OneCam
Well-Known Member
It was in the peak of rut. I was hunting with a friend in his timber and we took another friend of ours along. The friend we took that afternoon had not hunted that timber before so I had to walk him within 50 yards of the stand and back track to mine. We got to our stands about 3:30. I had not seen that particular buck before that afternoon. However, I had seen several other bucks in that timber--but none even close to that quality. The best part of the story is the fact that the same buck almost had to have followed me from walking my buddy to his stand.
I had only been in my stand for 10 minutes and I heard him coming. At the same time the buck appeared, I heard my buddy rattling antlers for all he was worth. The buck stopped about 18 feet from my stand and instantly turned his head back towards the rattling which gave me a great opportunity to stand up and draw my bow. My first reaction was that I had missed the deer altogether. As soon as I released the arrow he exploded and was gone.
The arrow went through the deer and was lying on the ground where I had shot at him. It was too far away to see any blood on the arrow so I was wondering if I had even hit him. I waited 10 to 15 minutes and then was going to climb down and look for blood on the arrow. About that time another buck appeared and hung around for almost another 20 minutes. I didn't want to spook him thinking he might wander to one of the other guys. He finally left and gave me a chance to climb down and investigate the arrow. The arrow looked very good so I thought as long as I was already on the ground, I may as well see if there was a good blood trail. The trail was good enough that I could walk steady at a slow pace. The buck had run approximately 125 yards (downhill) and was dead on the trail.
Now for the best part of the story. The same buck had walked by my buddy that I had walked to his stand at about 15 yards. He had just gotten into his stand and his bow was still hanging on the string at the base of the tree.
When we met at dark, the first thing out of his mouth was "did you see that huge buck?". My answer was "what buck".
I had only been in my stand for 10 minutes and I heard him coming. At the same time the buck appeared, I heard my buddy rattling antlers for all he was worth. The buck stopped about 18 feet from my stand and instantly turned his head back towards the rattling which gave me a great opportunity to stand up and draw my bow. My first reaction was that I had missed the deer altogether. As soon as I released the arrow he exploded and was gone.
The arrow went through the deer and was lying on the ground where I had shot at him. It was too far away to see any blood on the arrow so I was wondering if I had even hit him. I waited 10 to 15 minutes and then was going to climb down and look for blood on the arrow. About that time another buck appeared and hung around for almost another 20 minutes. I didn't want to spook him thinking he might wander to one of the other guys. He finally left and gave me a chance to climb down and investigate the arrow. The arrow looked very good so I thought as long as I was already on the ground, I may as well see if there was a good blood trail. The trail was good enough that I could walk steady at a slow pace. The buck had run approximately 125 yards (downhill) and was dead on the trail.
Now for the best part of the story. The same buck had walked by my buddy that I had walked to his stand at about 15 yards. He had just gotten into his stand and his bow was still hanging on the string at the base of the tree.
When we met at dark, the first thing out of his mouth was "did you see that huge buck?". My answer was "what buck".