Best buck to date

Last evening me and my hunting buddy were heading out to hunt. On the drive out to our property we, like always, we were discussing where to sit. The topic of wind direction came up and I told my buddy that I checked the wind about an hour ago and it was out of the SW. We stopped the truck to check the wind and it actually was out of the SE. Bad wind for most of our stands. My buddy was planning on sitting my fencerow buddy stand but I mentioned that I wondered what the mosquitos were still like in our riverbottom woods. The last time I was in there (about a week ago) the mosquitos ran me out in about 10 seconds. After discussing my buddy decided he would give the riverbottom a shot since the wind wasn't too bad to hunt that stand. I dropped him off and did some contemplating of my own as to where to sit. I decided the only stand I could sit where the wind wouldn't ruin my hunt was the buddy stand that my buddy just opted not to sit in. I get up and all harnessed in the stand with much excitement...the evening before I had scene several does enter the field and every one get scent checked by a buck. Some got checked by multiple bucks. I even witnessed a six point and an 8 point lock horns for about 5 minutes. So, with all that happening the night before I was really excited what tonight was going to have in store for me.

Not long after getting into my stand, a very sickly looking doe trotted past me and it left me wondering if I should've just shot her to put her out of her misery. The next hour was pretty slow. Then about 6:00 a button buck came out of the woods straight up the fencerow from. He fed out in the winter wheat field for about 5 minutes before his momma finally appeared. She was kept looking back up into the woods so I knew something else was gonna appear the field. Before he even got out of the woods I knew it was a mature buck. Mind you, this is all about 175 yds from where I'm sitting. I turned my video camera on a caught about 30 seconds of video of him before he went back into the woods after scent checking the doe. Just as he entered the woods I decided "screw it, I'm gonna give him a couple of mature buck grunts and see what happens." I've never had much luck with a grunt call but I always carry one just in case. After grunting he did not make any motion that made me think he heard me but the button buck and doe sure did. After feeding for about 5 more minutes those 2 walked right past me and decided not to shoot her in hopes that the buck would come back out and follow her trail past me. Well, it didn't quite happen that way. About 45 minutes later I hear what I am sure is deer coming right down the fencerow to me on the opposite side of the fence of where the BB and doe came by me. I can't see anything due to the undergrowth. Then he appears 20 yds in front of me right in my shooting window! My first thought is "holy sh!t, it's the buck I saw earlier! He came looking for where the grunt came from!" My next thought is how am I gonna get my crossbow. My crossbow hangs from a broken off branch that is actually a little too high. It hangs about 2' over my head when I am standing. Obviously it can't be reached from a seated position...and dang it, I'm sitting down! I realize I have one opportunity to stand up and get my bow when he gets behind the next tree or else I have no chance. The other thing I have going against me is my wind is blowing right to him. I was worried about my stand creaking when I stood up because it had done it a couple earlier that evening. Well, he got behind the tree and I quickly stood up and grabbed my crossbow and my stand never made a sound! Yes! He immediately moves into my shooting window and I quickly get him in the scope and squeeze the trigger and hear a nice chest cavity thud. He ran across the standing bean field and I saw him drop about 125 yds away.

The funny thing about this buck is I ran trail cameras for a couple of months up until the end of September and my best friend, who hunts the property right next to me, has been running 2 cameras over a giant food plot since June and neither of us have gotten a picture of this buck. It just goes to show that you never what deer might be lurking in your woods...especially when rut gets going. Hunt hard boys things are really starting to heat up!


Hopefully I'll get better pictures tonight if the weather allows me to...