This morning started off innocent enough for me. I am off the rest of the week to hunt the rut and I found myself in my "money" stand. Saw several small bucks wandering around in search of love early, then it quieted down. Around 11am, I spotted what I thought was a doe working toward me. "she" bedded down about 75 yards from the stand and laid there for about an hour. Eventually, this deer got up and worked to me. I realized then it was a little button buck. He was under my stand for what seemed like a half hour, feeding and milling around. All at once, he started getting nervous, looking down in the direction he came. I slowly turned and began scanning the area...nothing. All of sudden he bolted and I heard that tell tale ruckus, mixed with grunts as there was a buck chasing a doe. I looked and caught streaks of a deer running in circles. Then I saw him, a big racked buck, maybe 130"-140", then, I saw another about the same size! If that wasn't enough, two more bucks, a 6ish and maybe a 4 pointer came flying by me from that direction, getting the heck out of dodge. The two big boys chased the doe, then one another for quite some time. What happened next astonished me. One of the smaller bucks came back into the picture and somehow, got caught between this doe and one of the big bucks. The big buck charged him and turned the little guy around. However he wasn't able to get out in time and the big buck hooked him in the hind quarter, almost flipping him. The little buck came limping back by me a minute later and I could see the blood running down his back leg as he went by. The big bucks then chased the doe around more and eventually out of site. No shooting for me as they were too far away and behind me, but what an experience!
That was an awsome morning huh...I watched a basket rack 6 turn and just ram a little spike a few years ago. They were eating in a food plot and some does came out, about 15 minutes later he just rammed him. I guess he was OK as they fed on until dark.
I got caught this AM, too. Light was such that I could make out the deer I was looking at's body easily well enough to make an ethical shot. But, I wasn't sure he was "the one" (or....one of 'em). He was 10yds and broadside. By the time I got my glass on him and saw enough to make my decision easy, he was on the move, again. 45 min. later, doe comes trottin' through, and a nice 7 was on her tail. She came back on the trail the big buck was on and stopped, right where the buck did. She got squirrely (even though she was upwind of me and I hadn't walked past my tree) and after about a minute, she turned and walked back in the direction she came from. The big 7 never got closer than 30yds or so. Such is bowhunting. I either saw 2 mature bucks this morning (which would be a 1st for me in one sitting); or I saw the same buck 2X. Either way, I feel your pain. Good luck. Strike while the iron's hot.
Sounds like a great experience! I would love to witness something like that. I have heard two buck fights in my years of bowhunting. I saw one of the bucks both times after the fight, but I never got to see them clash! thanks for the post, great stuff! Sal
Always cool to see something like that. It is almost intimidating to see the intensity that a mature buck has when fighting off those other bucks, he literally seems like he is trying to kill them.
Rybo, you're right! I've seen mature bucks chase small ones off as if they were annoyed before. But I can honestly say this had me a little concerned for the little guy and for the doe they were after. Intense stuff!
