I’ve hunted since I was 12. Hunted on and off my whole life except for the years I was in the military deployed. Since being medically retired in 2012 I’ve hunted on family farm land of my in laws for almost 10 years. In that time I’ve taken several beautiful deer. Nothing compared to this one.
Going into the season I had several nice prospects of doe and buck cross in front of my game cameras. Seen a few yearling bucks and mature on the hoof. I missed a mature 8 point during muzzle loader who jumped on the initial pop, and I was discouraged after not finding hair or blood.
We spent the week at the outer banks during thanksgiving and was giving up on seeing a good buck this season. Upon getting home my 6 year old daughter helped me cart some feed to the woods. When walking down the trail to the pasture I hunt, she dropped some corn in a random spot on the trail. A day later when checking my cams I noticed the corn was gone! I immediately put a camera up on the spot and put down home grown pumpkins and a bag of asian persimmons.
The amount of deer passing through this spot was astounding 1000 pictures in two days. On the Monday morning Nov 29th I dropped my daughter off at school and as I pulled back into the driveway at home I saw two doe running down the trail behind our home.
After debating walking out, I decided to walk down the trail and sit between a few fallen logs on the ground. After only 20 mins the two doe returned to the trail and started eating. Watching them from 50 yards I could tell the doe were wary of something in the woods to my left at the northeast. With the wind coming from that direction I hoped if it was a buck I wouldn’t be scented. Next thing I know a spike runs in to ruin the quiet. The doe ran off trail and debated their company.
Next I heard a definitive sound. A deep grunt. Low rumble, but deep. The sound past behind me and across me to the west. The buck still not in my peripheral view was walking to the southwest making a nearly perfect circle around the yearling buck. As he came into my view I was nervous of any movement afraid I would be spotted by the other three who were down wind of me.
For a short time the new buck walked out into the pasture and I assume was still assessing the wind and head count of doe. For 10-15 mins he was completely out of view and I was nervous he winded me and ran west into the parallel woods. Before I could think he came into view again and started in behind the doe’ off trail. They jumped the trail and the buck stopped dead center in the trail.
This being the only full body and clear view of his rack I had seen so far I quickly estimated he was maybe a 8 or 9 point and maybe three plus years old? No maybe older? Shaking I lifted my Remington 783 chambered in .243 Win, Already slid to fire, up to my shoulder locked the crosshairs on his lungs and pulled. He ran back north west 50 yards and I heard the crash.
I sat in astonishment for 25 mins or so before I finally couldn’t wait any longer. I followed the direction the crash came from. No doubt he was down, I saw the white of his belly from the trail. Upon inspecting the deer I realized he had never been on any of my cameras. He was a beautifully symmetrical 10 point.
17-9/16ths inside spread 23 inch neck. Taxidermist says he was likely 5+ years. All of this happened because my daughter spilled some corn on the trail. Blessed doesn’t begin to describe how I felt. I found out my neighbor to the east had got him on camera. You never know what’s walking the woods, even using cameras.
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