Hollar Hunter
Well-Known Member
This is the 3rd season I've been after this buck and I nor anyone else has ever ohysically seen the buck. We've got pics of him every summer, but once that velvet comes off he becomes a ghost. I've had his core area pretty well pinned down but getting access to it without spooking anything and going undetected is very hard to do because of the terrain and thickness. To be honest I really never expected to see this buck much less kill him. Yesterday I slipped in walking up a creek to a stand that we consider a morning stand but with the leaves being so dry it was pretty much my only option to hunt him yesterday evening. I got in the stand at 2:00. The stand is setup in the bottom about 10 feet off a little creek where three hollars come together. Around 5:00 I hadn't seen a deer yet when out of nowhere very clearly there was a set of horns about 200yds away at the very top of the thickest hill. I grabbed the binos and instantly new it was him. I could only see his rack and head though. He just stood in the same spot for a good 5 minutes. I was trying to find a hole ahead of him but there really wasn't one. He finally took a couple steps and stopped and stood again for a long time... Now I could only barely make out a little bit of horns here and there. This hill is steep so I couldn't use the gun rest because I was having to aim up so high. I decided to slide down and sit on the foot platform and put my feet on the ladder to try and get a better rest and hoprfully a different angle. I found an opening that probably wasn't 8-10 inches between the trees in front of him. After that he would be gone into the thickness. He finally moved again and only took a couple steps but when he stopped that little opening was right behind his shoulder. I thought it was a risky shot but I also new I'd never have this opportunity again and I had a good rest. I was squeezing the trigger with that thought and the gun went off startling me. I felt good about my shot, but was nervous shooting 200 yds through so many trees. I stood up on the platform and with my binos I could makeout a mainbeam sticking up. That's when I went to pieces. I won't lye I was flat out tore up like it was my first deer again! I can't tell you how much time and effort I've put in to kill this deer and now I'm on cloud 9....
