What an evening last night. Since I took my buck on November the 6th, I have been sitting with my dad in a set, videoing for him. We get to the stand last night around 3pm; a little late due to work reasons. There were already a few does out in the field. Well, we get settled in on the field edge with the buck decoy out. Around 3:45pm, I see a deer moving about 50 yards away in the scrub oaks. I then noticed it was a buck I was all too familiar with. I tapped my dad on the head and said shooter out front. I get the video rolling; the deer started to walk back to where it came from. One grunt at him and the deer turned and came right in. The deer stepped out in the lane at 26 yards broadside. My dad was still turned the other way, thinking the deer would come in from the other side - so NO shot. Well, the deer mills around for a minute and disappears. About 10 minutes later, I see the buck again about 80 yards in the woods; I grunted and gave him a snort wheeze, hoping he'd see the decoy this time. He still couldn't see the decoy where he was at, but came in again to investigate. This time the buck came in at 25 yards but would not stop for a shot. Talk about frustrating. For the second time, we had to watch one of the biggest bucks we've ever seen on stand walk away. Well, about an hour later, near closing, the buck apears about 250 yards away out in the middle of the alfalfa field chasing does. I gave him a loud growl on my Buck Roar; the buck glared in our direction and finally saw the decoy. He came in on a string. He coverd the 250 yards in about a minute. The buck hung up at about 28 yards and my dad let a bolt fly out of his crossbow. We heard a loud crack and the deer ran about 20 yards and stopped. For about 3 minutes he just stood there and looked around. Then, he took off on a dead run to the woods. After examining the bolt, there was a lot of hair and just a few streaks of blood/flem substance on the fletching. We were baffled. Came back about 3 hours later just to look for sign where he went into the woods. Not a drop of blood found. My dad and others searched all morning, not finding anything either. My guess is a low hit in the leg or part of the brisket. Thoughts? I am certain this bruiser is still at or near 100%. We have called this buck the "Texas Buck" due to his width - he is well over 20", closer to 22". I will be checking the trail cams this week to see if he makes any more appearances. Even though we didn't recover it and we are both sick to our stomachs, what a hunt.
Wow what an exciting hunt!! and even though your dad missed you still have the chance to get him and experience another amazing hunt. You'll get him!
Well, I checked the cameras yesterday and no sign of him. I have about 10 pictures of him the day my dad shot him. I have a feeling he resorted back to the thick stuff where he has been living. Our 9 day gunseason starts Saturday; perhaps us or our neighbors will get a shot at the ol' brute. Thanks for the input.
He lives! Well, went and changed out the cards in the cameras one last time before our gun opener this weekend. I was very pleased to see I have the bruiser on camera 3 days after my dad shot him. The buck looks healthy as he was freshening up an active scrape. He has a small wound in his brisket area; it looks like he barely hit him. I hope he shows his face this weekend for us.
