I went to a new part of the farm I hunt, just for change and set up on the ground. Made a little ground blind about 2 hours before dark and waited. About 20 minutes before darkI hear very soft and quiet footsteps coming towards me on a trail. I am watching intently as it is very thick and I am on the ground so visibility is limited. Then I see these big tines turn to go under a low hanging limb. Heart starts pumping and I attach my release, I cant see him very good until he is in my shooting lane but I know he is a defnite shooter. He is scheduled to pass me at 12 yards. He gets behind a tangle of branches right before he steps into my lane, I draw, anchor and wait for him to step out. He steps out and turns and looks right at me. His left side has 5 points, heavy,tall, just awesome!! Then I see his right side for the first time. It is this massively thick prong that goes up about 6 inches and forks, looked exactly like a pronghorn! I think I actually said out loud, "oh sh!t" This would be easily a 150 class ten pointer had his right side matched his left but nope, nothing but a stubby prong. I let up on my release and just watched him. He eventually got to three paces, I could her him chewing!!!!!! (wind in my favor)It was incredible being so close to a mature buck and he never knew I was there! Awesome.

Anyway, what baffles me is just an hour and a half before he came through my shooting lane, I made that shooting lane. I cut down a half a dozen little trees, knocked down brush and made it shootable. I did everything with my bare hands, touched branhces, bent over brush, etc. My clothes had been sitting in my house all day, I used no scent killer, my boots had been in my garage all day. This buck steps into this shooting lane full of human scent. He sniffs everything I touched and even eats leavesfrom branches I had bent over with my bare hands. He is not alarmed in the least. I mean he's eating things thatI touched 90 minutes ago. I just dont understand how you can have a doe cross your scent trail and get alarmed and run to the next county and then he doesnt give adarn! Makes no sense to me. Oh and it was set up so that I would have released before they got to all that scent in the shooting lane.

Whatever screwed up his horns may have screwed up his smeller.,,,, OR..... the deer in those parts aren't hunted very hard.

Well,the only thing that i can think of is if it was raining or a light rain,that may have washed all the scent away.

I have found that when deer otherwise feel secure, they can be very curious creatures....sometimes. I watched a doe follow an armadillo for 50 yards while she was in creep stance the whole time. The woods were pretty thick and I don't think she ever did actually see the armadillo. I have also heard deer snort before but not run off, and three other deer that were not even aware of the snorting deer walked immediately to where the first deer snorted to check everything out.

He was hurt on the oposit side of the small point . He probly was hit by a car in the spring. this is common in the deer family I have shot elk like that and on the side with the good rack there is a wound.

ME, I'd have to take that crazy rack. A little character and all that. Especially since he was so big bodied and obviously very mature. YUP, I'd tag him.

P.S. How 'bout those Vikings???? [&:][8D][:'(]

That is a strange scenario. I can believe the newly cut saplings and brush did'nt bother him but I can't figure why the oder did'nt. You would think he would have at least been on the alert!