Ok let’s wrap this weekend up Sunday evening found me back on in the blind where I had harvested my buck that morning. I had originally planned to watch some new country but given the wind of number of other guys hunting we were limited to a few spots I let everyone else make there selection and happily headed back to the same blind as the morning. This time with my son to accompany me.
This is always a bit more of a production and certainly about time spent so we take the 4wheeler to our location and stash it away in a grove of small oaks. We quickly climb into our blind and get settled in for the evening.
Snacks check, hearing protection check, water check...yep we are now all set for the long haul. It’s now 4:00 pm and the dinner bell rings at 4:30 not that the feeders are seeing much activity.
As we settled in for our wait we got out my phone to play a game of checkers, all the while I was scanning the surroundings for deer between moves. It didn’t take long and I started to see movement in the bowl across from us numerous bucks seemed to be harassing a doe but glimpses were quick and did not allow enough time to tell much about them. I did notice that most of the activity from this morning and afternoon happened in the vicinity of a giant old live oak...how I longed to be tucked away into that old oak at that moment.
With that I was snapped back to reality as my son nudged me, dad...dad i need to go potty. Are you kidding me, number one or two. Number one was the answer thank goodness I can handle this. I dug down into my pack and pulled out an almost empty water bottle finished it and handed it to him. Here pee in this I said, this was the first time he has used a deer blind urinal and he was giggling so bad I was afraid he was going to spray the whole blind but he held it together and we all stayed dry, crisis averted.
At this time most of the activity is over 300 yards out but with the rut that distance has no bearing. It isn’t long till movement catches my eye on the hill below me. Sure enough here comes a doe with a buck hot on her heals, I know it won’t be long before they make there way up in front of me. At this point I still don’t know much about the buck but he looks like a better deer. When the doe appears in one of my lanes the buck on her heals is not the same as the buck I first saw in pursuit. This buck was one that I knew was a “shooter” from a management perspective the instant I saw them. I had my son put on his “ears” and tried to prepare for a shot but as quickly as the game they left headed back the direction they came from. I was able to watch them in and out of the brush as they bounced around until they were back over by that big old oak. I knew if we were patient we might get another chance.
As the light started to fade a doe came running in with mouth open and the buck right on here heals. We sprang into action once again my son got his ears on and I got the rifle in position but just as quick they disappeared again i knew it would not be for long and I was right. Here they came again and when they hit my lane I let out a BAAHHH and he stopped to look back but was facing away with the only shot being a “Texas heart shot” I elected to push my luck. With that they ducked back into the bush but only for moment as the doe broke back across my lane the buck still on her heals BAAHHH BAAHHH they never even slowed down and back into the brush they went. By this time I was beginning to wonder if we would make it happen, if we would get another chance. Fate however was on our side and they hit the lane one last time and with that I almost yelled BAAAAHHHHH and he
Came to an abrupt halt long enough for me to settle the crosshairs on his shoulder and squeeze off a shot. At the shot he jumped, gave the classic signs of a heart shot and disappeared into the brush for the last time.
We gathered up our things and made our way to where he was standing where we quickly sorted out the trail and made the short 40 yard track to the downed buck. He was exactly what I thought he was 5 1/2 and very sub-par for the property.
Now I have work to do with three deer hanging in the cooler to process on Monday.
