Last Saturday morning, I was hunting on my father-in-law's ground near Middlegrove, IL. It's a unique piece of land because it used to be part of a strip mining operation years ago. There are several small, steep cuts throughout the property, as well as a creek and a few smaller ponds/lakes left over from the strip mining operation. I chose to sit at the top of a ridge, overlooking the creek bottom. At 7:30, I decided to leave my post and do a bit of glassing, following the ridgetop. The ground was wet, so I could move without making much noise. I had moved about 75 yards when I looked to my left and noticed a huge buck standing in some tall grass. It was a booner, no doubt. It was standing guard over a doe, keeping at least one other little buck at bay. I was able to quickly hunker down behind a 5 foot tall bank (created by past mining operations), and get a good look at him through my scope. Then I got out my range finder and pegged him at 100yds. In the prone position, peering over the top of this bank, I squeezed off a shot. Nothing. Not a shutter, not a mule kick, not even a spooked looked about him. I was hunting with a single shot shotgun, so I reached for another shell, but the doe took off running directly away from me with the buck in tow. I couldn't believe it. I did everything right- took a deep breath, let it out slow and gently squeezed the trigger on a broadside deer. I still don't know how I missed that buck. As soon as I got home on Saturday, I set up a gallon jug at 100 yards and shredded it. I guess it happens that way some times.
Although I was dissapointed, I knew there would be a slim chance the two would be back in the same spot the following morning. When I was looking for blood after my shot, I noticed several beds in the grass.
Sunday morning, I waited until it was light before I ventured into the woods. Deer often feed in an alfalfa field by the road and I didn't want to spook them by driving in too early. I pulled off the road, quickly dressed and headed to the same spot as the morning before.
The ground was also wet on Sunday morning, which allowed me to slip in quietly. As I approached the same grassy hillside where I missed I booner the morning before, I noticed a nice 8 point up on the horizon. I quickly hunkered down and got out my range finder, ranging him at 175 yards. I knew it was too far for a shot, so I began to weigh my options. Do I try to put on a stalk? Or hope he comes my way? I decided to stay put and see which direction he would go. For a minute or two, he stood almost motionless, looking my direction. Finally, he started to walk towards me. I was quickly running different scenarios through my head about which shooting lanes I could use, and where to relocate if the buck followed a swail that would take him out of sight for a while.
All of the sudden, a doe popped up about 50 yards away, directly in between me and the 8 point. There was a little strip mine cut that I never realized was even there. It was almost like she popped up right out of the ground. Once I saw her, I remembered the day before and figured I would see another deer (one with nice, big antlers) pop up out of the swail shortly. Sure enough, he came trotting out of the cut, following the doe. They were only 50 yards from me. I put my crosshairs behind his shoulder and pulled the trigger. He flinched and kept trotting after the doe. I thought I hit him, but reloaded in case I needed another shot. The doe spooked and took off up the hill toward the 8 point, but the buck stayed where he was. I put the cross hairs on him and pulled the trigger again. This time he dropped in his tracks. After approaching the downed deer, I got my first good look at his antlers. High and tight is a good way to describe them. He wasn't the booner I saw on Saturday, but he was a fine buck with lots of character to his rack.
My theory is someone else shot the monster I saw on Saturday morning, and this buck was next in line. The same doe brought him to the same grassy hillside as her last suiter, and he also met his end because of her. That makes for a good story, but part of me hopes it was a totally different doe and that the booner is still alive. Who knows?
I'm still quite happy with the buck I shot. I scored him at 143" gross and 138" net. The kicker is that his inside spread is only about 14 inches. A bit wider, and he easily would have been over 150. He dressed out at 160lbs, but as I was gutted and caped him, I noticed he hardly had any fat on him. He must have been running all over Fulton county looking for does.
Lastly, I'm sorry about the pictures. I didn't have my digital camera on me when I shot the buck, so I had to take some sub-par stills with my video camera. Today, I got the cape out and snapped a few clearer pictures so you can see some of the character of this rack. Pretty Cool.
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