Tagged out with a public lands buck that I had a few dozen pics of and really wanted to take.
All in all it was a really enjoyable season, and the entire family chipped in to make it happen. During the run up my kids (3 and 5) hiked along with me on scouting trips and helped change SD cards on several occasions. The wife took care of the home front while I was in the woods, but also came out to play a few times. She also lent her ‘expert’ opinion as to which buck from the trail pics I should hold out for. I didn’t have any monster bucks on the cams this year, so rather than sit for a couple weeks and hope for a random big guy I committed to whichever of the two 120 class day-time regulars that were coming around. We’d been calling this guy the ‘Dagger Buck’ due to his fairly long eye guards.
Opening day didn’t work out. I spent the morning on a spot and stalk after a sizeable mule deer that I had heard about. No dice there… I found his does, and the small fork horns that had been with him, but no sign of the big one. It was a small sliver of public land, so if he was still alive he likely moved onto private ground. It’s tough to make a commitment to hunting a specific deer if you’ve only got a few words and a couple pics from a third party. The afternoon of opening day I headed out to my whitetail stand. I pulled the card in the cam and climbed my tree. Looking at the pics I wasn’t hopeful… no bucks for two days, and only a handful of does. That weather system had warmed everything up significantly and things seemed to have slowed down. Over the course of the afternoon I had six does, a spike, and a fork horn come in, more deer that afternoon than the previous two days. With heavy swirling winds, I really had no business sitting up in a tree. I ended up getting busted twice… one of the does picked up my scent when she was ten yards out, the other at 15. They never saw me, but they sure did make it a point to let the mountain know that something wasn’t right. I made a mental note to better address scent control the following day, and to change clothes next time I plan to hike all morning and then sit all afternoon.
Weather for day two was predicted to improve. No rain, no wind, and cooler temps. I left the house at 0’dark-thirty and drove out to the hills. When I parked the temp read 20 degrees so I put on an extra layer of freshly laundered clothes. I made the slow walk out to my spot, pulled the SD card, hooked into my safety line, and climbed up into the stand. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m 20-25 feet up and not taking any chances on the way up or down. I hang a fixed vertical line along the tree and tie in with a prussic knot. From the time my feet leave the ground I’m always fixed to that safety line. I settled into the stand and even though there was no wind I doused myself in scent killer, I didn’t want any chance of a repeat of that first afternoon. The sun came up. I was relaxed and took it all in. A handful of Stellar’s and Grey Jays were my first visitors. Although much colder the air was crisp, and without wind I felt much warmer than the previous evening. The Douglas Squirrels were active but not mocking me as they had the day before.
Right about 7:15 I heard hoof steps in the snow. They were coming from behind and out to my left, and I immediately perked up. Of the several trails intersecting at my stand, the Dagger Buck seemed to regularly come from that direction. The hoof steps sounded heavy as compared to the stealthy does. It sounded like he was on a mission, and I immediately suspected a buck. I took the bow off the hanger and clasped the D-loop. Moments later I saw legs through the branches. The deer walked into my clearing right at the 20 yard marker, and I immediately recognized his eye guards. Definitely the Dagger Buck! Not sure if it was in my head or I said in quietly out loud, but I certainly thought, “That’s the Dagger Buck!” He exercised zero caution as he came in, didn’t hold up just outside or anything. As I drew he stopped and looked my direction. A second later he put his head down and broadside I let the arrow fly. It was a solid hit, right at the midline one inch behind the shoulder. He trotted a few steps away from my stand and stopped, I could see he was leaking. He took a couple more steps, stumbled hard, rolled over and crashed down through a small tree. He never even twitched after that. He didn’t go twenty yards after the double lung hit.
I exhaled heavily and gave my silent thanks to the mountain gods. I hung the bow back up and sent a celebratory text message to the wife letting her know I’d be home in time for an early Thanksgiving dinner. I waited about five minutes and climbed down. I picked up my arrow, which was covered in great blood, and walked over to the buck. It’s a wonderful feeling standing over an animal that you’ve analyzed and compared to others, discussed at length with family and peers, and maybe even obsessed over a little bit. Also, this was the buck my wife wanted me to shoot. She though he was prettier than a slightly larger 5x5. So I scored points with the wife too!
I got a message from my boy on the drive home. He couldn’t wait to see my “Beast”. Kids are hilarious, and it’s a great feeling to have the whole family in on the harvest. Don’t forget how fortunate we are to balance family, work, and still pursue the sport we love. Anyway, meat in the freeze!
Thanks for reading.
