Went out Thursday morning and at 8:15 AM a buck appeared in front of me at 70 yards walking down a trail that would lead him 8 feet to the left of my stand. I could clearly see he had a perfect 5 point antler on the left, a deformed antler on the right, and a good size body. He stayed on that trail all the way under my stand and I was never able to get a shot off. I pulled out "The Can" and waited until he was about 40 yards away and I hit him with that call 4-5 times. He stopped, listened, and looked back my way. After a while he came back but through some thick stuff so I still had no shot. He ended up right back on the original trail he came in on but facing the other direction. I again hit him with that can call and threw in a grunt now and then. He decided to come back again and check out what was making that noise. Fortunately he didn't continue all the way down the same trail but took an off shoot to the right. Everything from there was like a bowhunters text book. After a few yards three big trees were between us so that is where I drew and he proceeded down the trail. I put my 20 yard pin on him for about a 15-18 yard shot and let it fly. I saw it hit true but for some reason it did not pass all the way through. He ran by with the feathers and nock on one side and about 8 inches of arrow and broadhead on the other. I watched him go about 60 yards, stop, flip on his left side and was down for the count. Dragged him out, dropped him off at the butchers and he weighed 120 pounds (field dressed and without his head and lower legs) so he was probably weighed 150 - 160 pounds on the hoof.

He would have been a small 5 X 5 but he has a deformed right antler making him a strange 5 X 3. Probably for the best that I took him out of the gene pool. This was the largest whitetail buck I've shot and the first time I've shot two deer with a bow before the Mz season.

See "Deer Hunting 2002" in my photo albums on Webshots for pictures of him:
http://community.webshots.com/user/rjllewel

A great looking deer a strange rack for sure. Congrats.

I think your right about taking him out of the gene pool. Still get a 'good job' from me though getting 2 bucks in bow season. I haven't got any in 2 bow seasons.

KEEP IT LEGAL. KEEP IT SAFE. OR WE MAY NOT GET TO KEEP IT AT ALL.

Congrats to ya, you did a good job of calling him back to you. You did good by taking him out, he is an odd one.

The best of luck in all your hunting endeavors!!!

God Bless,
Dave

Thanks guys. One clarification for you Budbowhunter, my first deer this year was a doe to start filling the freezer back in September. I would be having a GREAT year if they would have been bucks.

I posted this same story on another forum and a few of them stated that he probably had an injury on the opposite side of his body. They were right because I recall a large knot on the inside of his knee of his right back leg. Butcher said he probably broke it fighting. He didn't have a limp when I was observing him so it must have been from last year.

Have you heard of this too and does that mean he would have produced a larger right and a strange left for the rest of his life?

I think the rack deformation was definetly caused by the injury to the opposite side of his body, I have seen this alot. I am not sure if they continue to produce strange racks on the other side, but I believe they do. Congrats on your buck.

"We do not inherit our wildlife from our fathers, we only borrow it from our children."

Thanks for the confirmation. I've heard it before but didn't really understand it until now. Probably was best that I was the one to shoot that boy since I'm more of a meat hunter than a trophy hunter. He was probably passed by a few bone hunters out there.

What is funny is that I had rattling antlers from a buck that had a perfect left 4 point and a deformed right 3 point. I took this bucks perfect right 5 point to join my left 4 point to now make perfect rattling antlers. He must have been meant for me.