Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Remembering Some Bucks That Got Away
Sometimes the bucks that get away, because of one reason or another, are remembered long after other bucks are forgotten.
A few such deer come to mind. There was that great huge buck that put the fatal hurt on two trophy bucks, and he’s the one animal that I don’t know whether I ever saw him or not. Each year two, three or four big bucks show up on my ranch that have never been seen before.
Another buck was probably a 12-pointer with massive beams, long points, wide inside spread, and somewhere close to 200 points.
One of my friends saw a different buck in November that he felt would score about 220, and he should know. He has shot some massive bucks, and this animal was one that I hadn’t seen in the past.
Spotting bucks is, to some degree, a matter of luck. A buck may stay in one spot regularly, and is as regular as a dish of prunes. However, many things can cause a buck to change his travel routes.
I’ve watched bucks put in a daily appearance for two weeks, and then on the 15th day they drop out of sight as if the ground swallowed them up. Patterning bucks is easy early in the season, but once the rut is underway, they become much more difficult to figure out. A doe may lead them on a merry chase, and it may be two or three days before that animal returns.
Some bucks, because they are so predictable, are easy to shoot. A big buck can be extremely easy to pattern and can be shot on the first day. Bucks that have been shot at, or spotted a human movement or winded a hunter in a particular spot, can be most difficult to hunt.
Shooting a big buck can be difficult. A friend of mine took a photo of a very nice 11-point buck, and his antlers seemed a bit offset. The rack was slightly higher on one side than the other, and he saw that buck on two occasions while hunting only 300 yards from my stand. I’ve yet to see that critter.
I walked in to one of my stands, and was skirting some tag alders, when a big buck stepped out 75 yards away. He was upwind, and hadn’t seen me, and began walking in my direction. I eased down to one knee, nocked an arrow, and watched him walk a direct line toward me.
He stopped at 45 yards, turned broadside and then put his tail toward me, and stood. He turned again to face me, started walking my way again, and at 25 yards he stepped into the tag alders and turned to go out the other side. He was a 150-class buck, and animals like him get my heart pumping.
The most fascinating thing about deer hunting, and going after big bucks, is that some animals are easy and others are most difficult. Some big-racked bucks seem to possess a high degree of suspicion that keeps them out of harm’s way. They always seem to stand the wrong way for a high-percentage bow shot.
Others always seem to stop with their vitals behind some brush. Some, like the buck noted above, seem to come directly at a hunter only to turn at the last moment. Often, they don’t know the hunter is there; they just seem to travel widely and trust to their instincts.
Other bucks, and this happened to me once this past year, just seem to avoid any and all treestands or ground blinds, and they often seem to build in a buffer zone of 75 yards between them and a bow stand. They have moved a quarter-mile across a field, and headed straight to me, and about 75-80 yards away, they turn and veer away from my stand.
It’s not because they see or smell me. It’s just a built-in warning system that some animals have developed.
It’s why I find this so exciting. Each and every buck is just a little bit different than the one before. For me, not knowing what a buck will do excites me. When they turn, and come within bow range, I’m happy.
I’m also happy when they turn 70 yards away, for whatever unknown reason, and move away. Trying to figure them out is difficult, and that is what makes big-buck hunting so exciting.—The Whitetail Wizard