This has been a great year for deer hunting so far . I have had lots of great action and the rut is just kicking in . I sat in a stand overlooking a thicket in the morning yesterday with no deer sighted at all . I had heard some chasing going on in the dark on a nearby finger ridge, so when I needed to warm up a little , I decided to take a stroll along that ridge . I usually don't enter this area until the rut is in gear so this was my first peak since turkey season when I do my serious deer scouting mixed with turkey hunting. A good friend was going to hunt this particular spot but wasn't able to make it here so I figured now was a good time to check on it . As I walked along the ridgetop I found about 12 huge scrapes that had been freshened since the rain from the day before . It seemed like every tree on that ridge was rubbed , some as high as my shoulders. I was easing along looking at all the sign when I noticed a movement on the bench below me . I Looked closer and saw that it was a good buck with his nose to the ground on the prowl for love. I stepped next to a small oak tree and threw a couple grunts at him . That brought him another 30 yds where he stepped into the only shooting lane I had and he stopped , looking uphill for the buck that challenged him . Everything felt perfect when I let the arrow go and the buck never flinched until the arrow struck him at 40 paces . The broadhead wedged into his opposite shoulder and I could see my shaft sticking out of his chest as he whirled to run away . About 10-20 seconds later , I heard him come to a crashing halt in a pine thicket . I waited 2 hours even though he expired in less than a minute . When I recovered him , turkey vultures had already beat me to him and were busy having a meal of fresh kill . I ran them off but they hovered overhead the entire time I was dressing the deer and they even followed us back to my van . Spooky stuff there ! This buck is one that I have had on camera for 4 years now . He has always had a similiar rack even though it was bigger last year . His bases are big enough for a huge rack though . He carries 11 scoreable points but won't score very high . He tipped the scales at 210 lbs field -dressed and had a chest bigger than I do . Normally I would wait for a larger buck but the encounter was priceless and a hunt I won't soon forget . It's a shame that my buddy can't be here to sit in that stand !
