The Big Buck by Stephen Long
It was the day before the deer hunting season opener. We always arrived at the deer hunting camp a few days early to check around to see where the deer had been moving. I decided to cross the bay in a small lake, to take a look at the dirt road. The deer usually came down to drink or cross into an area where my tree stand was situated. It didn't seem to take me long to find a fresh track, which was the largest I had ever seen. The deer track was about 4 inches long with dewclaws behind it and was splayed out. This told me that it was a very heavy buck. I was now getting excited and was looking forward to the possibility of seeing him tommorow morning.
After a fitful nights sleep we had great anticipation as we left the cabin at first light. Opening day dawned with about 2 inches of fresh snow and no wind. The temperature was about 10 degrees. All was very quiet in the woods. We had perfect hunting conditions!
About 7:30 I decided to take a little break with some coffee. A few minutes went by and I became aware of a presence behind me. As the steam from my hot coffee billowed in the air a big doe was starring right at me, at least I thought. Not knowing what it was, she was starring at the steam from the coffee. The big doe crawled on her knees with curiosity to check this out. She never ran, and as I didn't have a doe permit, I watched her slowly walk away.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a deer moving along a ridge behind a bunch of pine trees about 75 yards away. The deer was walking right to left and if things went well it would be broadside to me in a few minutes. I had cut some shooting lanes a few years before and the deer was moving right towards on. When I saw the deer for the first time it was a big buck with a doe along side it. It seemed liked forever before I took the shot. I fired and the big buck fell like a rock. I got down from the stand and called in a few of my hunting buddies. We all agreed that it was the biggest buck any of us had ever seen. It had to be the big deer that make the tracks that we had seen the night before.
It took a while to gut the big buck and with 4 guys it was a struggle to drag it back to the camp. A few days later we left camp with three more deer from our deer hunting trip. We later came up to the station to register the deer and the operator wanter to weight the deer. The operator had also said that this was the largest buck he had ever seen.
The big deer weighed a whopping 235 pounds after being dressed out and it was a 10 point buck. The deer mounting still hangs on my wall and all I have to do is gaze up at that big rack and smile as the deer hunting memory comes alive again!
Get the hotest deer hunting tips and deer hunting accessories at the deer hunting guide. You can get a unique content version of this article.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Big-Buck/250292
