The Whole Story (for anyone who feels like reading it)

Thanks for all the kind words on the buck harvest, guys. I really appreciate it.


Germ and I were talking, and I started to tell him the "Rest of the Story," a story that I wasn't going to tell, but I'm bored, so I'll tell it. It's interesting, and I think it captures the roller-coaster ride that is Hunting Season.

This crusade started in winter, 2010, when I stumbled upon the biggest shed of my life, a 64" mammoth 4x side. I've got sheds that outscore it, but nothing compares in terms of mass and size.

See for yourself.




This picture puts it in perspective...



The shed wasn't from the 2009 season. It had laid for a year. This was a 2008 shed.

Nobody who hunts that particular area had ever seen this deer before or since. No record of his death. Just a shed. One shed.

I named him the Ghost Buck. This guy was off the grid.

Summer 2010 came and went, we ran as many as 14 trailcams all year, nary a picture of this guy. He was a memory, but he wasn't forgotten.

You see, the King has a memory like a steel trap. He remembers things. When I picked up the shed, I tore that mountain apart trying to dial in on where this buck lived. I found a core area that appeared to have been holding a giant buck throughout 2009. No '09 sheds tho. Could it be the ghost buck? Nah. There's probably a new sheriff in town. Either way, duly noted.


__________________________________________________

Enter fall, 2010.

I reach back into the archives and dredge up the memory of the Ghost Buck, and consider hanging a set back in his old haunt. There was a perfect site that I'd found the winter before, so I trucked my ass back in there with a pocketfull of steps and a rusty old treestand.

I knew when I climbed down for the first time and stood at ground level, admiring the fruits of my toil that this may have been one of my best stand sets I've ever hung. It was perfect. Prevailing wind in your favor all day every day. Thermal in your favor every morning. Tons of clutter around the deck, and tucked away 18 yards from a faint trail that I knew would carry a big buck, sooner or later. Perfect ingress/egress. This was the perfect trap.

I hunted this set on the morning of 9/26, seeing only a couple does. No appreciable buck sign, but I knew this set was tight up against a big buck's core area, in a small stand of white oaks that were puking acorns all over the place. A giant track in a muddy crossing tipped me off that there was a stud buck in the area, I just had no idea which buck it could be. I hung a camera that would tell the tale.

On 10/2, the wind was perfect for that set yet again, and I desperately wanted to see what had been working these acorns. I slipped into the stand, and grabbed my SD card before I climbed the tree.

I plugged the card into the viewer, and there he was. The Ghost. In the daylight, no less. I almost fell out of my stand.



The biggest 4x4 I've ever seen. A true hammer of a whitetail, aged at at least 6 years old.

He was in there. He was alive. My heart pounded all morning, but he never showed. I slid out at 11:00, PA bound. (Unfortunately, I had to be at home early afternoon, 10/2. I'll be back in there the following day, wind permitting.) I know I have to strike while the iron is hot. This buck is going to die. I'm all over him.

This is where things got interesting...

Saturday night, I was going to make a quick 1-hour hunt on a PA giant that I'd been watching all year. I knew I had a legit chance to kill this buck in the last 15 minutes of daylight on opening day.

This guy.



A PA giant.

Long story short, that night, I shot him.

Unfortunately, I had no idea where I'd hit him. I pushed the shot. I pushed my limits. In retrospect, he was too far, and I rushed it. I backed out without even looking for blood.

My buddy Mark calls at 8:00, and I tell him what happened. I tell him that there's a legitimate chance that I've got a 150+" PA buck down. Sunday morning would be a PA recovery mission. No Ohio hunt for me, and the Ghost would be safe for another day.

He says - "West wind tomorrow . . . do you care if I go in there and hunt the Ghost out of your stand."

"No. Go ahead."

___________________________________________

10/3 - a day that will live with me for a long time...

By 9:00, I knew I'd lost the biggest buck I've ever shot. High leg hit, I believe. Just a nick. (I've seen him since, so I know he's OK). I was sick.

Sick.

I blew it. The biggest Pennsylvania buck I'll probably ever share the woods with, and I blew it. Reality was eating me alive. I sat alone in the woods, head in my hands.

We've all lost big deer. You know that feeling of gutwrenching helplessness... It sucks.

