Big Lou
Well-known member
I said that I’d wait a week to post my 2025 Whitetail story. Enjoy.
04:30 and the alarm is going off. I had left the window open in my room and the cool air was a real shocker when I flipped the blankets off of me. An oddly welcome sensation, given how mild the temps have been throughout the month. “Feels like a deer morning. You ready to get your ass kicked again? Yup. You’ve got it coming.” A 40km drive in the truck, followed by 30km on the quad and a half mile on foot was the course to be travelled each day.
As I departed, I found myself having a quite serious internal discussion. A week or so previous, I was chatting with my Cousin about the deer situation. Doubt was starting to creep in and, as I digressed how supremely confident I had been in manifesting destiny he replied - “The Hubris”. I sort of dismissed the comment initially but, as I revisited; some painful truths arose. How could I have been so arrogant? I know the quarry being chased. I know that big deer are entirely different animals. I know that homage needs to be paid via humility, amongst other things. To defy The Deer God’s and go back to back. I had not just wanted it. I had expected it. I had even been so brazen as to sit on my couch and plan where the mount would be placed. How dare I? Yet, just the same; I had. By the time I was finishing the quad ride, I had come to peace with what I had done and accepted that my penance was indeed to be served; rightfully so. I had squandered my best chances earlier and so be it. Another hard lesson learned.
A new camera location established October 9th gave us high hopes. The very first deer to grace us was him. I wasn’t sold on him to be a target at first. As the month rolled on, more and more pictures were acquired and by late October, I realized that he’s only the third buck I’ve had the opportunity to hunt that was a 100%, net book Whitetail. Not that it matters, it’s just a number but, I don’t have one. We had pictures of bigger bucks. One would have crested 200”, another couple mid 190” non typs, a super cool mid 180” non typ we had dubbed “King Gnarles”. I loved the look of the typical, despite all the other character that abounded in the big bush. It was crystal clear, he was to be my target and I would hunt no other buck.
I had hung three stands where he was most frequent. The last picture is where I had the highest confidence in killing him. Despite this, it had taken me two weeks to realize the folly in how I was utilizing the data provided. I’d get images of him and then hunt that area the next day. I was bouncing around steadily, rather than sticking to one spot as I normally would. The picture from the 14th showcases my stupidity. I had said, that was the spot I was going to kill him and the rest of the season was to be spent there. Another image received of him 2 miles away had me in a different tree and of course, he showed where I should have been. Images be damned, I quit chasing him and just stayed where I knew he was going to show at some point.
My long sits in the same spot began on the 15th. No more bouncing around. The same trees, squirrels and chickadees were to be my company. In the tree by 07:10 and sit until the end of legal. Action was actually pretty darn good on a daily basis. Mornings were hot for rattling and grunting and sporadic sights through the afternoon would interrupt the monotony.
The 17th had produced an opportunity at a very pretty buck who came hard to the rattling. He finished at 30 yards. He wasn’t big enough to shoot and needed to walk away but, I did really like him. Each day seemed to be producing 3-4 bucks that would respond to either rattling or grunting. I also had a pair of small bucks spar in front of me for 5 or 6 minutes. This was turning out to be a really good spot. Getting in 700 yards away from any ATV traffic was a great decision.
Nov 18th was hot out of the gate. I hadn’t been in the tree for 10 minutes and one of the combatants from the previous day showed up and meandered through. I let him move off and then cracked the antlers. I hadn’t rattled for more than a minute and sounds reached my ears. I stopped rattling and wasn’t sure what was coming at me. It sounded like a charging rhino. I saw two deer come to a stop about 70 yards away in the thick stuff. The binos revealed a doe immediately. They definitively were not coming to the rattling. It just worked out that a chase or something had occurred while I was. I heard a couple grunts and a smaller buck edged closer to the doe. They both seemed quite nervous and soon, I was to find out why. A couple more excited grunts from the little buck and I heard a roaring grunt that I could never hope to replicate, followed by a smashing snap of branches. “There’s a big one here! Where is he”? I was picking apart the bush as fast as possible but, could not see him. Another roaring grunt and snapping limbs had the doe and small buck fleeing. It was then that I saw the much larger body giving chase. As he hit a spot with snowy background, I saw tall tines and beams that looked like they wrapped in pretty hard. In a flash, he vanished again and I heard commotion in the trees for the next 5-8 minutes. Pretty sure it was him, I bleated and grunted. Even tickled the antlers but, I knew it was the equivalent of yelling into a hurricane. I rattled in another buck an hour later that finished at 5 yards after coming really hard. Maybe tomorrow will be my day.
