Mike Hill

I had to work till 1 Am and when the alarm went off at 5 Am. I shut it off and rolled over and said heck with it I'm too tierd. My buddie called me at 5:45 asking what happened to me I told him I had to work late and was just too tierd. He told me that if I didn't get right down there he was going to climb into my stand and shoot the big boy thats been running around there just to piss me off. Well I figured I'm awake and if he ever did that I woulden't be able to live with myself. I had been hunting the same stand ever since the muzzle loader season opened. I haden't seen the big buck since last year when he got by me not once but twice, once during the shotgun season and once during the muzzloader. I thought he must still be around cause no one else hunts in this area and I haden't heard of anyone hitting him with a car. So up I rose and threw my clothes on and out the door. I got to the area about 6:15 and my buddie said I figured that woud get you up. To my suprise hacking John was there a ( well I'll be nice) not nice guy who trys to follow people around who are getting deer. Hacking John can ruin a spot quick He coughes constantly with a smoke hanging out of his mouth, he stinks and can't sit still. He found out I shot a button buck opening day and has been looking for where my truck has been parked ever sence. Now the area I hunt is real small and it don't take a wonderer long to ruin it. As most folks know during the late muzzle loader season you have to be real quit sneak into your stand and sneak back out as the deer have been hunted so hard they spook easy and if you spook them out of these little pockets of woods you may not see them till next year. So I said to my buddie I should have stayed in bed this spot is done. We were both pretty bummed but we were there and it was late so in we went. My stand is all the way in almost to the other side and this is the only way in and out so I have to be real slow and quite. I got to my stand about 6:40 climbed up and hooked up my saftey belt and settled in. My stand is a real comfortable API fixed position with a swivel seat and I have a cables shooting rail so I can take my best shot. Only thing is the rail can double as a head rest and if your not careful you will drift off to sleep which is wat I found myself doing so I stood up trying to shoke off the sleepy feeling. I was watching the area where the field and the woods meet as this is where every deer I have seen in the area have been. Somthing made me turn around behind me and as I did I saw a buck heading into the thickest cover around. I raised my Omega and found him in the buckmaster scope but it was so thick I knew I coulden't take a shot I followed him the best I could in the scope. All of a sudden I hit an open area and squeezed the trigger. For about 20 seconds all I could see was smoke, I quickly reloaded and as I did the smoke cleared. I looked and didn't see the deer there and never saw him go anywhere. I looked through the scope still nothing. I figured that the way he was going there was nothing but houses there and he would eather run back or cross the street but the way I had been hearing cars on the street in their early morning rush to work I thought his best bet would be to come back. After about 20 min. he hadden.t come back so I figured I would go down and see if there was any blood or hair. I got to the area where he was when I shot and I could see big tracks in the ground and I thought I could see where the bullet scraped and entered the ground. Nothing no hair no blood nothing but tracks. I followed for about 30 feet or so still nothing. I figured I must have missed but it was a quick off hand shot and tough to make any way at least I tried. I followed the tracks anyway figuring I'd see what direction he went in and still hoping . As I broke through the thick stuff I saw something I said to myself no thats too big to be a deer it must be a stump or something but as I broke out of the thick stuffI was in I saw it was a deer and what a deer I went over to him saw the horns and had to sit down if I didn't I was going to fall down. He was a big body deer and the groth of the antlers was amazing the polimation was huge he had 4 points on one side and 5 on the other. Again not the tallest rack and not the widest I ever saw but over all huge especially with that polmation it looks like a crown. It drew quite a crowd at Reedys where I checked it in at first the guy told me the scale was broke but when he came out to check it in the scale all of a sudden was working again. The deer weighed 190 lbs which is not giant body size but still a good size deer and I was told he would have gone 230 to 240 before the rut. And he was rough scored about 140. When I get some pictures taken I will post them up. So guys I hope that story didn't bore you too much I could never tell a good short story it always takes me too long.