So, a couple buddies and I have been after a big, old, 12 point all season. He is the fattest Hill Country buck I have ever seen. Anyways, he had been giving us the slip all year…that is, until Saturday. I was set up in a pop up blind in the area he had been frequently visiting, and at 7:43am I see antlers coming through the cedar thicket. It’s him! The big, meatball 12 point. I slowly lean over to pick up my bow. But he just keeps walking through, hot on the trail of a doe. Nooooo. I barely had time to knock an arrow. I’m frustrated as I watch him just walk away. I stayed ready, praying he would circle back around. Sure enough I see antlers bobbing through the cedars and I draw back before he even hits my lane. I am anchored as he saunters out at 22 yards, perfectly broadside. I give a soft grunt to stop him, and as soon as he did, I zipped him with a Rage Xtreme right behind the shoulder. The arrow buried into his ribs up to the fletchings. The shot looked good as he hauled *** with my arrow hanging out of the opposite side he was facing. I pack up and head home to get Champ to help with the tracking job. We get back after a hearty breakfast and I just assumed it would be an easy track, boy was I wrong. The blood trail was much more sparse then I anticipated. We crawled on hands and knees following rice sized and pin ***** size drops of blood. Wouldn’t you know, the buck jumped the neighbors fence right by a rather unsavory looking double wide trailer. Dang it. We do the right thing, back out, and drive over to ask permission to retrieve our deer. It DID NOT go as I envisioned. I was too nervous to even knock on the door. That’s how scary this place looked. I yell from the drive way, “Hello! Is anybody home!!” I hear a wretched voice respond. An old lady with no teeth came out just a hollerin! “Get your *** outa here. NO hunting back here!!!” I said, “Mam, we just want to retrieve our deer, we don’t want to hunt.” She was not stable and wasn’t having any of it. She cussed us out, saying the deer are her pets, and told us we better leave ASAP! We were shocked, scared, and heart broken. We dejectedly drove home pondering our options. I did some digging on the internet and found the name of the land owner. A quick search and I get a hold of the land owners son (the crazy ladies brother in law). I explain to him the situation and he tells me I have permission to go, but don’t let his SIL see me. I told him we had already met, so he said he would have to call his 90 year old mom to get final say. He finally calls back around 2:00pm and puts me on the phone with his mom. She was super nice, giving me permission, but she too warned me about her crazy daughter in law. Oh geez. I went back, without Champ, for the special ops mission. I picked up where we left off, and the dang trail went 15 yards from her trailer. I was on my hands and knees looking for tiny drops, while at the same time scanning the area, scared this lady would come out with a shotgun if she saw me again. I get too skeeved out and just walk into the woods (out of sight of the trailer) in the direction the deer was heading. I start following trails and walking a creek bed just hoping to stumble upon more blood or sign. I find nothing and begin wondering around, using the canvas strategy. I walk for over an hour, getting more and more dejected as the time passed. I was just about to call it quits, but went on one more long walk with no real plan, just hoping God would shine down on me. Sure enough, God did. I literally almost stumbled over the dead buck in some tall grass. After a quick Tiger Woods fist pump, I call Sara and have her and the kids meet me out at the property. Unfortunately, the deer died on the far side of their property. So I had to drag the fattest Hill Country deer of all time over 300 yards. I **** near had a heart attack. I was wheezing and panting and still nervous the wicked witch was gonna come running out with a 12 gauge. I get it to the property line and have a second heart attack trying to get it over the fence. I then have a third heart attack trying to get it into the bed of the Polaris. I was underneath it, like Atlas, at one point. I eventually got him in and collapsed in the drivers seat. I get back to camp just in time for my beautiful family to greet me. Big hugs all around. Sara and Champ play outdoor photographer and I’m off to the taxidermist. What a day, and what a deer!! The beer I had when I got home (after I showered) has never tasted so good. Oh, the things I get myself into. See ya on down the road. Chase
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