Nov 19th. I had just parked the truck and received a text from my hunting partner in the bush game. Wishing me good luck and saying “Today is your day. Make lightning strike twice my friend”. A smile came upon me as I realized that it was indeed the same day I had taken my buck the year prior. The smile faded as quickly as it had arrived. “I’ve come to terms with my audacity. Hubris has cost me. What will be will be and that’s that.”
The wind was perfect and steady. Even blowing a touch harder than has been the norm and I used the gusts to help cover my footsteps. Snow conditions have been the worst I’ve seen since 2009. Any and all footsteps are very loud with the crunchiness. I was in the tree at my normal, predawn time. I had gotten cooled down and layered back up. The boot blankets had gone on and I took a deep breath. Looked at the clock and it was just into legal. “Ready for another all day sit”. It hadn’t been much more than 30 seconds and sounds reached my ears. A deer was walking and just west of my position. I had brought in my Buck Roar after the events of the previous day. “Wait. If this is him, I need to sound like that little Buck yesterday. He charged them with all those little grunts”.
I grabbed my other grunt and quickly adjusted it to a young buck setting. I did my best rendition of the small buck from yesterday. Shorter, excited grunts mixed with a couple more drawn out. Maybe 8 in total. I was just sliding the call in my pocket and heard footsteps coming quickly. My hand went to my 35 Whelen as my eyes strained to confirm what my ears were hearing. A flash of movement as I saw a dark buck break onto the line 65 yards away. Immediately, I knew it was him and got the rifle shouldered as he chewed up the real estate between us. As he neared the spot I wanted to shoot, I shouted “Hey!” and he piled on the brakes at 15 yards slightly quartering to me. The crosshairs were right on the top of his near shoulder and I felt the trigger collapse, just as his head was snapping up to see where that noise had come from. He was dead before he hit the ground. What had been natures dance floor only moments before, was now utterly still and silent.
It all happened so fast, I hadn’t even gotten excited in the moment. Then it hit me, and decided I best keep seated in the tree and compose myself. I couldn’t stop looking at what lay in the snow in front of me. A few minutes later, I was collected and packed all my gear before climbing down.
As I knelt down beside him, I felt a wash of emotions and, in that wake; I realized I hadn’t felt this way next to a deer since my very first. I won’t get into that but, I’m not sure how long I stayed there with my eyes closed and hand on his shoulder. Upon opening my eyes again and lifting his head out of the snow, I brushed him off and was taken aback by just how beautiful he was in person. Just stunning. Parts of his antler are so dark that it’s black. Blonde highlights in his skull cap. Lots of little chips on tine tips and a broken base point. Bases polished to a shine. Beautiful.
My buddy came to aid and snap photos. Thank you! I didn’t want to make a trail in there and ruin the spot so, we dragged him out to the quad. I really think that will be a solid spot year to year.
I tossed in the early 1900s, expressionless photo just for Pathfinder. He’s not the only one who can pull that off.
We put a tape on him last night. We figured absolute tops, he’d go 191” but, realistically more like 185-188” gross. Best estimate is that with chipped tines and that broken base point, he’s missing 3” of what he started the season with.
He comes in at 184” even. We were right there on our estimate. A very happy camper once more!
I brought up my predator gear this year in the case that I had time so, I’ll try my hand at calling wolves and cougars before heading home.
