It was that time of the year, fall crisp air and a full moon days away. It was time to be in the deer woods. I was hunting an area that I knew had two good bucks that had made my hit list for 2012. I had one of those very bucks at 20 yards on Oct 21, “Lucky” that I named in a post last week. On the morning of Oct 27th I found myself hunting in the same stand I had last seen “Lucky”. I may not be the best at naming my hit list bucks but it’s fun to give them a name. The morning started slow, but about a half hour into shooting light deer started to move. I first spotted a little fork buck making his way in to the timber from a CRP field, then a few does in the CRP with a few fawns. It was picking up. The little fork was working in and if I was going to stand up, I needed to now. I got my PSE EVO in my hand and was ready.
I spotted a another small buck chasing a fawn around but really I had not seen much in the way of chasing. He chased her from the CRP field into the timber. I was watching them as the chase stopped after they got in the timber. Just then I caught movement behind the small buck and fawn. It was a bigger buck about 100 yards away making his way down the fence just inside the timber. Didn’t take me long to figure out he was a shooter…. was it a buck I had seen? As he got to about 80 yards, I could see it was “Lucky”!!!
He checked the fawn but barely, kind of just turned his head as he walked by. He made his way closer but SLOWLY. He was not “cruising” as he was stopping to feed here and there. Just a deer being a deer. I looked down and the fork buck who was the first deer I spotted that day was about 20 yards away. He started to work a scrape. The other small buck who had been chasing the fawn, took notice. He made his way to the scrape. I was watching looking at them then back at the shooter approaching, my food plot. I wasn’t sure if he would come right to the plot or not.
Then it happened! The other small buck got to the scrape and it was on!!! Both of the little guys pinned their ears back, squared off and smash. You would had thought they were the two biggest bucks in the woods. I kept an eye on “Lucky” my shooter buck that I had trail cam pictures of, who I had been hunting all season for. He took notice in a big way. He came charging in. The two younger buck separated on his arrival. He pinned his ears back and gurnted, the younger bucks backed away. They looked as if they knew better then to play in his house.
Well as “Lucky” made his charge in I drew my bow, I wasn’t sure if he would end up in range or if he might chase the small bucks but I wanted to be ready. As it was when he stopped he was at 30 yards and in a shooting lane broadside. I held my 25 yard pin just a bit high, touched off the release. The arrow hit just a bit forward but it was a pass-through as the PSE and Rage combo punched through. He ran right at my tree, through the food plot and tipped over just beyond the plot. I had just shot my best buck thus far. I do have to give a little credit to great friend and landowner Travis, he had been telling me for over two weeks that the 27th was the day. Why? Well see that was the first day he could get out and hunt. Still he was pumped up when I called and told him to make his way, over to my stand as we had a bit of a job ahead of us. What a memorable hunt! That is why we do it!