Yesterday was a heck of a day in the deer woods. I setup in a lone wolf stand on the edge of a doe bedding area and sure enough at first light had some does enter the mill around for awhile before bedding. I could see them bedded from my stand. Then an hour later two crossgun hunters come through on my right. I was between the bedded does and these two guys. They were talking and laughing and the. Decided to build a ground blind. They never knew I was in a tree forty yards away from them and that the deer were bedded under 100 yards from them. I was beyond frustrated but it was interesting to see how the deer reacted. They could hear them but were not budging from their bedding area.
Eventually the guys left and as soon as they were gone the does all got up and began milling around before bedding again.
Movement to my right revealed a buck with one half of his rack broken off. He looked to be a three year old. I wished I could see the buck that broke him off and I got my wish later in the day! The half rack moved off without ever finding the does.
After thinking about the situation I realized I needed to move. I figured if a buck came in and started harassing the does that there was little chance the does would lead him to me after all the disturbance from the crossgunners. I decided to try to take my stand and sticks down as quietly as possible to avoid blowing the does out and move around to the other side of the bedding area on a slightly off wind. There is a creek crossing over there leading to a good funnel.
I managed to get over there and get setup without blowing out the nearby bedded does. At around five o'clock I saw movement in the funnel and was shocked to see a giant buck scent checking. He was a main frame 5x5 that would go in the upper 160's plus a bunch of stickers.
Sometimes in whitetail hunting things happen that are almost too much to believe. From where he was standing in the funnel I would have bet everything that he was gonna walk right to me. When he went to cross the creek instead of using the easy creek crossing right in front of me he chose to go down a super steep twenty foot bank and he fell in the creek! He made his way into the doe bedding area and got the does on their feet and started harassing them. Eventually they moved off and I figured he was out of my life!
Next a doe came from another direction. She offered me a 15 yard broadside shot. Since I figured the big guy was long gone and I need the meat I took the shot and got a deflection! I don't know if I've ever used the deflection excuse but my arrow never touched her. By now my nerves were shot. The doe trotted off a little ways and I heard footsteps coming from my right. It was the big one making a bee line for the doe I just shot at! I was losing it. I felt I was going to get a shot at him but I did not know if I could keep it together because I was a frazzled mess! He moved toward the doe and stopped thirty five yards broadside and began fiercely rubbing a tree and then snapped it in half! The top half of the tree was stuck in his antlers and he became irate trying to get it out! He threw the branch and then furiously dug a scrape so deep I thought he was digging a grave. Now all of a sudden I hear another deer coming. It was the half rack buck I saw in the morning. I knew I was gonna get a show. The big buck wheezed at him and then immediately attacked him. It was the most violent buck fight I have ever seen and for a second or two I thought the big one would surely kill the half rack. The half rack made it out alive but he was bleeding badly and his eye on the side he was missing an antler was now punctured! The big one continued to rub and scrape and then walked off after the doe until I could no longer see him. I had him at thirty five yards twice!
Topic: Encounter with a monster last night! (Read 936 times)
