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Very entertaining story too

What's that thing you have laying across his body though? :)

It is a Big Black Boomstick, aka BBB. :))

Congratulations buck master! Enjoy the spoils of your hunt!

OK more pics and the story forthcoming shortly

My usual place is below an overgrown pasture with a few mature cedars-surrounded by woods on three sides it's very scenic and the perfect location.

So I am sick as a dog with a cold and I am popping shots of Nyquil, Tito's and Mucinex the night before opening day. I pull myself together in the morning and get set up 15 minutes before sunrise. After an hour a little 4 pointer comes up the trail behind me and I let him go. By 8:30 am I am so sick I cant take anymore so I go back to the house.

I had some coffee and food and decided to go back to another location higher up the property - so I choose to drive a very short distance and park at the trail head. Lots of scrapes and rubs everywhere. As soon as I walk into my setup area I see a young doe about 70 yards away and she does not sense that I am there.

My set up here is at the crest of a hill in the woods looking down sloping terrain - to my left the hill slopes down into a ravine creek bed- beyond that the terrain goes back up and rolls over into another creek bed so there are 3 ridgelines- - beyond the last ridge line there is thick brush and then steadily but not steeply rising upward is the cow pasture.

As I am watching the doe in front of me I hear crashing through the brush. I look over to the third ridgeline , about 120 yards away, and I see this monstrous buck running off a 4 pointer. My impression was that he was a 50 gallon drum on 4 legs- the biggest I ever saw.

I decided to wait and bet that he would move toward me to engage the doe. Instead he grunts and trots back into the thickets.

I am sitting on a wet log and did not bring my calls or anything so I ran home got all my gear and changed clothes and got back out there planning to wait until sundown.

I am grunting, bleating and rattling but get no response. A doe comes out of the brush where he was and walks down to the creek bed then out of sight. I am committed to staying as long as it takes and certain that he would come out after that doe and I would have an easy 60 yard shot. I am trying to be still and a bug begins crawling on the back of my neck. I swipe at it with my had and it goes down my back underneath my sweatshirt- the bug turns out to be a frigging bee and he is walking around on my back buzzing away. I am almost about to take off all my shirts to get that bee out of there. I pull back the collar in the back and miraculously the bee escapes.

I wait until sundown and see no more deer.

Thursday I am still struggling with the cold but it is not incapacitating me so I get out before sunrise where I saw the big buck – I stayed until about 11 am and decided to go home after seeing virtually no activity. Thursday afternoon I was just too tired from the meds to get out. I wanted pizza for dinner but my wife didn’t have time to pick it up and I just did not have the energy to go get it myself. Normally I would move heaven and earth to get this pizza.

This morning I got up at 5 am and my cold was much worse – I had no energy at all and was ramping up the Nyquil shots. This was without a doubt the worst that I felt since getting sick. I decided that I would at least get out and set up for a few hours- So I got out by sunrise. The action started immediately.

I am looking to my left at the third ridge line and I let out a grunt-only one. Five minutes later I see movement along the ridge. Can’t make it out at first because there are too many trees. It’s definitely a deer but what ? A fawn? A doe ? Then he emerges, oh yeah that’s him, and I see his rack – full and mature but nothing noteworthy. I realize all of my cold symptoms are completely gone. As I get the crosshairs on him he then turns his back to me and slowly walks away disappearing below the third ridge line. NO NO NO COME BACK!!!

I let out a few more grunts, a rattle and a single bleat out of desperation. Five minutes later I see movement straight ahead of me about 120 yards away. It’s him. He had walked down hill along the creek bed and then crossed over the creek bed where the two creeks merge. He was slowly working his way up toward me. He was looking for a fight not doubt.

I normally will only take a perfect broad side shot. I will look for any excuse not to shoot. I never missed a deer in my life. (shotgun hunting different story –I am not a good shotgun shooter- I had two toms coming into me one time - I aimed at one of them pulled the trigger and the other tom went down- true story)- This boy was looking straight at me and I had a perfect shot at his shoulder chest area- I hit his lower neck. He dropped in his tracks.

Now I need to get him out of the woods. Normally I hunt with a friend and never have a problem taking the deer out. Today though I was by myself. Nobody else could get off from work. I could not budge this boy at all. I went back to my vehicle to get a tarp thinking that would help and then I see my wife fly by in her car making believe she does not see me.

I figured that after I gutted him it would be manageable- and I could slide him out on the tarp NOPE. After a few 1 , 2, 3 pull, 1,2,3, pull attempts went nowhere I decided to quarter him. After I took off the hind quarters I was able to get the rest of him on my tail gate rack. It was a monumental struggle to lift him onto the tailgate even after his hind quarters were removed. I am 5’10 and 215 pounds and, although not as strong as I once was, can normally hold my own. I could barley budge this guy – even flipping him around when I was gutting him was a struggle.

In the end he is the biggest buck I had ever seen. I am guessing he was 5.5 or 6.5 years old – past his prime on antler growth. The rack is nothing very impressive – a mature 8 pointer with a busted G3 and a busted missing brow tine – I may have him mounted exactly as he is. He was definitely a bruiser. I need a beer or two Hope you enjoy the pictures too – I love reading all your stories -

Yes N8tureboy amazing how I was too crippled to go out and thought I should be drinking hot tea in bed and a few hours later I am dragging a 250 pound deer out of the woods LoL.

I have a funny video I may post - I made a video after I shot the deer describing what happened and showing the terrain. My friend called about the deer and we were talking and I forgot the video was still rolling - I may make it private and give you guys the pass word - its funny