I hunted on a food plot today. It was 27 degrees this morning and the plot was covered in frost. As I was sneaking in to the stand I could smell a buck nearby! The moon was so bright that I felt like I was getting a tan waiting for the sun to come up. I could see the deer crossing the plot, and the bucks were chasing! Sitting in the moonlight I could hear deer crashing in the woods behind me and on the other side of the plot. Just as the daylight was starting to creep in, I heard a deer walk right under me. The grass was so cold and crisp and the air was so still that you could hear a mouse fart. When it was light enough to see the entire plot I started my usual ritual of ranging everything so I can know my distances. The plot was 150 yards across and really long. I was in a perfect tree with lots of cover that sat about 30 yards into the plot from the woodline. All of a sudden I see my buck (we will call him Fred) walk across the plot from my right side to the left at about 80 yards. He looked like a toad! I saw a spike and some does move around and heard bucks chasing in the woods, and then about 20 minutes later, Fred steps back out into the plot. He started walking straight at me! I got to watch him walk 150 yards all the way to me, and he just got bigger and bigger! He came within 20 yards and crossed behind some branches in my tree and gave me the perfect chance to draw. I was so cold and had on so many layers that I actually had a hard time pulling my bow back! I settled in on him and took a walking broadside shot. It looked like I had smoked Fred and he ran off. I saw him crashing around and it looked like he went down, but I wasn't 100%. I've heard so many guys up here tell everyone they smoked a buck and he is dead, but then they never find him. I decided to tell my guide I was 80% sure I heard him crash, but want to wait until 12:00 to go in. When I climbed down I couldn't find my arrow or any blood, but I didn't really look very hard. When we came back the blood trail was pretty sparse for the first 30 yards and then it really opened up. He was right past where I had last seen him at 70 yards!!! Fred is dead! I shot him with a Slick Trick bh at 20 yards. He weighed 270 lbs and was 7.5-8.5 years old. We didn't put the tape on him yet, but I plan on having my taxidermist do it Monday.
Comment