04:30 and the alarm is going off. I had left the window open in my room and the cool air was a real shocker when I flipped the blankets off of me. An oddly welcome sensation, given how mild the temps have been throughout the month. “Feels like a deer morning. You ready to get your ass kicked again? Yup. You’ve got it coming.” A 40km drive in the truck, followed by 30km on the quad and a half mile on foot was the course to be travelled each day.
As I departed, I found myself having a quite serious internal discussion. A week or so previous, I was chatting with my Cousin about the deer situation. Doubt was starting to creep in and, as I digressed how supremely confident I had been in manifesting destiny he replied - “The Hubris”. I sort of dismissed the comment initially but, as I revisited; some painful truths arose. How could I have been so arrogant? I know the quarry being chased. I know that big deer are entirely different animals. I know that homage needs to be paid via humility, amongst other things. To defy The Deer God’s and go back to back. I had not just wanted it. I had expected it. I had even been so brazen as to sit on my couch and plan where the mount would be placed. How dare I? Yet, just the same; I had. By the time I was finishing the quad ride, I had come to peace with what I had done and accepted that my penance was indeed to be served; rightfully so. I had squandered my best chances earlier and so be it. Another hard lesson learned.
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A new camera location established October 9th gave us high hopes. The very first deer to grace us was him. I wasn’t sold on him to be a target at first. As the month rolled on, more and more pictures were acquired and by late October, I realized that he’s only the third buck I’ve had the opportunity to hunt that was a 100%, net book Whitetail. Not that it matters, it’s just a number but, I don’t have one. We had pictures of bigger bucks. One would have crested 200”, another couple mid 190” non typs, a super cool mid 180” non typ we had dubbed “King Gnarles”. I loved the look of the typical, despite all the other character that abounded in the big bush. It was crystal clear, he was to be my target and I would hunt no other buck.
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I had hung three stands where he was most frequent. The last picture is where I had the highest confidence in killing him. Despite this, it had taken me two weeks to realize the folly in how I was utilizing the data provided. I’d get images of him and then hunt that area the next day. I was bouncing around steadily, rather than sticking to one spot as I normally would. The picture from the 14th showcases my stupidity. I had said, that was the spot I was going to kill him and the rest of the season was to be spent there. Another image received of him 2 miles away had me in a different tree and of course, he showed where I should have been. Images be damned, I quit chasing him and just stayed where I knew he was going to show at some point.
My long sits in the same spot began on the 15th. No more bouncing around. The same trees, squirrels and chickadees were to be my company. In the tree by 07:10 and sit until the end of legal. Action was actually pretty darn good on a daily basis. Mornings were hot for rattling and grunting and sporadic sights through the afternoon would interrupt the monotony.
The 17th had produced an opportunity at a very pretty buck who came hard to the rattling. He finished at 30 yards. He wasn’t big enough to shoot and needed to walk away but, I did really like him. Each day seemed to be producing 3-4 bucks that would respond to either rattling or grunting. I also had a pair of small bucks spar in front of me for 5 or 6 minutes. This was turning out to be a really good spot. Getting in 700 yards away from any ATV traffic was a great decision.
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| This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1170x1633. |
Nov 18th was hot out of the gate. I hadn’t been in the tree for 10 minutes and one of the combatants from the previous day showed up and meandered through. I let him move off and then cracked the antlers. I hadn’t rattled for more than a minute and sounds reached my ears. I stopped rattling and wasn’t sure what was coming at me. It sounded like a charging rhino. I saw two deer come to a stop about 70 yards away in the thick stuff. The binos revealed a doe immediately. They definitively were not coming to the rattling. It just worked out that a chase or something had occurred while I was. I heard a couple grunts and a smaller buck edged closer to the doe. They both seemed quite nervous and soon, I was to find out why. A couple more excited grunts from the little buck and I heard a roaring grunt that I could never hope to replicate, followed by a smashing snap of branches. “There’s a big one here! Where is he”? I was picking apart the bush as fast as possible but, could not see him. Another roaring grunt and snapping limbs had the doe and small buck fleeing. It was then that I saw the much larger body giving chase. As he hit a spot with snowy background, I saw tall tines and beams that looked like they wrapped in pretty hard. In a flash, he vanished again and I heard commotion in the trees for the next 5-8 minutes. Pretty sure it was him, I bleated and grunted. Even tickled the antlers but, I knew it was the equivalent of yelling into a hurricane. I rattled in another buck an hour later that finished at 5 yards after coming really hard. Maybe tomorrow will be my day.
