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The Hunt for Captain Jack

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
The Prelude

I wanted to start a thread to keep track of one particular portion of my season and that is the continued quest for a deer called Captain Jack. Some of you know the story of Deuce and how following that series of events, I swore off hunting one particular deer. That entire saga nearly caused me to hang up my bow for good, a mistake I most surely would have regretted. Thankfully, the support and encouragement I received from many of you helped me clear my head of the "debris" that was clouding my enjoyment of this great sport. It took a couple of years, but I have found the fun in bowhunting again and am enjoying things more than I have in many years. That being said, I have also learned how to hunt one particular deer. I learned how to avoid letting the chase consume and control me. I learned how to appreciate what I've been given and how not to let expectations taint an entire season, or more. This fall I have the opportunity to do the one thing I have wanted to do so bad for close to a decade and that is to write the final chapter to a story that will outlast my existence on this earth. For 8 years now, I have been fixated on getting to know one particular buck, build the story, and then close the deal with archery tackle. Never before have things lined up like that have with Jack and I. My history with him far exceeds that of any deer I have ever known and despite his rack not being of Deuce (183”) or Moe (160+) proportions, the story around him may be the best yet. With a renewed focus on enjoying the sport I love so much, I am ready to enter the woods this fall with one final chapter to write...

Our History

The first time I saw Captain Jack was in a picture taken in our creek bottom a couple hours before I walked through there to access a stand on November 15, 2010. His main beams reminded me of a pirate’s hook, so I named him Captain Jack after thinking of Johnny Depp’s legendary character Captain Jack Sparrow.



No one laid eyes on him that fall and he all but disappeared after a few visits in mid-November. I wrote him off as just another visitor, so I was very pleased to see him again in the summer of 2011. That summer was one of the best in my career when it cam to getting consistent quality pictures of mature deer. Jack was hanging around with my primary target for the 2011 season, a deer I had named Moe in 2010. They were joined at the hip in 2011 and the pictures/videos flowed in on a weekly basis.

[video=youtube;nlrrUul-kVs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlrrUul-kVs[/video]

I told you they were close!



With their velvet shed, Moe and Jack parted ways for a while. I was worried with Moe being the older, more dominate buck that Jack had been pushed in to parts unknown. Jack remained out of sight from early September until he showed up again the second week of October and it appeared his friendship with Moe was indeed strained…



Jack made one more appearance in front of the camera that fall on October 22 before disappearing for the rest of the year. I was certain he had moved on and was more certain that no one else in the neighborhood would let him walk. I love big 8’s and with G2’s that looked sure to split, I was really hoping we would get a chance to see what he would be as a 4 year old. We had estimated him to be in the mid-130’s, so he was well on his way to being something special and was a deer many people would have been happy to have shot. However had they shot him thinking he was mid-130’s, they would have been sorely disappointed! After verifying he was still alive in February of 2012, I located his left side shed later that year during gun season. At best, he was a 125” deer. Talk about having people fooled! Yes folks, this deer was only 125”…







Moe had also pulled a disappearing act in 2011, so I was hoping Jack would become the new #1 buck on my hit list as the summer of 2012 rolled around. On June 16 he visited my mineral lick for of his limited visits that summer, confirming he was still around. However unlike past years, he was now extremely camera shy. Gone were the days of 700+ pictures a week featuring his presence. He managed to avoid the cams for much of the summer before giving me a look at his 2012 in late July. My hopes were for completely forked G2’s and an 8-point frame that would be well in to the 140’s. Unfortunately, his rack had a mind of his own. Gone were the forked G2’s and a G3 on the left side. Welcome in a huge clubbed G2 on the left and a G4 on the right. He still had the unmistakable Captain Jack main beams, but his rack was not like anything I had envisioned.



