, something very special about a crisp early November day. As I glanced behind me towards were the buck had gone I about fell out of my tree as I noticed a big buck standing in the hardwoods a couple hundred yards away. I gathered myself, reached for my rattling antlers and cracked them together a couple times. Instantly he whipped up his head and looked, then ran right at me! :eek: I grabbed my bow and got ready as he came right to about 15 yards on the only side of my tree i couldn't shoot. He stood there bristled up and ready for a fight for a couple minutes but after not seeing any bucks he walked off a little suspiciously in front of me never offering me a shot. As he walked away I picked up my grunt call but never grunted because watching him he seemed a bit uneasy about coming in to the rattling and finding no other bucks. I figured I would watch him a bit and see what he did. He went about a 100 yards and bedded down. I could see his head and he was looking around not resting, I believe he was still looking/waiting for the source of the fight he heard. This went on for about an hour as I sat in my tree freaking out about having him so close and not being able to do anything about it, then he got up and started to walk away. At this point I had nothing to loose so I let out a loud snort wheeze, he stopped looked my way postured up and came right to me again. I went oh boy! all over again only to my dismay he circled in from down wind. He came to about thirty yards and locked up. I was pretty scent free and I think he only got a little whiff, but he froze up for about 10 minutes. I had swung in my tree saddle into position and was keeping my cool that is for about 2 minutes, something about a big deer that eventually unnerves you. After getting shook for a few minutes I regained my composure and put my game face on. He decided that he'd had enough for one morning and turned to leave offering me a perfect quartering away shot at about 35 yards. I would say that's on the far side of my comfortable range but he was looking away and sometimes you just feel right about a shot and your gut says, you got this. I said a quick prayer and drew back, I remember coming to anchor, picking a spot on him feeling really good about it, then letting go. The arrow flew perfect and buried to the fletch right behind the shoulder. He ran about 70 yards, crashed down a ridge and was done for. I couldn't believe it, I started jumping up and down in my tree and saying thank you Lord! couldn't believe it all came together. I called my brother who was nearby and he and my friend Tom came to help me get him out. It was an awesome hunt that I'll never forget. I will have the story's of the other hunts soon. Thanks all for reading
Topic: illinois/michigan bucks hunt story's (Read 933 times)
