The first week of November 2015 was a prime time for the rut in the Upstate of South Carolina. I had just started a new job about a year earlier after working for one employer for 25 years. Still unsure of the culture of my new employer, I did not want to set a bad example by slipping out early into the deer stand. My previous employer allowed great freedom of schedule, with an office closer to my deer woods. With the new employer being 30 minutes further away, leaving early was crucial to getting in the stand. The fever for hunting and buck was palpable. A game camera was set up over corn in August and September and had captured great pictures of the biggest buck ever seen on our property in Antreville, SC. The buck became an obsession!
Having hunted a few times during bow season in September, once with a muzzleloader the first week of October, and a few times after rifle season opened October 11, I had not seen any shooter bucks or a glimpse of the hoss found on camera. Denial by fate or Providence only
made the obsession greater. With the rut in full swing the first week of November, the woods were calling in a BIG way. Most avid deer hunters can relate to this drive, especially, during the rut.
The desire to bag this fantastic shooter buck was creating a myriad of excuses to leave a new job early. I decided to take a few hours of vacation time and head leave early. Already feeling rushed, I had planned to hunt a stand that was in the hardwoods near a transition zone between the hardwoods and pines – very close to where multiple sightings of this hoss buck I saw on a game camera in September. The 30-minute trip was especially slow this day due to heavy traffic. Having tried an alternate route, it was perhaps even slower. Finally, after arriving home and a quick change into hunting clothes, I dashed for the 45-minute trip to Antreville. As you would guess, this trip was hindered by old ladies driving 20 MPH below the speed limit and school buses stopping to drop children at their homes. The 45-minute trip took an hour. Sigh.
After arriving on the hunting property, a big decision needed to be made. The two hard wood stands I wanted were too far to walk. Convinced this big buck was hanging out in the hard woods and would not come into the field where we had a stand called “the Field Stand”, I
succumbed to the delayed arrival and begrudgingly decided to hunt the Field Stand as it is close to the road where we enter, oversees a small field and has four long shooting lanes through the pines – but typically over-hunted. It has been our best stand on the 114 acres. Not wanting to spook deer walking across the property to the hardwoods, my only good choice was settled as the Field Stand.
Walking quietly and slowly for the 100 yards to the stand, I arrived at the Field Stand around 4:20 PM. Shootable light is gone about 5:55. On the way up the ladder, I spotted a doe already in the field. When settled into my seat, I began watching this small doe. It was a perfect evening: cool but not cold and very little wind. As the evening progressed, a few more does entered the field. It is always a good sign to have deer moving early in full light. The hunt was progressing nicely with several deer to watch. Fast forward to about 5:40 PM, a doe pranced into the field from direct right about 60 yards away. She had her white tail at full mass, stopped after trotting 40 yards into the field and began looking over her shoulder. At this time, I knew there was about 5 minutes of shootable light left. A buck had to be chasing this nice doe. I placed my 7MM-08 on the shooting rail and took the rifle off safety. Then, it happened! The buck entered the field on a trot hot after the hot doe. Having put my eye to the 3-8 x 50MM scope, I realized that this was a young 4-point buck. The rifle was put down and I was feeling very dejected.
Shootable light had nearly expired. The high expectations of the buck chasing the hot doe was a big one – perhaps the hoss buck seen on camera. After a few moments of feeling sorry, I realized that the doe still had not been bumped from the field by the feisty buck. Subsequently, I noticed what appeared to be coyote enter the field about 75 yards away headed toward the doe, but the doe was still focusing on the young buck. In went the gun back on the rail, coyote in my scope hoping to make a kill shot on the moving coyote. Upon studying the moving animal for a second, I suddenly realized it was buck who had his head down on the ground like a bloodhound and was even hunched down with his belly not far off the ground. This buck was after the same hot doe. He had high intentions to breed this doe. It took a second or two to decipher if this was a shooter buck which was made more difficult due to the low light and the buck’s head low to the ground. After another second, the buck was already 25 yards into the field. I then realized he certainly was a shooter buck. He paused just momentarily, turned broad side, and raised his head to sniff the air. I then realized not only was he a shooter buck, but he also was THE buck I had been hunting all season who had ignited my hunting juices all season and drove me to be sly and leave work early.
As hunters know, these events are happening in split seconds and decisions have to made as to “if and when” you are to pull the trigger. With the massive buck turned broadside and head raised, I knew that any moment he could bolt from the field if the doe ran off. Light was already very low making the decision to shoot imminent. The image in the scope was somewhat grainy, but I had enough information and decided to squeeze the trigger after putting the crosshairs on the buck’s right shoulder. I squeezed and the buck dropped instantly. As deer hunters know, this feeling of buck fever and excitement is rarely matched in life. I was ecstatic – on top of the world with my heart about to beat out of my chest. The buck was dead so I left the Field Stand expeditiously and walked down to the buck. Upon arriving, it was confirmed – this was MY buck. After shouting some “Hallelujah’s” and celebrating, with just God and me, it was one of the best
moments of my hunting life!
The deer had been hit in the neck, not the shoulder, probably due to flinching of excitement. I had been hunting with my 25-06 previously and had not used this rifle before. Upon shooting my 7MM-08 at the range a few days later, I realized it was shooting several inches to the right and somewhat high. This explains why the buck was hit in the neck which would drop most bucks instantly. It is not recommended that one goes hunting without having fired the weapon of choice but this day, it all worked out. And speaking of God, was it luck that I was delayed and chose this stand on this day and time and unexplainably grabbed a gun that had not been shot to verify scope accuracy OR was it
Providence? Like the feather in the Forest Gump movie, this question will be asked and debated until the end of time. For me, I believe God had His hand in this wonderful experience and directed the paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” KJV
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- June 6, 2024