He remained elusive for the remainder of the summer and on in to the fall with only a few fleeting glimpses caught on the cameras. That was until a very fateful day on November 9, 2012. Having killed my buck on the 5th, I took a buddy of mine to my best stand in hopes he could kill Jack. I was situated in a stand in the creek bottom about 300 yards from his ridge top perch. Around 9AM, I caught movement along the hillside just below his stand and saw Jack working his way towards a point a short distance from my buddy. It was the first time I had seen him from a stand in 3 years and I was pumped to say the least! I pulled out my phone to text my buddy and there was a text from him telling me that he had missed him a mere 5 minutes before I saw him. Jack caught him drawing and Bryan was forced to hold at full draw for 3-4 minutes. As he was moving his bow to settle the pin, he trigged the release early and the arrow hit Jack right behind his front left knee. It didn’t appear to be an injury that would cost him his life, but it definitely left a mark! The following weekend I took another buddy in to a stand in a different area of the farm and he watched Jack tend a doe all morning. All told, 3 different people saw him on 4 different occasions last fall and one thing was certain, I had all the right trees picked out in order to end his reign! The injury was of some concern, but photos in January of this year showed that he was still getting around and our farm was still right where he liked to be…



So here we are…

I had high hopes of following his antler growth this summer and seeing how he would grow from 2012 to now. However the addition of my little girl in December and a spring/summer spent coaching/playing baseball really cut in to my summer camera running. Add in a few camera mishaps and I was really beginning to worry that he was not around. Those fears were put to rest this weekend when a series of 5 pictures off of 2 different cams situated in our creek bottom showed him to be alive and well. He may be no bigger than he was in 2012, but given the injury he sustained, I guess that should be expected. So for now, the dream lives on. In the coming weeks I’ll detail what stands and plans I have in place to kill him this fall. For now, I’ll let this picture serve as motivation to go about things in the right way!

 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
193
North Central Ohio
Awesome stuff man. I know you can close this chapter and finish the story with a great write-up and hero pics.

Can't wait to follow along and enjoy your hunts for Captain Jack.
 

brock ratcliff

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
24,834
247
If you want to kill him, keep in mind he's fairly old now. Old deer don't stray far from home, just like old men. If you're getting pics of him this season, regularly, imagine a 100 acre circle around your most active cam and hunt there...and there only. The last three old deer I got to know well very rarely strayed far from their 100-150 acre "holes". And, they just don't move much in daylight. Don't let this deer drive you nuts and ruin the fun of the hunt, Jesse! Good luck!
 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,855
260
SW Ohio
If you want to kill him, keep in mind he's fairly old now. Old deer don't stray far from home, just like old men. If you're getting pics of him this season, regularly, imagine a 100 acre circle around your most active cam and hunt there...and there only. The last three old deer I got to know well very rarely strayed far from their 100-150 acre "holes". And, they just don't move much in daylight. Don't let this deer drive you nuts and ruin the fun of the hunt, Jesse! Good luck!

Ditto

I'm sure rooting for you in this chase buddy! Just don't forget about the other elements that can fugg things up for you that we have little to no control over. Poaching,collisions with vehicles,yotes,disease and other hunters hunting him are things we all contend with so just keep that in mind. I think we all enjoy chasing particular deer but accomplishing the feat has a lot of luck involved because of all the obstacles the deer has to avoid and the limited opportunities we are given.

Good luck in this quest Jesse, I hope you can get it done!
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Great write up! I played this game with Pinnacle a few years ago and like Brock stated, Old deer live tight. Luckily for me Pinnacle become more visible as he got older but he never ventured more than 200 yards from his bed. Really key in on where you think he is, scout more than you hunt, and make sure your entry and exit is undetected and you will kill him.
 

Hoytmania

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
11,518
167
Gods Country
Best of luck to you man. I know you have lots of history with Capt. enjoy the chase and I hope to see you sitting behind him in a pic soon after season starts.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,720
248
Ohio
Glad you posted this up. Brock, Ric, and Zach have learned me something today!

Best of luck in your chase!