Nov 19th. I had just parked the truck and received a text from my hunting partner in the bush game. Wishing me good luck and saying “Today is your day. Make lightning strike twice my friend”. A smile came upon me as I realized that it was indeed the same day I had taken my buck the year prior. The smile faded as quickly as it had arrived. “I’ve come to terms with my audacity. Hubris has cost me. What will be will be and that’s that.”
The wind was perfect and steady. Even blowing a touch harder than has been the norm and I used the gusts to help cover my footsteps. Snow conditions have been the worst I’ve seen since 2009. Any and all footsteps are very loud with the crunchiness. I was in the tree at my normal, predawn time. I had gotten cooled down and layered back up. The boot blankets had gone on and I took a deep breath. Looked at the clock and it was just into legal. “Ready for another all day sit”. It hadn’t been much more than 30 seconds and sounds reached my ears. A deer was walking and just west of my position. I had brought in my Buck Roar after the events of the previous day. “Wait. If this is him, I need to sound like that little Buck yesterday. He charged them with all those little grunts”.
I grabbed my other grunt and quickly adjusted it to a young buck setting. I did my best rendition of the small buck from yesterday. Shorter, excited grunts mixed with a couple more drawn out. Maybe 8 in total. I was just sliding the call in my pocket and heard footsteps coming quickly. My hand went to my 35 Whelen as my eyes strained to confirm what my ears were hearing. A flash of movement as I saw a dark buck break onto the line 65 yards away. Immediately, I knew it was him and got the rifle shouldered as he chewed up the real estate between us. As he neared the spot I wanted to shoot, I shouted “Hey!” and he piled on the brakes at 15 yards slightly quartering to me. The crosshairs were right on the top of his near shoulder and I felt the trigger collapse, just as his head was snapping up to see where that noise had come from. He was dead before he hit the ground. What had been natures dance floor only moments before, was now utterly still and silent.
It all happened so fast, I hadn’t even gotten excited in the moment. Then it hit me, and decided I best keep seated in the tree and compose myself. I couldn’t stop looking at what lay in the snow in front of me. A few minutes later, I was collected and packed all my gear before climbing down.
As I knelt down beside him, I felt a wash of emotions and, in that wake; I realized I hadn’t felt this way next to a deer since my very first. I won’t get into that but, I’m not sure how long I stayed there with my eyes closed and hand on his shoulder. Upon opening my eyes again and lifting his head out of the snow, I brushed him off and was taken aback by just how beautiful he was in person. Just stunning. Parts of his antler are so dark that it’s black. Blonde highlights in his skull cap. Lots of little chips on tine tips and a broken base point. Bases polished to a shine. Beautiful.
My buddy came to aid and snap photos. Thank you! I didn’t want to make a trail in there and ruin the spot so, we dragged him out to the quad. I really think that will be a solid spot year to year.
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I tossed in the early 1900s, expressionless photo just for Pathfinder. He’s not the only one who can pull that off.
We put a tape on him last night. We figured absolute tops, he’d go 191” but, realistically more like 185-188” gross. Best estimate is that with chipped tines and that broken base point, he’s missing 3” of what he started the season with.
He comes in at 184” even. We were right there on our estimate. A very happy camper once more!
I brought up my predator gear this year in the case that I had time so, I’ll try my hand at calling wolves and cougars before heading home.
