Honestly, he’s the only “big” buck we intended on chasing. Our eyes have really been opened what bucks can do if you let them go from 4.5 to 5.5. I know that’s not realistic for everyone but if you challenge and push yourself hard enough it is possible. It is a year-round passion and dedication our whole family works on.
Anyway – back to hunting him. I was the first after him and hunted him one morning and evening in a funnel and no sign of him. The next evening in that funnel I had him coming to 45 yds but he didn’t like something and turned around and left. I ended up tagging a buck a few miles away the following morning, so my intentions were to help dad and Russ wrap their tag around him. Over the next couple weeks dad hunted him a half dozen times and Russ a few times as well. In total he was seen 5 or 6 times between the two of them, never closer than ~80yds. Each time they had either just a lone buck or lone doe decoy out and he either had zero reaction to it or would stare at it and then leave the field. Not the reaction we were hoping for.
Saturday November 10th I was hoping to get out with dad and hunt but we both were fighting nasty colds and didn’t feel like hunting. Thankfully Sunday we were feeling better and after dad and Russ worked calves, we moved them to stalks, and headed out hunting. This time I was going along with dad, so he had an extra pack mule to help bring more decoys. We had a buck and doe decoy in front of us, we’ve never done that because it’s physically impossible (without having them already at the hunting spot) to carry that much gear on your own. We got setup in the blind and chatted for the next couple hours which was nice (both to be in a warm blind and catch up with dad). I can’t remember the last time we hunted together, it has been a couple years for sure. Russ snuck in a little later than us and setup in his tree suit in a new set on a trail that deer used to leave the field dad and I were setup in. Russ’ setup over looked dad and my setup.
Our talk was interrupted when I spotted a buck chasing a doe in the timber. It was a big framed 4.5-year-old 8pt. He looked even more impressive in person and I tried to grunt, rattle, and snort wheeze to get his attention. I got him to look one time, but he was hot after his lady. They ran back and forth for about the next 30 minutes. He was one of those bucks like the one we’re after, at 4.5 he’s “just” a big framed 8, do we shoot him or let him walk? But we’re starting to let almost all 4.5s walk, they can make some real big jumps at 5.5. Thankfully this buck never came in bow range and made Russ or dad decide.
After things calmed down we had some does and fawns enter the field and we knew if they’d stay calm and ignore the decoys we’d have good odds of our buck coming out. The first big doe saw the decoy, and slow came in to investigate. One her walk-in dad spotted a buck in the timber and he knew it wasn’t the 8pt, it was something bigger. I look up and 200yds away with the naked eye I can tell it’s the buck we’re after. Dad was binoing him and said “Long G3 (that was our creative name for the buck) just saw something he didn’t like, I bet that 8pt is up there by him”. Sure enough, next thing we know both the 8pt and Long G3 are in the field, following the does. Long G3 is posturing up and walking that 8pt directly towards us! By now the does are about 30yds out, down wind of the decoys. There’re a couple smaller bucks in the decoys and these two bucks are closing the distance fast. You could tell Long G3 was torn between walking off the 8pt or coming to the decoy.
Finally, he was about 60yds out and went full attention to the buck decoy, it was all but done for him!
This however was the first time we’ve had a buck come into a buck decoy upwind and towards the hind end of the decoy, which we did not have dad positioned to shoot that direction very well. So it all happened so fast, I’m ranging as he’s coming in. 50yds, 40yds, 30yds… I start filming again and then realized he’s about 3 steps from the decoy and ready to bulldoze it.
I tell dad he better shoot quick but it’s too late, his nose touches the buck decoys tail and he spooks off to a side of the blind I couldn’t see… but dad could! The buck stopped at 30yds and dad smoked him! He runs off, then walks off and is wobbly, we watch him fall and celebrate! The celebration was semi-short lived because the does and small bucks were still in range and dad had a doe tag in his pocket.
Dad got ready and within 10 minutes we had a nice big doe at 30yds and she got smoked as well! Russ came out of his stand, he was freezing, dad and I laughed at how that hunt all unfolded. We found both arrows and went to check out the buck. This was a hunt we’ll never forget. To be there together, all three of us was awesome! Russ watched the entire thing unfold from his perch 200yds away. This buck finally got the right attitude to come in and investigate the decoys, and dad made it count!
We all really enjoy seeing the kids excitement evolve about the deer and hunting. Clayton was scared at first of the deer but came around to it. He also was grandpas taste tester for the smoked deer shoulders dad was deboning. Clayton didn’t need supper that’s for sure!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk