In August of this year, Mary and I were checking our game cam pics in Crockett County and we came across this guy checking a doe. This was the first time we saw him. Mary appropriately named him Poker...cause he wanted to... Anyway, we had yet to see him this year, and we were hunting hard. Fast forward to Thanksgiving week. I was hunting this deer hard, but as usual, he was two steps ahead of me. Tuesday morning I sat in a blind we call the jungle. At about 6:00 am, I see the form of a large deer under the feeder. I can't make out the deer, or what it is, but when the flash of the game camera goes off, I think it's Poker. The second flash confirms it. But, like he KNEW what I was thinking, he vanished just before shooting light! I leave the blind frustrated, but still happy for just seeing him and having this mature buck 15 yards in front of me.
That evening I head out to the blind at about 2:00 pm. I see action less than 5 minutes after sitting in the chair. Two yearling spikes come in and play for about 2 hours, sparring, rubbing trees, and just giving me a neat show. They move out about about 4:00 and things get quiet again. About 4:30, I see movement in front of me. It's him! He walks by at about 40 yards from my right to my left. Then he's gone! I'm thinking...that's it? That's my shot?! I was dejected!
Twenty minutes later, he comes in from my left and enters the shooting lane. That's all I needed. I drew back the Hoyt Katera and sent the rage through both lungs. He lunged forward and stumbled to the ground. He got his feet back under him and ran about 30 yards before falling again for the final time. I was PUMPED! I checked the time and sat tight. After 20 minutes, I walked out and picked up my arrow. I looked the direction that he ran and it looked like you painted the trail red with an 8" brush. There was blood everywhere. I looked around a bush and there he was. I couldn't speak. It was like finishing a great book....remembering the first picture of him, and all of the hunts not seeing him...and now having my hands on this magnificent animal. He's a main frame 10 point with a kicker on his right G2 and an extra point on his left main beam. His beams are bladed on the end and they cross! Here's the first pic, and the last! Thanks for taking the ride with me!
That evening I head out to the blind at about 2:00 pm. I see action less than 5 minutes after sitting in the chair. Two yearling spikes come in and play for about 2 hours, sparring, rubbing trees, and just giving me a neat show. They move out about about 4:00 and things get quiet again. About 4:30, I see movement in front of me. It's him! He walks by at about 40 yards from my right to my left. Then he's gone! I'm thinking...that's it? That's my shot?! I was dejected!
Twenty minutes later, he comes in from my left and enters the shooting lane. That's all I needed. I drew back the Hoyt Katera and sent the rage through both lungs. He lunged forward and stumbled to the ground. He got his feet back under him and ran about 30 yards before falling again for the final time. I was PUMPED! I checked the time and sat tight. After 20 minutes, I walked out and picked up my arrow. I looked the direction that he ran and it looked like you painted the trail red with an 8" brush. There was blood everywhere. I looked around a bush and there he was. I couldn't speak. It was like finishing a great book....remembering the first picture of him, and all of the hunts not seeing him...and now having my hands on this magnificent animal. He's a main frame 10 point with a kicker on his right G2 and an extra point on his left main beam. His beams are bladed on the end and they cross! Here's the first pic, and the last! Thanks for taking the ride with me!
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