It's been a really busy season, but I was luckily able to harvest a buck with my bow Thanksgiving week. It's been two years since my last, so my trigger finger was itching to release! First hit list buck that gives me the opportunity is going down. I didn't have this mentality last year which yielded in me not shooting anything and passing on this very same deer only to be a slick mainframe 4x4 last year.
Nov. 21st AM hunt was the first hunt this hit list buck (aka BigMac) makes an appearance South of the feeder. Must’ve picked up every kernel of corn under the feeder before making his way twds me and as he's closing in, he walks West into the brush about 80 yards or so out and instantaneously I see this middle age upcoming brute make a first appearance as well to my East so I setup to photograph & get him on video, sand bags and all. Few minutes in, young 8pt comes into range back on my West so I setup here too capture him on video and next thing you know I see this:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7gxw0G73i8"]BigMac vs DDS 2012 11 21 Fight - YouTube[/ame]
At this point my heart is racing!! Hit list buck is in bow range & kicked some butt in a fight and all under 25 yards! Shortly thereafter, he came perfectly broadside and I came to a full draw, but couldn’t release. I forgot to move the sandbags I was using for my cameras & it was too close, looked like my broadhead might slice through so I closed my draw, moved the sandbags, pulled back a second time, only now the buck had moved out of frame from my video camera so while I’m at full draw, I use my left hand that’s holding my bow to move the camera to the right to get the buck back on film and record my shot. As I do so with the back of my hand & at full draw (for the 2nd time now), the video camera slightly moves, but then goes back to original position. The buck is out of frame and I’m thinking “Should I shoot anyway without capturing the shot?”
(I’ve been in this predicament before & I don’t like it. Lol) Hadn’t made my mind up yet, but he started to walk off so I grunted, he stopped & gave me about 2 seconds, which I didn’t have my mind set yet so he walks off pushing another nearby ten. He walks completely around me and now on my shooting lane to my East. Move my camera, setup, pull back, & now as I set my sights on him I can’t help but notice that my camera is in the direct path of my arrow should I decide to release. BigMac is standing 23 yards and my arrow slicing through a sandbag issue was a maybe, but this time, my arrow will hit dead-smack in the middle of my video camera and I’m not going to find out what happens to it, to me, my bow, or my arrow in such a confined blind so I close my draw and watch as he walks off. 
Saw him the next three hunts come to the feeder, have one heck of a meal, & split coming now where near bow range. It was very frustrating seeing him over 160 yards out & nothing I could do to draw him closer. Four hunts after the fight and the morning after Thanksgiving, I get this idea that if I disconnect the battery, I may be able to draw him to the corn in my lane so I take my chances and do just that & get settled in. Like the other hunts, he came out from the South & headed twds the feeder pen, but doesn’t jump in. Feeder didn’t go off & he’s not liking it. He looks around for a while, stares at me for a few seconds, stares at the feeder, and back at me again. He stood right outside the feeder pen doing this back and forth motion for about five minutes until he finally gave in and started heading my way. The look on his face was priceless.
So far, my plan was working, but just as I was thinking this & he’s closing in, four bucks come out behind him and he sees them, turns around and starts getting further away from me and closing in on them pushing them back South. My thoughts... "You gotta be kidding me!" Looking for a break & definitely not what I was hoping to see happen and in less than two minutes he’s over 200 yards away and then goes into the brush pushing the other bucks. A few minutes goes by and one of the three bucks he was pushing comes out near the feeder, but goes in East on the South sendero. About two min. after that the target buck follows same path. At this point I think it’s over, but it’s still early am. 10 pt buck he’s pushing comes out to my East Sendero in a ground blind’s shooting lane, but doesn’t stop as I didn’t corn it hoping to draw the deer twds me in the tower blind. And finally, there’s Big-Mac following a few min behind. Ten pt buck goes continues into the brush headed NE and as Big-Mac is following, but for some reason he stops right before the end of the sendero facing a big mesquite tree on the corner of an intersection of two roads. He looks off NE twds the buck he was pushing, then twds me. He stood there for a couple seconds and then… he turns twds me and starts closing in from my East. Yesssss…! “You gota be kidding me” Haha I’m more than ready now. Cams set, no obstructions in my arrow’s flight path, bring it on! Slowly, but surely he walks into range and at 7:21am from 19 yards away, my arrow finally flies!
Followed his get-away run closely and last place I saw him run to is where he laid. Rage 2-blade made the blood trail extremely easy to follow from about ten ft from where he stood to where I found him.
Buck grossed the scale at 230lbs live & scored 116 5/8 b&c at 7.5yrs. This is the heaviest & oldest buck or animal for that matter that I’ve ever harvested with archery equipment. I’m very grateful for the privilege to hunt S.TX and will see this old buck nothing as short of a trophy as it hangs on my wall.
