This story begins a long time ago when I gained access to a great piece of ground back around where I am from. Started running cameras and on the second year of running cameras had multiple bucks running around and a couple of really nice bucks. One of the bucks was a decent little 2 1/2 year old that we didn't put much thought into. The next season comes along and I did not do much hunting on this property. I was going to school at the time an hour and a half away and had some other properties I spent a lot of time on. We were still running a few cameras tho and this guy showed back up. He had grown a little but not a whole lot. Then last year, 2012, he showed back up as a 4 1/2 and he had finally put on the inches. I kept trying to catch up with him last year but could never get it quite done and actually never seen him. It was this year he was given the name Charles. Then finally this season showed up. I had been running more cameras and covering more ground in hopes of finding him. Coming into this season, this was the one deer that I wanted. Finally on October 26 he showed up. He was hanging around a food plot not far from where were getting pictures of him last year. I knew he summered a mile and a half north of me due to a neighbor having trail cam photos on his place up there. When the rut came he liked to move onto our place and stay on the place north of me that butted up to this property. A big cold front came through Tuesday and temperatures dropped about 35 degrees. With this and the fact of the time of year I decided to take a day off of work to go hunt. That morning I went and set on a ridge and had a great 3 1/2 buck we call spider-man come by at 25 yards chasing a doe. I decided to pass then decided to shot him but by that time it was to late. I went and checked cameras and that morning and Charles had been on the food plot on the 5th. On another camera by a pond there had been a lot of buck activity the past morning and evening. This stuck in my mind. That evening I went to hunt a new setup I had set previously the week before. Upon getting there sign was minimal so I decided to chug it to the pond stand and set up. I made it there and got settled in. At about 4:30 a fork horn moved through the woods in front of me. Then came a button and another fork horn over the span of about 45 minutes. At about 5:20 I am getting tired and debating heading home, but decide that would be stupid to do since there is only about 35 minutes left for the night. At about 5:30 I hear a grunt come from the woods in front of me. Then a lot a grunts and you can hear two deer running around. I can only see glimpses of them and cannot tell how big the buck is but know its a buck chasing a doe. After a couple of minutes the doe pops out into the opening I'm in with the pond. She then goes back into the edge of the timber and goes to my right passing broadside a approximately 35 yards. (Disclaimer: I have a rangefinder but the batteries had died during the morning hunt. I do not like not being able to range the.) As she passes by I look at the pond to find the buck and there is Charles getting a drink. At this point my heart beats out of my chest. I hope he will see the doe and come down the opening at 20 yards since she is now out in the opening about 80 yards down. Nope. He goes back into the edge of the timber and goes the way she goes. He hits the opening I have, I am drawn, doe has seen me and is about to blow, I stop him. I settle my pin and let go... When I do this I don't follow through and go to pull my bow down to watch my arrow, this kicks the *** end of the arrow to the right, the front end to the left and bam, guts. My heart sinks and the cussing starts. I call my brother and let him know what happened. I know to give him at least 12 hours so I get down and grab my arrow and back out. The next morning I go get my uncle and we get down there about 9:15. I had shot him at 5:35. We can see where he ran through the leaves and find blood about 80 yards down the trail. Its slow tracking but there is some blood. We hit and opening and lose blood and go to the fence because I know he is gonna try to go north to where he lived. Sure enough on the fence we find blood where he stood there. We get across the fence (we have permission to track any deer on this place and the neighbor has the same to do on ours). We pop out of the trees and he is laying there, still alive but barely! Two more arrows later and he was dead. (Should have taken one, but I messed up the first shot due to excitement.) I am proud to have gotten him after all the time spent thinking about him and hunting him!! This was not the exact way I wanted it to go though, I never want a deer to suffer and I know he did until we were able to get to him. But if you gut shoot one, WAIT!!!! It was 17 hours and he was still alive. If you know its a bad shot, just back out and wait, I truly believe that is what allowed us to find him in what appeared to be his first bed. Here he is: Here are the cam pictures from this year: His gross score came to 148 2/8. I can still hardly believe that he is finally gone...
Congrats and thanks for sharing the story! My first though is that isn't the same buck as the 2012 (Stealth Cam) pictures. Are you sure??? Looks like he shrunk in 2013 quite a bit if so!
Heckler yeah I am sure. We have more pics I just didn't post them. We also think he shrunk some from last year, but I'm not sure of his increase in body size makes it appear that way, but it's him. I'll try to post some more pics up tomorrow and you will be able to tell. Thanks everyone! And PT I'm still around, just graduated college and got a real job and am looking for a job back home so that consumes a lot of my time. I'll get to posting more here before long. Hope all is well with you man!!
