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Surprise Buck on November 19th

KSHUNTER

PMA Member
Took me a while to get this posted, here is the story on the buck I killed on the 19th.

I hunted less this year due to some work obligations, but as November wore on I started to get freed up and things started to fall into place. I was mainly hunting my personal farm trying to catch up with a 5 year buck that I was after last year that had disappeared. Well he showed up the last few days of October and although wasn’t spending a ton of time on my farm, I was getting pretty consistent trail camera photos and sightings from my house windows. I also had a big 9 that called my farm home, he was a 4 year old and I had made the decision to pass him to see if he could make it 1 more year. I ended up having 2 encounters with him, neither time did I have him dead to rights, but I also never pushed the envelope with trying to grunt at him, both times he was within 60 yards. So I hope it makes it through!

The Wide 10 last year (he was a 9 last year)
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The Wide 10 this year(There is a little bitty G4 on right that make him a ten)
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The Big 9 that got a pass
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I took last Friday(the 18th) off work as we had a cold front push through which would let me hunt a set that I had hung two years ago and have had very little luck at, but everything was there for it to be good and it was right between the two locations I was seeing the wide 10 point I was hoping to get a shot at.

The morning of the 18th broke cold with a strong NW wind, I got situated, and the deer parade started about 30-45 minutes after day break. I think I seen 6 different bucks and several does, one was a great 3 year old I have had a ton of encounters with, I have high hopes for him! Anyways I finally got down about 11:30 as I had a few things to get done before an afternoon hunt. The afternoon hunt ended up being a bust and I was questioning which stand to hit the next morning.

I deiced that with as much as the wide 10 was showing up it was probably my highest odds stand for him. Saturday morning started out much the same as the day before and was really stacking up to be a great morning. The bucks were cruising through with regularity and there had been several does. About 9:30 I ended up having a doe and a fawn come through working on to the west to some heavy cover. Both kept looking back like they were expecting something to be following, but I hadn’t spotted anything yet. About 10-15 minutes after they had moved on a little 6 point came dogging there trail, grunting every step, but he was going the wrong way! I was kind of chucking to myself thinking how long it would be before he realized the error.

About that time he disappeared I looked down so see a heavy wide framed deer headed my way, it didn’t look like a deer I knew, but his body screamed mature, and I instantly went into kill mode. He was only about 40 yards away on trial that would essentially bring him by at 15 yards. Just as he was about the clear the last branch I heard a grunt behind me up on the ridge and I heard a deer coming straight to us, it was the little 6 point that had come through earlier. I was afraid the big buck has going to turn and run him off, instead he snort wheezed and stepped into my shooting lane, I settled the pin, slowly pushed the release, the trigger moved, and nothing…..

My release didn’t fire, it is a thumb release that stays clipped on the bow, and the set screw that adjust the trigger position had slipped, and was now bottomed out. As I went to let down it fired! Oh no, I knew it would be a bad shot, “luckily” I completely missed. Now that had all transpired in about 5 seconds after he stepped into my shooting lane, he heard the shot and took one or two big jumps, stopped in another shooting lane, and turned around to stare at the little buck like he was somehow to blame for the noise. By this point I have strung another arrow and have my release situated where it will work. I hit full draw and this time sent an arrow on it way. He made it about 60 yards and went down.

At the time I shot him I didn’t think I knew the deer, but I found 1 trail camera picture from 8 days earlier and I had taken video of him on November 6th out the window of my house bumping a doe around. I don’t think the buck frequented my farm but he was in the area. I was very happy with him, I’ll take a surprise buck like him any day! Good luck to all still out there!


This is how I walked up on him with his head propped up this way.
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The one trail camera photo I had.
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Harvest Photo
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