When I headed out this morning, it was 10 degrees. I was well prepared for the cold and the wind. The steady wind probably made the wind chill temperature dip below zero, but I’ll never know because I didn’t see the weather report.
Although it was cold, it wasn’t bone-chilling cold. In my adventures yesterday, I cut a big track and followed it for a ways. While following it, I had a hunch what the deer was doing and guessed he has been doing it regularly. It appeared he was cruising a shelf below a steep incline. When he got to the end of the shelf, he angled upward and into some heavy, thick saplings where he could bed and overlook the area below him. I’ve seen where a lot of bucks have done the same thing in this area in the past. I also noticed that a scrape that gets used every year hadn’t been freshened yet, and all of the other annual ones I visit had been visited.
With that in mind, I decided I would head there this morning and see if I could intercept him if he decided to do the same thing again, which they sometimes do this time of year when they’re trying to find a hot doe. I also know he’s probably coming to that scrape sometime soon since it’s the only one that hasn’t been reopened.
On my way in, I got off track on three separate occasions and wandered around aimlessly in the dark. Although I found my way back to familiar territory, it cut into my time for getting to where I wanted to be before daylight.
When I changed my clothes and nestled my back into the big yellow birch, the woods were gray. I could see well enough to shoot, and I was ready for the day to start. I rested my elbow on my knee to make sure I had a good rest if I needed it to fire my gun. The ground was frozen solid, so I was extremely glad that I packed two insulated seats to sit on.
The first hour gave me a mixture of snow and wind. The snow came down in bursts for quite a while. I rolled my eyes and took it all in. It seems that the weather is always giving us its best shot up here.
At 8:11, a doe made her way down the ridge past me. She didn’t stop to feed or anything. She must’ve had something on her mind or someplace to go. She was past me faster than I could blink. I was disappointed that a buck wasn’t following her.
Shortly before 9, I opened my backpack and looked for some crackers. I didn’t eat any breakfast because my blood sugar was too high, so I was starving. Opening the crackly package, I questioned what I was doing because of the noise.
With the last of the six crackers in my mouth, I saw a buck coming, and I instantly determined it was a shooter. I pulled the gun to my shoulder and waited. When he stepped into and opening about 70 yards away, I pulled the trigger and listened to a deafening “click.”
Panic-stricken, I eased the safety into the third position and waited for him to get into another opening. When he walked into view in my crosshairs, I pulled the trigger again.
“BA-BOOM,” the gun sang.
The deer turned hard left and bowled over all of the trees in front of it. Quickly ejecting the shell and racking another one in, I found him in my crosshairs as he was going straight away from me. Settling the crosshairs in the middle of his ass, I pulled the trigger again.
All I heard was another loud, empty “click,” and the deer disappeared. Not knowing if I had hit him the first time, I sat for a few minutes and gathered my thoughts. Almost certain that I had made a killing shot, I got up and walked to the area where he had been standing when I fired the shot.
Looking around, I found his tracks in the snow and scanned the area in front of me. After a quick scan, I saw the buck lying lifeless in a small depression.
I’ve killed a lot of deer in my life, and I’ve been fortunate enough to take a lot of “once in a lifetime” bucks for most people. However, when I slowly made my way to the deer, I felt a sense of accomplishment that I’m not sure has ever been rivaled in my hunting career.
I worked harder for this deer than many of the deer I’ve killed. I also watched my plan play out in front of me and come to a conclusion. It was like a added the last puzzle piece to complete the puzzle.
After getting to the deer, I enjoyed every moment of the experience. I spent over an hour trying to get a good picture.
When I went out in the morning, I packed my camera because I felt confident I was going to need it. Although I’m not sure I got any great pictures, I enjoyed the process. I felt like I was one with the deer.
After taking care of it and getting the pictures done, I set small goals to get out of the woods before dark. Since the deer was so big, I wanted to get it out whole so I could weigh it.
When I got halfway out, I was ahead of my goal by an hour and a half. Leaving the deer behind, I brought my gear a few hundred yards ahead to piggyback the process.
Suddenly, a rifle cracked right next to me. I was startled, scared and didn’t know what to do. Then, I saw Brian approaching the deer. In my head, I thought he had shot my buck and thought it was bedded. I didn’t expect to see him and was totally surprised. I was thankful when I did see him.
We finally hit the road at dark and called it a day. I have never been more thankful for a great friend than I was today. I’m glad I got a good buck. I just wish pictures could do the deer justice. It’s a bruiser. Although he was lacking many points, he was the bully on the block.