So back in November 2018 I see a buck running through the draw towards me, had just enough time to see he had an extra beam or a bunch of trash off his right base. Thats all it took for me to go into kill mode. Come to full draw, stop buck at a mear fifteen yards, and let the arrow fly right into a limb. Missed by a mile. Ya real smooth move right. Now arrow is stuck in the ground at fifteen yards and the buck is walking away laughing at me. He then proceeds to bed down one hundred twenty five yards away right in the middle of the pasture.
I spend the next three hours studying him and finally accept the fact he is only a two year old. Now that the buck is sure I have made up my mind about not shooting him. He comes back down and sniffs my arrow. Snickers at me and walks out of my life.
I guess I should say at this point I never expect to ever see a buck I let walk due to the fact I am just hunting by permission and others shot gun hunt the areas.
In the picture at the very end of the draw is were the 2018 encounter took place.
Some of you will call me a bad hunter for this part and I won't disagree with you. I cant stand making a bad shot let alone two.
One November morning back in the 2019 season I finally have rattled in this very old, one eyed, giant bodied, heavy antlers buck that i have been seeing regularly all through the month of October. He shows up right after I rattled and is standing in the brush looking for the fighters.
Being the old buck that he is he started walking to cut the wind before coming any closer. There's my opening stop him and proceed to shoot him right in the right front leg brisket high. I instantly know I didn't get penetration and did not kill this big joker. Saw him several more time that season still all gimpy but still trying to breed.
Now you must be wondering how the above story ties into the original story huh?
This past sunday the 8th I sitting along the creek the bucks cruise in between bedding areas. The first deer i see is doing ninty miles an hour across the ridge in front of me. He must hear something down the creek i don't to be running all out heading somewhere. About half an hour later and about two hundred yards farther up the ridge I see a line of bucks running back from the direction the buck from earlier ran to. Throw up the binoculars scoping the bucks out trying to find a shooter among them.
To my surprise bringing up the rear is this gimpy, old, one eyed, giant bodied, heavy antlered buck that I instantly figured is the same one from last year. What are the odds huh?
As soon as I realize he is the one I want I don't even lower the binoculars and snort wheeze at him. It was funny cause it looked like his head and body was doing two different things at the same time. His head tried to snap up to look and his body immediately turned to come give a beat down.
So he is now coming in on a string, closes the distance to fifty yards and locks up like a bird dog. I'm now ranging trees in front of him. The big hackberry is thirty three. If he gets there he is mine. Nope being the old crafty buck that he is, he starts cutting to get the wind but closing the distance at the same time. He is now close enough, I stop him, shot is on its way. Guess what, I shoot the gimpy, old, one eyed, giant bodied, heavy antlered buck right into the left front leg brisket high. Instantly realize i didn't kill this buck a second time. No penetration and I see him up with all the other bucks fifteen minutes later gimbing along. Still can't decide if this is the luckiest buck in the world or the most unlucky buck for keep getting shot.
Morning starts out with rain which the weather man said wasn't supposed to start till six pm. Later in the morning while it was still raining the weather man changed the forecast for the rain to start at two pm. Go figure right. Aint but two professions where a person can get paid to lie. A weather man and a politician
So by noon I'm soaked and ready for a move cause all the does that was in the bedding areas I was set up on had been blown out by a coyote.
I run to the vehicle and change into dry clothes and grab the decoy. I move to a spot that two bedding areas form a V. Set up in the V with the decoy out in the corn. My wind is going up into the bedding area that the coyote cleared. At about 2:40 the wind switched instantly from south to north west. Horrible for this spot. Decided to rattle then bail out for the day due to the temp dropping from 60's to 40's with 20 mile wind. I'm wet cold and demoralized due to the wind switch. My November 9th which is been my best day over the years, was starting to suck.
Put a really loud frustrating rattle out and turned around looking back up the draw. Huh there's a deer coming on a string. Look through the binos and instantly saw trash flying out everywhere. My frustration level went up even farther due to the horrible wind and a shooter closing that is going to get my wind. Grabbed the bow and started ranging trying too get this buck shot now. I felt like it was a ticking time bomb about to blow if I don't make this happen now now now.
I'm at full draw and he stops behind two cedars eying the decoy. I'm looking through the cedars and see a path for my arrow. I say forty in my mind and bear down on the pin as the bow goes off. Shot felt great, the pop sounded good, but I couldn't really get a visual on impact due to the cedars. He shot out of there and my heart sank due to the fact of his tail was up. That just didn't look right at the moment.
Just after the shot the bottom fell out. I'm like I got to get down and read the sign at impact before the rain washed it out.
The next second I'm stand over the arrow where I got a pass through, I instantly ran to the fence where he jumped over and had great blood so I kept going with step looking for blood and one step looking for deer. Make it twenty yards and loose the blood, starting to panic. Kept looking down the trail and coming back to the big bush where I had last blood. After ten minutes I finally looked in the bush where my buck was laying dead.
That's it, my 2020 rut hunt is one for the books for me.
Also I have real proof the non typical is the same buck from 2018 other than same area and same trash off of right main beam.
Who knows, maybe next year you can tell the story of "Old Gimper and the Third Arrow".
Ambush i like that title, but I hope to cross paths with him on my late season tag this season. Who knows that old guy may just up and die of old before I figure out how to kill him