Nothing beats the chase of a big-old mature buck on his own turf!
…and holding your bow while doing it, well… that’s just kicking it up a notch! 
Nov. 21st AM hunt was the first hunt this hit list buck (aka BigMac) makes an appearance South of the feeder. Must’ve picked up every kernel of corn under the feeder before making his way twds me and as he's closing in, he walks West into the brush about 80 yards or so out and instantaneously I see this middle age upcoming brute make a first appearance as well to my East so I setup to photograph & get him on video, sand bags and all. Few minutes in, young 8pt comes into range back on my West so I setup here too capture him on video and next thing you know I see this:
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[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7gxw0G73i8"]BigMac vs DDS 2012 11 21 Fight - YouTube[/ame]
At this point my heart is racing!! Hit list buck is in bow range & kicked some butt in a fight and all under 25 yards! Shortly thereafter, he came perfectly broadside and I came to a full draw, but couldn’t release. I forgot to move the sandbags I was using for my cameras & it was too close, looked like my broadhead might slice through so I closed my draw, moved the sandbags, pulled back a second time, only now the buck had moved out of frame from my video camera so while I’m at full draw, I use my left hand that’s holding my bow to move the camera to the right to get the buck back on film and record my shot. As I do so with the back of my hand & at full draw (for the 2nd time now), the video camera slightly moves, but then goes back to original position. The buck is out of frame and I’m thinking “Should I shoot anyway without capturing the shot?”
(I’ve been in this predicament before & I don’t like it. Lol) Hadn’t made my mind up yet, but he started to walk off so I grunted, he stopped & gave me about 2 seconds, which I didn’t have my mind set yet so he walks off pushing another nearby ten. He walks completely around me and now on my shooting lane to my East. Move my camera, setup, pull back, & now as I set my sights on him I can’t help but notice that my camera is in the direct path of my arrow should I decide to release. BigMac is standing 23 yards and my arrow slicing through a sandbag issue was a maybe, but this time, my arrow will hit dead-smack in the middle of my video camera and I’m not going to find out what happens to it, to me, my bow, or my arrow in such a confined blind so I close my draw and watch as he walks off. Saw him the next three hunts come to the feeder, have one heck of a meal, & split coming now where near bow range. It was very frustrating seeing him over 160 yards out & nothing I could do to draw him closer. Four hunts after the fight and the morning after Thanksgiving, I get this idea that if I disconnect the battery, I may be able to draw him to the corn in my lane so I take my chances and do just that & get settled in. Like the other hunts, he came out from the South & headed twds the feeder pen, but doesn’t jump in. Feeder didn’t go off & he’s not liking it. He looks around for a while, stares at me for a few seconds, stares at the feeder, and back at me again. He stood right outside the feeder pen doing this back and forth motion for about five minutes until he finally gave in and started heading my way. The look on his face was priceless.
So far, my plan was working, but just as I was thinking this & he’s closing in, four bucks come out behind him and he sees them, turns around and starts getting further away from me and closing in on them pushing them back South. My thoughts... "You gotta be kidding me!" Looking for a break & definitely not what I was hoping to see happen and in less than two minutes he’s over 200 yards away and then goes into the brush pushing the other bucks. A few minutes goes by and one of the three bucks he was pushing comes out near the feeder, but goes in East on the South sendero. About two min. after that the target buck follows same path. At this point I think it’s over, but it’s still early am. 10 pt buck he’s pushing comes out to my East Sendero in a ground blind’s shooting lane, but doesn’t stop as I didn’t corn it hoping to draw the deer twds me in the tower blind. And finally, there’s Big-Mac following a few min behind. Ten pt buck goes continues into the brush headed NE and as Big-Mac is following, but for some reason he stops right before the end of the sendero facing a big mesquite tree on the corner of an intersection of two roads. He looks off NE twds the buck he was pushing, then twds me. He stood there for a couple seconds and then… he turns twds me and starts closing in from my East. Yesssss…! “You gota be kidding me” Haha I’m more than ready now. Cams set, no obstructions in my arrow’s flight path, bring it on! Slowly, but surely he walks into range and at 7:21am from 19 yards away, my arrow finally flies!
Followed his get-away run closely and last place I saw him run to is where he laid. Rage 2-blade made the blood trail extremely easy to follow from about ten ft from where he stood to where I found him. Buck grossed the scale at 230lbs live & scored 116 5/8 b&c at 7.5yrs. This is the heaviest & oldest buck or animal for that matter that I’ve ever harvested with archery equipment. I’m very grateful for the privilege to hunt S.TX and will see this old buck nothing as short of a trophy as it hangs on my wall.
Nothing beats the chase of a big-old mature buck on his own turf!
…and holding your bow while doing it, well… that’s just kicking it up a notch!
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