When High Hopes Aren’t High Enough

It was early November of 2007. It was an evening hunt on my Buffalo County Lease in Wisconsin. The temperature was in the mid 30’s, and it just seemed to have the right ingredients to get the big bucks on their feet. I was hunting with my best friend who comes up from Georgia every year to hunt the rut with me. It usually doesn’t take much to get him on a plane that time of year. We saw several bucks in the 130”-140” range chasing doe’s on the ridge 200 yards from us… it truly was an experience. Neither one of us had a shot opportunity that evening, but Patrick had mentioned that at last light, he saw what appeared to be a “tank” of a buck come down the ridge and onto my property, giving high expectations for the following morning’s hunt.

We woke up to a calm, bitter cold morning, which was perfect for the big bruisers to be on their feet chasing doe’s. I set out my doe decoy, settled in my ground blind, and wished Patrick luck as he walked the 200 yards to his stand. Ironically he chose to sit in a stand which was closer to where he had seen the big bodied deer enter the night before. At first light, I grabbed my grunt tube, and rattle bag, and really did my best to mimic a Heavy Weight Buck fight. It was less than 3 minutes and I had a buck coming. Not just an average buck, this deer was a World Class Whitetail. At 150 yards, as he passed Patrick, I knew that he was a shooter. He was running full speed right to me. I grabbed my bow, put my release on, and prepared to draw, expecting him to stop at the doe decoy just 15 yards away. To my surprise, this buck had locked eyes with me, and thought that I was the deer responsible for all of the noise. At 5 steps, he slammed on his brakes, turning broadside, always keeping a watchful eye on his foe. This deer was crazy! He was drooling, mouth open, eyes seeming to roll in the back of his head. He walked over to the decoy, watching me. He put the decoy between us, and was licking her ear. I could see his frustration build he stepped back and crushed the decoy with his rack. The decoy, staked in the ground, obviously wobbled violently, scaring the buck. I attempted to draw on him, and he then realized something wasn’t right so he left town as fast as he came in. Instantly crushed, I placed my bow back in the holder and melted into my chair with my head down. At that very moment, I heard a twig snap just outside of my blind. I raised my head to see a brown shape move past my ground blind at 2 steps. Out steps a gorgeous 3 1/2 year old 10 point. I had numerous pictures of this buck and had guessed him to be in the 120” range. This deer walks right to my decoy, and attempts to breed her. The decoy was still leaning from the encounter 3 minutes prior, causing the 10 point to almost lose his balance and leave the field as quickly as he came in.

My nerves could not handle another minute. I got all of my gear together, and exited the ground blind. On trembling legs, I began to walk to Patrick’s stand. The closer I got to him, the more clearly his laughter could be heard. To my surprise, he told me that he had watched the entire hunt and in his southern accent said, “Brother, if I wasn’t with you, nobody would believe you”.

Even though I never released an arrow, something had changed me. That very moment, I knew that regardless of how little sleep I had gotten the night before, how hot, cold, windy, rainy the weather was, I was going to be out there. I had become avid.

Dave Crist - Avid Hunter, Avid Writer