October 17th 2006 was an exciting day that began my season long obsession. It started when I got home from work and did the same thing I’d been doing all season, checking my Cuddyback digital camera for pictures of bucks in my hunting area. Up until this point I had been seeing a few bucks, mostly 1 ½ year old, 6 pts and a few 2 ½ year old, eight points. As I scrolled down through the pictures of deer I came across what looked to be a 4 ½ year old, 8 point with long main beams, great mass, and a wide spread. I was so excited; it had been the first decent buck I captured on my Cuddyback in 3 years. The fun didn’t stop there; as I looked through the rest of the pictures, on the same night, I came across a great 10 point buck that I figured to be around 140 P & Y inches! To say I was pumped up would be a gross understatement. In PA, a 140 class animal is a rarity and it had been the best buck I’d seen in this area since 1995! My obsession started then and there, I could hardly hunt another area without day dreaming about my buck.
I would pick the days when the wind was right but I never saw the buck nor did I get a picture of him on my Cuddyback again until Nov 8th. Like the first picture it was in the middle of the night, this buck was nocturnal. I knew the formula for my success was a hot doe and me being in the right place at the right time, this was going be a long shot to say the least. Throughout the season I would see almost every buck that I had captured on my Cuddyback while I was hunting, but the 10 pointer was one of the few I never saw.
The last day of PA’s season came and I was slightly discouraged due to the fact that the rut had seemed to slow down in my area and I figured my chance had come and gone, however being the die-hard stubborn bow hunter that I am I decided to sit all day for the last Saturday. Morning came and a few minutes after light the rain came too. Being the “wise man” that I am, I left my Cabela’s rain gear at my house and I commenced to getting soaked to the bone and not seeing any sign of animal life what so ever. The rain came in waves, raining solid for a half hour then letting up for 15 minutes, it was one of the most miserable days I’ve ever had in the woods until 3:30 when I caught movement to my left. It was a doe with a small 6 pointer about 30 yards behind. Finally some action! Before I knew it another deer had run in front of the small buck, I knew with one look, it was him! I grabbed my bow and positioned for a shot, heart pounding, I forced myself to calm down and concentrated on not being seen. The big buck was now facing me at 35 yards and knew something was not quite right. He acted cautious looking up then sniffing the ground, I knew my time was coming, the next him he lowered his head I drew back, it seemed like I held for minutes when in reality it was probably about 30 seconds. Lucky for me, he made the mistake of taking a few steps towards me and went broadside at 30 yards. I put my 30 yard pin behind his shoulder; my Hoyt Trykon XL sent my FMJ tipped with a Rage broadhead through both lungs of the buck. I watched him run and I thought I saw him stagger but as the rain came again I decided to get out of the stand and go back the next day.
It was a long night and even though I was confident about the shot I tried not to dwell on it until the next day. November 12th came and I went looking for him, I didn’t need to go far, 30 yards from where I shot him he was down. I was very relieved and super excited! I rough scored him at 138 4/8 P & Y, he is my best whitetail I’ve shot so far and it might be a while before I get that lucky again.
