So after having some time to reflect I wanted to share a almost 3 year journey that came to a end this weekend. During the summer of 2020 I got my first picture of him, the big 7. At that point he was just a after thought, there were numerous other bucks on my cameras and he was just one of many. As time went on I got more and more pictures of him. I had my first encounter with him on 11/15/2020 he blew past me chasing a doe offering me no shot opportunity. My trail camera 150 yards away captured this picture of him 15 minutes later. It was around this time that I started to become obsessed. I spent the rest of the 2020 season never seeing him again during daylight, but getting almost nightly pictures of him on camera. This continued until the bucks shed their antlers for the winter and I lost track of him. Fast forward to the summer of 2021 I moved some stands and cameras around having better patterns on him and just waited. The work paid off when I got my first picture of him that year Season rolled around and got off to a good start, had some great encounters with some smaller bucks and lots of pictures of him on camera but no daylight sightings, and then it happened. He walked into my world. 42 yards and behind a downed tree. I could see his vitals were exposed but I was nervous of hitting too high, I drew my bow back and decided I would aim a tad on the low side. Either hit the downed tree or him right in the heart…. Well Tree one, chef zero. This experience gave me some good insight into where he was traveling and A few weeks later I decided to move a camera and then a stand to better set up on him. I moved the camera and planned on going back the next day with my hunting partner to hang the stand I guess I should have just moved the stand the same day because he didn’t waste any time. I actually watched him walk right past that stand from 100 yards away. My next encounter with him came a few days later. I got a hit on one of my cell cams showing he and 2 other bucks were headed my way. I could now see him coming through the brush… just 3 more steps is all I needed. He froze dead in his tracks looking off into the distance. I grunted, he pawed at the ground with his hoof thrashed his antlers in the brush but wouldn’t budge. All of a sudden I hear a twig snap to my opposite side and that’s all it took him and the 2 other bucks he had in tow bounded off in the other direction. I look to my right and see another hunter with his climber on his back walking right towards me…. I wave him off and he moves back the way he came. Fast forward to 12/8/21 I’m in a stand deep in the Swamp and my hunting partner is in one of our early season stands that is on the route from food to bed. My phone buzzes and it’s a text from him. It’s a video of the 7 walking out of his bow range and sort of parallel to my position. He then tells me how cool the encounter was and that he’s still shaking. He says the buck is kind of headed my way but not really. About 15 min later while scanning I see antlers about 100 yards out but moving parallel to my position. All of a sudden he makes a 90 degree turn and is headed straight for me. He’s coming, just cross the creek all you gotta do is cross. He stops at the creeks edge and leaps across. I raise the cross bow, put the site on his heart and pull the trigger. I could have sworn I watched the lighted nock sink into his chest cavity. He leaps back across the creek, looks back at me and slowly walks away hunched up. I know this reaction…. Gut shot… dead deer but it needs time. I look around for the lighted nock and see nothing. It’s getting dark now. I back out and say I’ll come back in the morning. I come back in the morning and look for my arrow, blood, anything. I can find nothing except for white hair at the hit site I grid search for hours… nothing. A trail cam pic a few days later confirms it.. he’s fine I missed somehow and just gave him a haircut. It’s now summer of 2022 and the pictures start again Many pictures but no encounters. Season starts off great, get my hunting partner his first bow buck. I’m not seriously working him at this point, just sitting a oak tree that’s producing and seeing what’s out there. And then it happens antlers in the brush, I can swear it’s him. It’s getting dark but I can still see. If he clears that tree I’m shooting… he does and wham the arrow zips through him. Shot looks good a little high but good… I follow good blood for 250 yards before loosing it. Called deer search and they came out the next day… no dice I’m devastated I killed him and won’t find him. Search for days looking for birds, coyotes anything.. no dice. Fast forward to Friday October 14th I finish work early and head out to my stand. I’m in for about 15 min when I see my first deer. A small 5pt he comes and goes quickly. A little later I have a altercation with 2 hunters trying to hunt with crossbows out of season… they walked right under my stand. I also have pictures of these idiots stealing cell cams of mine. I yell at them and they head back to their car and leave. I figured I blew up the spot and I should leave but in the end decided to stay. It turns into a great sit… two smaller bucks come by and are sparing out of range. Some does join in the mix and decide to watch while they eat.. finally the commotion scares them off. The small bucks leave and the does come back and start eating. It’s getting close to sunset. About 30 Min to go when I see him. He’s 80 yards out and headed straight towards me he makes it to 20 yards and turns broadside slight quarter to or so I think. I draw my bow settle the pin on him and let one fly… he takes two big jumps stops stands there for a second and then takes off running. I hear what I think is a crash but I’m not sure. I climb down and check my arrow… it’s covered in dark blood and smells kind of sweet sour. I go look to where he stood before bolting and found 2 pin pricks of dark blood. I decided to back out go home and look in the morning. It was a long sleepless night I woke up on the hour every hours… finally at 5:30 I can’t take it any more and get dressed and head out to start my search. I go back to the pin pricks and see what I can find… nothing. The pin pricks were 5 yards from the power line cut. Let me look there. I step into the cut and shine my flashlight into the opening on the other side… OMG there he is. He didn’t even go 70 yards. I walk up to him and finally lay hands on my prize. He was quartered much harder than I thought, the arrow entered the chest cavity, hit both lungs, cut the diaphragm nicked the stomach hit intestines and exited out the back leg. I know I’m supposed to be ecstatic that I got him and don’t get me wrong I’m over the moon… but I’m also kind of sad he’s gone, sad this chase has ended and this chapter of my hunting career is over. I guess it’s time to move on and do some fishing, shoot a doe or two and get ready for the regular season      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Maybe it was someone who’s truck you took a picture of in a bar parking lot Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
