Oh golly.

It all started back in September, when I finally settled on trail camera locations and really started tracking the deer in these woods. I chose 4 spots, stuck my Bushnells on well-placed trees, put out some corn… And waited. I did hunt, but if there were big bucks in the area, I wanted to make sure I stayed out and didn’t put any additional pressure on them that might spark a scare into a neighboring property.

Every few weeks I’d go back and check, creating multiple folders on my computer for each location, and even more for particular deer. Once the rut was in full swing, I went every week to feed and check the cameras and hunt. I took inventory, noted time stamps, and paid attention to which direction these deer would come from on their way to snack. More than 4,500 photos of deer – and turkeys and fox squirrels and one lone bob cat – and I went through to each and every one, separating the “good” ones for a closer look. Once I’d narrowed it down to around 400 photos (hah! but seriously), I could really focus. 

I saw a few small bucks while sitting, but nothing too exciting. Not surprisingly, most of my decent bucks were already nocturnal, with their most active camera times between 11 PM and 3 AM. Not very conducive to hunting, huh? BUT!

BUT.

There were a few bucks in particular who showed up during daylight hours, however briefly. Sometimes one would be solo, sneaking along a tree line just close enough for the camera to snap a photo. Other times, they’d show up with a few younger bucks in tow, spending the next 30 minutes eating and sparring and eating again. Either way, my cameras always had to plenty of good pictures for my entertainment.

Fast forward to the first weekend in November – the first real “cold” snap of fall here in the Lowcountry. I made it my mission to spend as much time in the stand as possible – no matter which stand I chose to hunt, I knew I had a pretty good chance of at least seeing a deer. And so, I hunted.

On Friday afternoon, I hopped in the stand around 4, keeping a close watch on the little field in front of me as well as the open woods behind me.

I hunted hard for the next few hours to no avail. It was getting close to dark, and I felt somewhat discouraged. Then, out of nowhere, a buck meandered out of the woods to my right. I could tell by his body he was a nice deer, and his rack had some weight to it too. Yes! This was my chance. I quickly  checked him out through my binocs, then got my rifle set up to take a shot. Only, once I zeroed in on him through my scope, I noticed a unique characteristic in his main beam. Instantly, I knew it was “Reach” – one of the 7-points I’ve got on camera. Once I realized it wasn’t one of the bucks I  was after and knew I wasn’t going to shoot, I settled down and watched him until it was too dark to see. Finally, he trotted across the field and into the pines after about 15 minutes. Darn.

Oh well – that’s how it goes sometimes! Never fear – I would try a different spot in the morning. My alarm went off extra early that Saturday morning so I could get to my climber – it’s hidden in a stretch of woods that borders a swamp, with an excellent view of a small opening on a heavily-traveled ridge. So. Much. Sign. And also one of the spots I’d put a camera. Over the course of 2 months, I’d patterned several bucks,  2 of which would often show up between 7:25 and 7:50 in the morning. Oddly enough, I think they’re related based on their antlers – high 8’s that, although outside the ears, are fairly tall and narrow. One buck is slightly larger than the other, but they’re incredibly similar, particularly on their right side.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, the woods were filled with even more dead branches and crunchy leaves than usual, so I wanted to be as stealthy as possible getting to the stand. Enter: my father-in-law’s bike. If you are looking for a quiet and quick way to get to the stand, in lieu of a vehicle or and even louder 4wheeler, this is the way to go! Quick and easy (although a little bit scary in the dark) I made it to the climber early Saturday morning.

I sat late into the morning but didn’t have any luck. Mostly I stayed out of stubbornness – I hadn’t seen a deer on my camera between the hours of 8 AM and about 3:30 PM. Still, I’ve killed deer in stranger situations, so I thought, why not! As you know, that’s how it goes sometimes.

I got back in the stand later that afternoon with similar results – all stubbornness and no deer. I’m sensing a trend – what about you?

With quite a few hours in the stand under my belt, I had started to get slightly discouraged. Lots of work, and I only seen one deer. Still, I figured I would give it one more shot Sunday morning before we had to leave town, so I set my alarm in accordance with daylight savings (or so I thought0. I’d actually set it in the wrong direction and work up an extra hour early – about 3:45 AM. Once I realized my mistake, I reset my alarm and settled in to nap for the next hour or so until I got back up. Only, my alarm didn’t go off. It turns out I had set it for the following day rather than just later that morning.