_________________________________________________


At 10:05 on 10/3, the gods of bowhunting twisted the knife even more, when my phone rang. It's my buddy Mark. He's probably calling to see if I tagged that buck, and now I'm going to have to dish out the bad news...

Nope.

He called me up to tell me that he'd just killed the Ghost.

I actually threw up in my mouth.




That was my dreambuck. That was my stand, and I should've been in it at 10:05 on Sunday morning. Instead, I'm sitting on a weak bloodtrail after a bad shot on a huge buck. I was devastated.

My buddy shot it, so the emotions were mixed, to be sure. These deer don't take reservations, and we always hunt with the understanding that the sheds we find and the deer we locate are always fair game.

But still. I'm human and that hurts.

155 inches of "I really screwed up today." What a kick in the stomach. Two major gaffes in two days...

Getting back on the Horse

After 5 days of evaluating and re-evaluating, I gave myself a new head of steam... One foot in front of the other... I went in there the next weekend, pulled all my gear, including the Ghost Stand and moved to a whole other mountain . . . where everything started again with this picture:



...and it ended with these ones.

 

Nice read, thats too bad about the other bucks. Thats why only I hunt my stands lol. Nice buck though, congrats again

 

You stud you!

Congrats bro... now go get your wife pregnant!

 

That is awesome major congrats, what a great story i enjoyed reading thru it.

 

Great story. Congrats again Fran.That PA buck will be waiting for you later this year or next year!

 

Great read Fran, way to get er done on an awesome buck. Congrats again.

 

Good read, Quick. Talk about an up and down season! Funny you mention the gut wrenching feeling. I, too, blew a chance at a once in a lifetime buck back in the third week of October. There's a good chance I will NEVER get a chance like that again.

Congrats on making at least a littler more bearable.

 

Great story, sorry about the tough luck. You definitely turned your season around nice with a awesome buck. I had a buddy hunt one of the stands I hung this year and he shot a 5yr old buck out of it and it is his first year hunting. I know the feeling of being happy for a friend, but also a little jealous/upset that it wasn't me, just my hard work setting it up.

 

Great story. You deserved that slammer. Quik, you do get er done! Congrats.

 

Good read, takes a little bit of a roller coaster ride, but finishes nicely. Both are great bucks, and while that "Ghost" may not be on your wall this spring, he was killed as a result of a lot of YOUR hard work, and you were just kind enough to let someone else get the opportunity on him. Congrats can sometimes be bittersweet I suppose.... <----- There's a tear in that beer....

 

Couple things...

First, great story. Well laid out. Shoulda put more of the story about the buck you killed.

Second, YOU MISSED!!!!!!!! WTF? The king dont miss? I dont know what to think...my world is turned upside down.

Third, congrats! Nice to see someone else admit it hurts when somebody kills "your buck"....but thats hunting.

 

Wow, great story and well deserved ending. Absolutey incredible to get on three big mature bucks like that, I can only hope to obtain that in the next 10 years, combined!

Congrats again

 

Now that's gettin' er dun! Very good hunting on three big ones in such short order. Tip of the hat to you. Very skilled.

Congrats.

 

Good read Fran. Congrats on a real stud!

 

Nice write up Fran, I was glad to share your story as it unfolded via phone & text.

 

Alot happened in a short amount of time, that is a dream season even though there were some emotional low points. You came into contact with more and bigger bucks than most guys do in a lifetime. Congrats again hoss...

 

"Undisputed King of Archery" autographed memorabilia should be available before the holidays, just in case any of you are looking for that special gift for the hunter who has everything.

I'm going to talk to Justin about maybe getting a promotional discount to the first 10,000 customers.



Rybo was along for every bump in the road. He had to talk me down from the rooftop on 10/3. LOL

 

Great story! I definitely know the feeling you described when you injure one. Maybe now you can get on that PA giant....he's a beaut.

 

If we really knew the the "whole" story to all of the buck pix we see. Thanks for sharing yours Fran, that was a great read, So many aspects I am sure a lot of us can relate too. That big 4x4 was an awesome buck that your bud drilled, and that big PA buck I can only imagine how much that deer meant to you and to go through what you did and to bounce back like that shows character. Congrats again, real happy for you. U got any buck tags left? PA? if so, kill another hammer!

 

Congrats...If all 3 of them would be standing in a row, I wouldn't know for sure which of the 3 would be my first choice. They are all great bucks...Congrats!