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Dantes "Thank you" buck.

dante322

*Supporting Member*
5,506
157
Crawford county
Been a strange season...

Normally, I would spend a fair amount of my summer scouting, running cams, tending to stands... off season stuff. This year, however, I spent my summer working a long string of 70+ hour weeks, and doing some much needed projects around the house. In august, I did manage to take an afternoon and tend to my existing stands and hang one more...

One of the properties redcloud and I hunt has a section of woods we refer to as "the north block". A few years ago I had several good encounters in this piece of woods but, for one reason or another, was not able to seal the deal. Over the years since then I came to realize that the activity I had experienced in this spot was most intense when this section was surrounded on all three sides by corn...which is the case this year. So on that one day I had to do preseason stuff, I knew I wanted a stand in there even though I had no cams or scouting to back up my hunch. All I needed was a west or a southwest wind to find out.

End of September kind of snuck up on me and I found myself going into it with no real expectations, it's a tally kind of liberating to have no idea what deer are around, and just enjoy the experience of sitting on stand.

Sunday.
I got my southwest wind.
I parked in a cut bean field on the east side of the woods. As I was getting ready, a truck pulled in with a trailor full of quads. Oh...cool...these four people are gonna be running quads all over the place today... awesome... (that's actually me being a bit sarcastic ). I almost put my stuff back in the jeep but I said "screw it, it's to warm to really expect to see much anyway, I'm just out here to enjoy the peace and quiet anyway" besides, with them doing that, the noise and exhaust fumes would cover my entry into the woods. They might actually be doing me a favor.

After I entered the woods, I had the pleasure of walking right by a new pop up blind, 100 yards from my north block stand, that wasn't there last week. Whoever this belongs to needs a lesson in concealing his blind because it was right off of a main trail in the open.... grrrrr... "oh well, I'm here, he's not, I'll shoot one and he wont".

I have a little ritual that I do after I get in my stand. After I get settled in, face mask and gloves are on, a few landmarks are shot for range recerence, arrow nocked.... ready to go. The last thing I do is take out my little flask and give a salute to the woods, mother nature, the deer gods,...whatever higher power there is that provides us a day in the deer woods.
The sit was for the most part uneventful, a couple squirrels kept me entertained, somebody was shooting target to the west, the quads eventually went home. Right at sunset, I was considering packing up but decided to give it a few more minutes. With about 10 minutes of shooting light left I started packing up. Put my quiver back on my bow, (good thing I left the arrow nocked though) took off my mask and gloves and put them in my pack, put my hat and caplight on... for some reason, I decided, before I start lowering things to the ground, I wanted to take anot her tug off that flask, and thank mothe nature for such pleasant beautiful evening... as soon as I put that flask back in my pack, I heard a twig snap....
Almost like mom was saying "you're welcome".
I turned to see I really big body, coming in from the northwest corner, right where I had seen that buck coming in at sunset a few years ago. About that time I saw antlers. I couldn't tell exactly how big he was, but I could see he was better than anything else I've ever killed. There wasn't even any hesitation, I picked up my bow because I was going to kill him.
As he came a little closer, he veered to his right, his path was putting him downwind, right 8n front of me. He passed behind a little bit of cover which gave me a chance to come to draw before he stepped into my lane...

This is where it gets kinda fuzzy...

I came to draw and anchored just as he was passing into my lane...except the anchor seemed wrong...my kisser was gone! I had about 2 seconds to decide before he passed through the lane. I tucked my knuckle in my ear and touched my nose to the string, but it felt awkward without that third point of reference.... arrow was on its way...

CRACK!!!...

When the arrow hit, it was like he did a backflip. He hit the ground and started to do the crappie flop with my arrow still in him. I could tell by the distance from his body to the lighted nock that I hadn't got much penetration, but he couldn't get up, he tried but wasn't able to. As he struggled to get up, his thrashing eventually spun him around to where I could see his white underside. Fortunately, he laid lime that long enough for me to nock another arrow and take a bit more careful aim and put one in his chest.

He still struggled to get up, but not for very long.

There was a call made to adam, and my son, they both came out to help get him out of the woods and I thank them both for that. This morning, I took the day off to get him squared away. After adam and I got the hide off, we found what was left of the first arrow that had broken off sometime during the bucks thrashing. I don't know how, but somehow the arrow had entered through the back of his neck, almost like he was facing me. It traveled down through the length of his neck and buried itself, the full length of the broadhead, in his spine, past his shoulders.

I have no clue, he wasn't facing me, he was moving right to left... the only explanation I can come up with is I was so focused on trying to anchor, that he must have stopped and turned.

I am grateful for the great sit, the wonderful night, the opportunity for a great buck, and for the fact that it worked out, when it could have easily gone very wrong.
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,735
274
North Carolina
Good deal Dave.... Happy for you as well..... Well deserved buck right there....

You making Strouds Dave???
 

dante322

*Supporting Member*
5,506
157
Crawford county
You making Strouds Dave???

Probably not. Used all my vacation attending Chelseas graduation from basic, so Friday is out. Jesse has apprenticeship class on Saturday and I wouldn't want to come down without him. The best we could do is saturday night.
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,735
274
North Carolina
Probably not. Used all my vacation attending Chelseas graduation from basic, so Friday is out. Jesse has apprenticeship class on Saturday and I wouldn't want to come down without him. The best we could do is saturday night.

Understand.... Hope you both can make it, if only for Saturday evening.... Worth the drive lol....
 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,855
260
SW Ohio
Great read Dave! Congratulations on a nice buck! That's a pretty cool tradition you do before each hunt! Awesome stuff buddy!
 

xbowguy

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
29,629
234
Licking Co. Ohio
Good Read Dave. Goes to show we should never let anything keep us away from hunting. Chainsaws, tractors, 4 wheelers, or whatever the "snag" may be....don't quit, it can all change in a minute or less. Congrats Dave.