Thankfully, my body woke me up with a jolt about 5:10, and once I realized I only had a short amount of time to get ready, grab my gear, and get to the stand before daylight, I really thought about just laying back down. Even at top speed, I knew I would be pushing it to get in the woods before it got light, potentially spooking any deer that would come in right at dawn.

Well, you know me – you don’t know if you don’t go – and I knew I would regret it if I didn’t at least try to get there. Once I parked (no bike this time), I slung my rifle around my back and took off at a steady jog through the woods. Once I got closer to my climber, I slowed down to walk a little more carefully and not make a bunch of noise. It was light enough to not need a flashlight, so getting into the climber and ready to shimmy up the tree was no problem.

But, that also meant I was cutting it close with busting deer.

And so, up the tree I went. A few feet off the ground I looked out towards the little ridge where the deer come out, just to be sure nothing was out there. It was still a bit too dark to see that far into the woods, and all I noticed were a few faint glimmers of a lightning bug or two.

Onward I climbed. Flustering myself, trying to hurry, and making all sorts of noise getting up that pine. Surely I’d scared off every deer in Georgetown County by now. After a few more feet I glanced back up and saw the same lightning bug. In the exact same spot. Hmm… That seems a little odd.

Curious, I sat down, hooked the climber into the tree, and raised my binoculars for a better look. Once I zeroed in, I saw the same glimmer of light. Only this time, that “glimmer of light” came with a rather large movement of a brown head and horns.

A deer. A buck. Holy Toledo, Batman. I kid you not, I said “holy sh*t” out loud without even meaning to. For heaven sake, I was only about 8 feet off the ground and hadn’t even loaded my rifle yet! And here is a buck! Just standing there waiting for me!

As carefully and quietly as possible, I loaded up my rifle, still keeping a close eye on the deer through my binoculars – I needed to identify him before I’d raise the gun to take a shot.

He was angled quartering towards me, and I could just make out a high narrow rack with extra tall G2’s on both sides. It was about 6:15 AM. Before the time change, it would’ve been 7:15 AM. Almost exactly the time I had noted on those two bucks.

Pardon my French [again], but holy sh*t. I’ve actually done it. I patterned the deer and made it to the stand at exactly the right time. 

It was still a little too dark to determine exactly which of the two bucks I was looking at – their racks are so similar that even in daylight it would be hard to tell at 100+ yards through the woods. But, like I said, I knew it was one of them and I knew they  were both shooters. So, I raise my rifle and braced against the tree, took the safety off, and waited for the right moment. Suddenly, he started to wander off toward the thicker pines – I would still be able to see him, but there’s no way I could take an ethical shot.

In the last instant before he disappeared through the trees, he paused. And I squeezed.

Boom.

For a brief instant, he just stood there. It was maybe half of a second, but it felt like an hour. Had I missed? No sooner had the thought popped into my head, he hit the ground right where he was standing and didn’t move an inch.

Turns out, those “lightening bugs” were the reflections of the buck’s eyes as the trail cam was snapping photos. WHILE HE WAS LOOKING DIRECTLY AT ME.

Seriously. My climber is about 110 yards away, in exactly the direction he’s looking. I know he heard me going up that tree, but he never got spooked. How crazy is that? If it hadn’t been for that camera, I might never have noticed him.

But I did, didn’t I? 🙂

Got him!

Its strange… I know he’s not huge – not nearly as big as the 10 point I got last year, but I am just as proud of this buck as any other deer I’ve hunted. Maybe more so. Months of work, hours of pouring over thousands of photos and trying to learn these deer and their routines, and all of those early mornings and dark evenings hunting hard every chance I got. That hard work, at last, paid off.

He was dead before he hit the ground, and I’m certainly thankful for that. Just like I’m always grateful for any animal I’m hunting, whether its a deer, duck, stag, you name it – because taking the life of an animal always takes something out of me. I’ve even cried before. Most hunters feel the same way, whether they admit it or not. But hunting is about so much more than the kill -this moment was months in the making. By the time I had this buck in my crosshairs, pulling the trigger really was secondary.

But… Now I’ve got a freezer full of venison, and an great story behind it. And I wouldn’t change a thing.

Venison burgers for everyone!