This buck showed up last year behind my house during the pre-rut ( right now last year ) He was living on the other side of the road on private but for some reason would prefer to rut on my side on the public. A lot of the locals have been shining him and some guys even came to my house and asked about the buck... I tried to keep it quiet but that was useless and a lot of guys were hunting for him. A little over a week ago his big rubs showed on my side of the road... All the other hunters were thinking the buck was useing the trails he was rubbing on and were setting up over the top... But I new where he was bedding and that the rubs were not on his trails but were marking doe trails as he crossed them after dark... I set up in the spot where I thought he was bedding and was very fortunate to watch him rise from his bed about 70 yards away and start coming in... I don't know if he saw or heard me setting up from his bed, but he immeadiatly locked eyes on me. I stayed cool and just let him settle and he started coming again but he kept looking up at me... When he got about 7 yards from the tree I only had one small hole and pulled the bow back. I aimed low cause of the steep angle ( I was 5 sticks high, about 23 feet ) I still hit him high and caught the spine and one lung. He dropped right there and I put 4 more arrows in him as he crawled away. Not real pretty, but he is dead. I took a tape out and we measured him for kicks. 166 1/8 shy of B&C by 3 7/8 The mass was increadable. His beams are as big as my wrists all the way out. I almost got him last year when I jumped him in a doe bedding area 100 yards from where I shot him this year. He stood up 30 yards from me, but I did not have an arrow knocked. This was my second hunt for this buck, and both patience and looking at what the other hunters were doing combined with knowing the buck bedding areas is what got this guy... Pre-rut or not, he wouldn't of gotten 200 yards in daylight at the rate he was moving.
Nice deer, congrats........... what are you going to tell all of the other hunters when they come over now?? Keep them thinking he is still out there or parade him around in the back of the truck for all to see!
4 more arrows....man buck fever gotta love it! haha! :D That is an awesome buck, and congrats on taking it by outsmarting it and the other hunters!!!!
I have had nice bucks drop from an apparant spine hit only to get up and run off never to be found... I can always buy more arrows!
I got the mount back done by Jay Trudell taxidermy. Here is a pic of a shed I found off this years target comparing it to the mount:
