As a hunter, I am very blessed. Not only do I live in one of the game richest Counties in Tennessee, but I also to have access to several hundred acres of private land - most of which I either have exclusive or near-exclusive hunting rights on. I have been hunting some of the same farms for 30 years now, and have consistently killed deer & turkeys on them for most of those 30. I often find myself wanting to hunt some of my "old favorite" spots to reflect on memories of seasons past even though this year's sign tells me that another, newer stand location might be more productive. That being said, there is still something very special to a hunter about killing a deer on your own property.
Brandi & I bought 40 acres in the late 90's with the plans to build our "dream home". It borders the Elk River & contains a good mix of hardwoods & bottom land. We are in a part of our County that has historically grown some very big deer, but with very few exceptions they have always seemed to avoid our place. Even still, my river bottom is my absolute favorite afternoon stand. It is one of those places that you are almost guaranteed to see a bunch of deer, no matter the weather or time of year. It is not unusual to have 20 + does feeding around the bottom any afternoon of the season. Prior to this year, I had only killed 3 deer on my place in the 12 years we've had it. Plus, I've let several friends hunt & kill deer over the years. All of these hunts were memorable, but none resulted in a "big" deer.
Fast forward to the Thursday after Elizabeth killed her deer. It was early muzzleloader season, but I was taking the kids to school instead of hunting. We had just pulled out of the drive when a really good buck crossed the road in front of us & ran onto the property that joins mine. I stopped the truck in the middle of the gravel road that we live on & said "WOW kids - LOOK at that deer!!!". He looked to be a big framed 8 pt with extraordinarily long beams that came out past his nose. Elizabeth tried to claim him but Molly quickly reminded her that she had already killed a deer so to be fair, this buck should be Molly's. I thought it was hilarious that they were fighting over this deer that we would most likely never see again!
I had had a trail camera out on my food plot in the river bottom since August & had not gotten a picture of ANYTHING bigger than a spike. So I really thought that us seeing the big deer was just a fluke. He was probably living across the road, just happened to be ranging a little farther then normal that morning, got spooked by my truck, and just happened to cross the road & run in the direction of our property. I had very little confidence in ever seeing him again. All that changed the next afternoon when I went to check my camera.
Not a great picture, but definitely the same deer - those long beams were unmistakable! This picture was actually taken the night before the kids & I had seen him. 1 visual & 1 picture on consecutive days - NOW, it was time to get excited!
It was the next afternoon before I was able to hunt him. Weather was a little cooler than typical for our early muzzleloader - low 60's when I got to the stand that afternoon with a forecast of mid 30s for that night. I don't remember the exact number, but I think I had 6 or 8 does out feeding in the plot by 5:45. I had taken my eyes off of them for some reason (probably to send one of my buddies a text). I saw him immediately when I looked back up. A very big bodied deer with a head full of horns had just stepped out of the woods & was feeding back behind the does. One quick check with the binocs was all it took - IT WAS HIM!!! Funny I had ranged the treeline where he came out just a few minutes before. Nearly 200 yards - not exactly an easy shot for a muzzleloader, but definitely doable for the Savage.
I eased the window of the shooting house open, tried to still my beating heart & settle the crosshairs behind his shoulder. I touched off the shot, heard the bullet hit, & watched him run the few yard back to the edge of the woods. I could still see his rack through the trees, he had stopped but he didn't go down... I quickly found him in my binocs - he was standing in a ditch that runs behind my food plot. All I could see was the top of his neck, his head, & his rack. I knew that he was hit hard but he still hadn't gone down... Uh-oh... I had visions of the buck of my dreams running off & never finding him as I reloaded as fast as I could.
Once again I eased the gun out the window of the shooting house. This time, all I had to aim for was his neck so I tried to steady the crosshairs on his throat patch at about 175 yards. I touched off the shot.... nothing... he didn't even flinch... MISSED! I think I reloaded even faster this time. Here we go again... This time I took a couple of extra moments to steady the crosshairs of the center of his neck. He disappeared from the scope as soon as I touched the trigger. Quick check through the binocs verified that he was down - I GOT HIM!
He ended up being a 10 pt thanks to a couple of nice kickers. Haven't scored him but he should go in the low 140s - my 2nd or 3rd best Tennessee deer. But score or not, this will always be one of my favorite deer - there is nothing quite like killing a trophy on your own land!
About that shot - it turned out he had been quartering to me instead of broadside plus I obviously pulled my shot a little, hitting him too far back. Thankfully, I was far enough away that none of the deer knew where the shot(s) were coming from. The does actually went back to feeding & never spooked until I climbed down from the stand to go retrieve him. Thankfully too I had a quality gun with quality optics in which I have the utmost confidence & was able to put the finisher in him.
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