Thank you fellas. Little bit hungover this morning but, these things do happen. Anyway, into the story.
My love and desire for hunting the big bush started at really, the tail end of the glory years in 2007. That was my first foray into hunting completely away from farmland and to say the least - I was smitten with it. 2008 saw me enjoy success after passing many bucks and I was able to harvest a beautiful 173” buck at 25 yards that came to my sequence. If I wasn’t hooked before, I sure was then; as my maniacal, wild man hoots echoed through the forest.
My daughter had been born in 2007 and my son followed in 2009. Despite my best intentions, time available would be in much shorter availability than previously at my disposal. Over the last 5 years, with the family getting a bit older; my wife has been and continues to be most accommodating of more extended forays and as such; a gear has been grabbed in getting after these buggers.
I’ll try and condense a bunch of this so as not to be such an essay. I could share so many pictures from cameras of different deer - my goodness.
2023 had graced me with 26 days off in November. Upon pulling cards, this buck greeted my eyes on two cameras and he was to be my focus. Despite having a number of really good bucks sort of located, I really liked him.
Despite my best efforts. I came up short on finding or getting any other images of him. I ended up switching gears and hunted a different buck the last 6 days or so but, no bueno.
Fast forward to this year. Once again, the bulk of the month was to be mine. This buck was captured on few different cameras. Nothing regular by any means but, sometimes all you get is knowing they are alive and roaming a greater area type of thing.
I do have some better images but, I messed up on loading when starting this post.
Enough foreplay. Yesterday found me in a stand I had set up the day before. I had sat all day and intentions were the same. I had passed on a nice buck the day before. In a completely different area and 5 days before, I had passed on a buck I believe would have gone right around 174”, with only a 13-14” spread.
Anyway, I had pulled a cell cam from a spot that wasn’t producing much and wanted to get it up and monitoring. I had noted a good looking deer trail about 400 yards from where I was to be perched so, up the camera went. Within an hour of being up, I had a daylight pic of a buck, then a doe and another buck that first day. Not bad.
Yesterday morning, I hadn’t been in the tree for 20 minutes and I get pictures of a doe, then a 6x6 with forked G2s that would go low to mid 170s. Over the next 3 hours, another 3 bucks are in front of the camera. “Okay, as much faith as I have in where you are perched being The Spot, obviously something is happening there and 400 yards away is where you need to be”. I quickly gather my items up and descend from the stand. Picking my way over to the camera, yes, sign abounds and I need to try and make something happen. Visibility is not my friend. It’ll be some rattling and hope anything that comes, finishes close.
I start slinking in, being as quiet as I can. I had just taken pause and selected a rattle location. A stump to be my hide and, I have about 40 yards max as a window to shoot. The wind is good for this play. I take one more step. Right next to me, I hear a deer stand up and it grunts in doing so. Looking left, I can see the outline of a deer not more than 15 yards from me. I know it’s a buck but, what does he look like?! I start to lower myself to change the angle and see his antlers and he busts. I see a big frame swing with his head but, in one leap, he is out of sight. What a racket he made tearing through all the thicket. Sad with a lost opportunity, I realize that all the noise was in fact, made by a big buck and I’m about to rattle. I crash the antlers and do my sequence. Settle down and be quiet. 5-7 minutes into my hush, I’m sure I hear an antler drag on a branch. Up comes the rifle. I hear it again, then hear a grunt and in walks a beautiful non typ that we had decided not to shoot as he looks to be very young. He’s a 145-150” 5x5 main with split G2 and G3s, base points and a 9-10” flyer off his left main beam that has two extra points on it. He’s 30 yards away and no clue I’m there. That flyer was absolutely ruining me in that moment. “Oh god. We said we were not shooting this deer if he shows. I want to shoot this deer. He’s so cool. Snap out of this you idiot! We are not shooting him!” I slowly lower the rifle. He gives a grunt and licks his nose, flicks his tail and moves away from me on the same line of travel I had intended. I think this could be good. Any deer on the downwind side, will probably smell him moving through. When I move up and rattle again, this may really help sell my ruse.
