As I proceeded to check trail cameras in early October I noticed a new buck hitting one of my mock scrapes. As the weeks went on I kept getting pictures of this buck and was trying to decide if he was a 3 year old or a 4 year old. I knew he wouldn't score too high but I was going to shoot any mature buck that walked past this year. After studying the pics numerous times I was pretty sure he was only a 3 year old, I had also found out that I had pics of him from last September and November. He looked more like a 3 year old last year so I was indecisive of if he was 3.5 or 4.5 this year. The photos kept rolling in (mostly at night) and on October 27th I had setup on a small field where I had seen 9 does 10 days before, so I thought maybe the bucks would be checking this field out as the rut was soon approaching. At around 6:00pm a buck I know quite well that I call "Splits" popped out into the field and not long later I noticed another buck starting to come out of the trees. I was surprised to see that it was the narrow 10 with stickers on both of his g2s as he had seemed to disappear from my trail cams the past week. I watched and got footage of these two bucks for over 15 minutes as the 10 point chased a doe in and out of the field. I still was not sure if he was 3 or 4 year old. It wasn't until October 31st when I went back to that field and at around 5:30pm he showed back up in the field, this time I could get a really good look at him with good light. I decided he was indeed a 4.5 year old buck and that meant he was on the hitlist. I got many great pictures and some footage as he fed out in the wheat stubble field, a doe appeared in the corner of the field and the buck I now call "Clutch" proceeded to chase her back into the trees, coming to around 100 yards as the closest, he never came back out. It was one of my best hunts ever as I saw 20 deer that evening including another 4 year old I call "Scarface" who was also on my hitlist as I had been after him for 2 years now. October came and went and now it was November, the month every deer hunter waits for all year. On Sunday November 2nd I snuck back into a stand we had hung in August, I knew this was a good rut spot as I had seen many deer and nice bucks at this location in years past, and had also shot my first and latest buck out of it. This would be my 2nd sit in this stand this year, the last time I was here (November 1st, morning hunt) I found a few fresh scrapes and rubs 25 yards from my stand. When Clutch came out on Friday he had fresh bark in his bases from a tree he had just rubbed. I was convinced the rub by my stand was made by him. After not seeing any deer all hunt I made a few grunts and shortly after I heard leaves crunching so I got my camera over there and bow my bow ready. I could see a buck working one of the scrapes in front of me as he was behind a cedar tree. He stepped out into my shooting lane and I instantly recognized him and drew back, got the pin on him and let the arrow fly. At first I thought it was a perfect hit and thought I heard him run 40 yards and crash. As I reviewed the footage I noticed he was slightly quartering toward me and my shot was a touch low and back. I got the arrow and it was painted with blood. I still thought it was pretty good but I decided to back out and leave him for a few hours. As I was walking back to the truck I found some fresh blood along the field edge, confused, for I thought he was still in the trees where I had last heard him walking in the leaves. I went back to the house and looked at the footage over and over and the hit was a little bit far back and low but it looked pretty good still. We went out 2 hours later and started the track job. He did not crash where I though he did, but kept going and made a loop back to where I found the blood while walking out. He walked past one of my trail cams so I changed the card on it. After tracking him for 3/4 mile with minimal blood, we found him bedded down by the river, he spooked and ran onto another property, I was dejected, disappointed and discouraged. After a long night of not knowing what would happen, he could still be alive, he could have gone a mile, I was determined to find him. Mid morning the next day my dad got permission to look on the property where he had gone the night before. He found a small amount of blood leading onto yet another property. Later that afternoon We got permission to look on the 4th property this buck had been on while wounded. The blood had ran out so we had to search for the body. After 45 minutes of looking we started working back toward the truck, I crossed the river and saw a log sitting there, as I got close it wasn't a log, it was my buck!! He had made it 300 yards from last blood and just across the river where he died last night. We would have walked within 200 yards of him as he was dead last night after we jumped him, but it was on the other property so we didn't know. I couldn't believe we actually found him! He had gone over a mile but lived less than 4 hours after the shot. I was pretty sure we would never find him, but I still had hope. As we got him propped up for pictures I looked at the shot and it looked like a really good shot, but with him being quartering to a little bit I just caught a little bit of one lung and the liver. I have been hunting 3 years with close to 900 hours in stand trying to get a mature buck with my bow. And it all came together. November 2nd and 3rd 2014 are days to remember! I wouldn't have found him without my dad's help. I thank God everyday for the opportunities I have to enjoy his creation that he has given us to manage. Whitetail deer are amazing creatures and we have to respect them. It has been a remarkable season, 3 turkey toms with my bow and now 2 deer on film with my bow. God is Awesome. This is the end to the story of Clutch, it was truly a wild ride. But I'm glad I went through it, I learned a lot along the way. Thanks for taking time to enjoy these moment with me by reading my long story. He officially green scored 152 1/8". My biggest bow kill by far. I put a few of the trail camera pictures of him from both last year and this year at the bottom. As well as the picture I got of him 3 minutes after the shot. There are also pictures I took on the Oct 27th hunt and the Oct 31st hunt. There are also pics from the video I took of the lighted nock and the hit. I captured most of this hunt on video so I will make another Bow Life Outdoors episode out of it and show you guys later on.
Wow, what an incredible story, and I have to say, the pictures are some of the best I've seen, eveyone worth framing. Love the history with this buck,....again, wow!!!
Awesome read! Pretty cool story and a nerve-racking ending! Im looking forward to seeing the video! Which trail cam picture was the one directly following the shot?
What a history with such a beautiful buck. Glad it ended well and congratulations, hard work pays off!
Congrats! Way to keep level headed and recover your buck. I'm still waiting for my first mature buck!
Wow, incredible story and a great pictorial history. Congrats to you on many fronts. Blessings.......Pastorjim