I give the buck 10 minutes to move away and ponder what has just transpired. “In 20 minutes, you were 15 yards from a big unknown and rattled in a super cool non typ only minutes later. Thats wild!” I begin my slither. The wind has picked up a touch but, direction is still okay. I’m not going to move very far before I crack them again. I’ve gone another 300 yards tops and like what I see. Downwind is a snarl that a weasel would have to pick his way through. No deer will be going through this. There’s about a 2’ hump on the edge of a small island of Dogwood, choke and gooseberry and some willow. It isn’t much but it is precious elevation and I’m well hidden. Anything that shows will have to do so upwind or from the blind side of my hide. I spray a bunch of doe pee all over my island in the event that if the wind gives a little switch or something, it may help cover me.
I crack the horns and do my thing. Set down the antlers and get quiet. It’s been maybe 2 minutes and I swear I hear an antler drag on a branch but, it’s close, like really close. I’m straining my ears and I can hear sniffing. Not like when a dog takes little sniffs of your ear - deep inhales. “Holy crap! Whatever deer this is, he’s right on the other side of my island”! I ever so slowly, get my .35 Whelen shouldered. I can still hear the deep sniffing. Gotta do something. I turn my head so my mouth is completely opposite of where the deer is and give a single grunt with my mouth. I immediately hear footsteps coming around my island. I’m ready with the rifle. I catch a glimpse of tine tips above the island. “He’s tall, stay ready”. I see a nose, then rack, neck shoulder and ribs. He is all bristled up, ears laid flat and looks enormous at the whopping distance of 8 yards. “Is that him? I think it’s him. Gotta be him. Why haven’t you shot yet?! SHOOT YOU IDIOT!!! SHOOT!!!” Honestly, in that moment; I didn’t care if it was him or not. A big buck rattled right into my lap - you’re done bud.
BOOM!!! I knew I absolutely hammered him with the 225gr Sierra when the trigger broke. It rocked him and he quaked. A big spray of blood shot out the exit as to my surprise, he turned a bit and took two lunges forward. “WHAT?!! I BLEW HIS HEART OUT!!! KEEP SHOOTING!!!”
BOOM!!! I watched his whole side ripple as the second round blew through both his lungs and nearly knocked him down. He crashed into a small birch, breaking several of the branches and I’m sure, was the only reason he was able to keep his feet. Still standing, I wasn’t messing around. I knew he was dead on his feet but, I wanted this over and now. BOOM!!! I watched him go flat and his last breath rise up out of the grass. Maniacal wild man cries, once more echoed through the forest of northern Alberta. A pretty serious adrenaline dump happened at this point. I’m generally pretty good at staying calm while things are happening but man, I guess I was really jacked up and got pretty trembly for a few minutes. “Seriously? Did that just happen? You left your stand and all this just happened? Are you ever going to have anything like this happen again? 3 bucks in 45 min! What deer did you just shoot? It doesn’t matter. This was incredible! Go look at him you fool!”
The 3 shots had been fired in not much more than 5 seconds. Maybe less, I dunno. It was fast. I covered the 25 yards or so to where he lay and couldn’t believe what was at my feet. The buck I hunted all last year, and who was my #1 target in the area this year; is mine forever.
I made a couple calls to share my elation. One, being to my older Cousin who in all honesty, introduced me to this and lit the match - the bucks stoked the fire.
He had a body like a steer and took some doing to get him loaded on my quad. I had forgotten my calf sled at home and really missed it. Loaded him whole and let me tell you, some technical riding to get him out. Suffice to say, I won’t be doing that again.
Put a tape on him last night before getting into the spirits and I was a very happy camper. Even with the kicker he had broken off of his right G2, he goes 183.75” with nearly 42” of mass. We figured he would go high 180s and maybe even crest 190 so, we weren’t far off at all as not broken, he would have been 188-189”. Needless to say, a new PB for myself by quite a lot and; I did it in exactly the fashion as I’d intended. I could not be any happier.
If you’ve stayed with me this long, I hope you have enjoyed my recounting and, that I’ve done the experience justice. Best of luck to anyone still hard at it. Lady Luck may grace you with her presence too.
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Probably the most exciting 45 minutes of deer hunting I’ve experienced.
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