PlayTheWindMike
02-12-2013, 12:51 PM
I have told some of you that I was acquiring a pic through some family members so I could share my deceased brother-in-laws hunting story with you all. Well here it is.....this is an amazing story guys as Steve took me step by step through the hunting of this buck which lasted two seasons long and mental visuals of the times I hunted this location with him.
Lets get the pic out of the way first. This buck is 21 point and scored 196. It is in the Ohio books. That is Steve in the pic.
10043
Back in the early 90's Steve and I would go to some very nice southern Ohio hunting grounds we acquired through some friends. He kept telling me about this particular buck at a 200 acre weekend getaway for a Dr and his wife who lived in Columbus and didn't care what we did through the week but we were never to show up on Saturday or Sunday. He saw it a few different times but the buck always won. Big country here. The spread started on top of a ridge where a gravel road took the top all the way to the back half of the property where sat a cozy little cabin with pond and some year long healthy green grass surrounded by pines. Going back Steve always told me I got the left side of the driveway and he got the right side. On his side, a 20 acre field dropped down to some very thick stuff and through it was a power line, cleared. Beside this thick area was a little finger valley that he loved to hunt, about 15 yards wide, which ran up the hill toward the cabin. Half way up this valley just to the side started a 25 acre hardwoods. Let me tell you, we walked through there and I swear it was like walking on 2 to 4 inches of acorns. The entire forest floor for a distance was this way. It was incredible. I was jealous so he let me hang a stand on the other side of the hardwoods....away from him.
One morning he called me and his voice was shaking, he was trembling and I truly was worried with what was going on. When he got it together what happened, he was going into his spot early, dark, and was walking that power line, using a different than normal entrance to his stand. he got half way up and noticed there were deer in the power line so he instantly went down to his knees. One deer must have spotted him, it did not run, it did not start snorting alerts, it was this buck in the picture. This buck came charging at him, got within 10 yards of him and lunged high into the air and come down within 5 foot of Steve, he said he curled up in a ball and began to pray, it happened so fast, the buck was coming after him, he stomped and stomped and then began snorting on him, yes, on him. He had snot from the deer all over the back of his outfit and his neck. The buck circled him within 5 feet, stomping and snorting at him. Circled him twice. He said he was trembling and then all noise stopped, he looked up slowly and it was gone. This guy was not afraid of anything, he was a southern Ohio/West Virginia boy. This buck shook him in a bad way. We went back and hunted more and at that time I moved my stand to give him the entire right side of the driveway, I told him I could not kill the buck on that side of the driveway. If it showed up on the left side then it might be a different story lol. Well one morning Steve was in his stand dark early morning, within 30 minutes of day light this buck come to a regular rub sitting on the outside of the thick (not one tree close to hand a stand) stuff and there was a 10" diameter pine. This buck had this tree tore up. Steve and I experimented with a scent or two and we come up with a KILLER way to use our home built top secret :) way to draw bucks in. It works and that will be another story. Anyhow, Steve was using our home made item that morning, he placed it like 8 foot off the ground and had it wedged in a tree branch. Steve watched this buck at about 75 yards rub the pine and stop, smell up the valley, go back to rubbing, smell up the valley over and over, then the buck started up the valley toward what Steve had in the tree and Steve was set up 20 yards from this scent. The buck came right straight to the tree, got on his back legs and was standing straight up with his front legs holding onto the tree as he buried his nose into the tree branch/scent. That's when Steve shot this deer through the heart. The buck died standing on his back legs. Steve was a good friend of mine and he was a very good hunter, outstanding. He died of pneumonia a couple years after he got this buck. He will never be forgotten.
I hope you guys enjoyed the story.
Lets get the pic out of the way first. This buck is 21 point and scored 196. It is in the Ohio books. That is Steve in the pic.
10043
Back in the early 90's Steve and I would go to some very nice southern Ohio hunting grounds we acquired through some friends. He kept telling me about this particular buck at a 200 acre weekend getaway for a Dr and his wife who lived in Columbus and didn't care what we did through the week but we were never to show up on Saturday or Sunday. He saw it a few different times but the buck always won. Big country here. The spread started on top of a ridge where a gravel road took the top all the way to the back half of the property where sat a cozy little cabin with pond and some year long healthy green grass surrounded by pines. Going back Steve always told me I got the left side of the driveway and he got the right side. On his side, a 20 acre field dropped down to some very thick stuff and through it was a power line, cleared. Beside this thick area was a little finger valley that he loved to hunt, about 15 yards wide, which ran up the hill toward the cabin. Half way up this valley just to the side started a 25 acre hardwoods. Let me tell you, we walked through there and I swear it was like walking on 2 to 4 inches of acorns. The entire forest floor for a distance was this way. It was incredible. I was jealous so he let me hang a stand on the other side of the hardwoods....away from him.
One morning he called me and his voice was shaking, he was trembling and I truly was worried with what was going on. When he got it together what happened, he was going into his spot early, dark, and was walking that power line, using a different than normal entrance to his stand. he got half way up and noticed there were deer in the power line so he instantly went down to his knees. One deer must have spotted him, it did not run, it did not start snorting alerts, it was this buck in the picture. This buck came charging at him, got within 10 yards of him and lunged high into the air and come down within 5 foot of Steve, he said he curled up in a ball and began to pray, it happened so fast, the buck was coming after him, he stomped and stomped and then began snorting on him, yes, on him. He had snot from the deer all over the back of his outfit and his neck. The buck circled him within 5 feet, stomping and snorting at him. Circled him twice. He said he was trembling and then all noise stopped, he looked up slowly and it was gone. This guy was not afraid of anything, he was a southern Ohio/West Virginia boy. This buck shook him in a bad way. We went back and hunted more and at that time I moved my stand to give him the entire right side of the driveway, I told him I could not kill the buck on that side of the driveway. If it showed up on the left side then it might be a different story lol. Well one morning Steve was in his stand dark early morning, within 30 minutes of day light this buck come to a regular rub sitting on the outside of the thick (not one tree close to hand a stand) stuff and there was a 10" diameter pine. This buck had this tree tore up. Steve and I experimented with a scent or two and we come up with a KILLER way to use our home built top secret :) way to draw bucks in. It works and that will be another story. Anyhow, Steve was using our home made item that morning, he placed it like 8 foot off the ground and had it wedged in a tree branch. Steve watched this buck at about 75 yards rub the pine and stop, smell up the valley, go back to rubbing, smell up the valley over and over, then the buck started up the valley toward what Steve had in the tree and Steve was set up 20 yards from this scent. The buck came right straight to the tree, got on his back legs and was standing straight up with his front legs holding onto the tree as he buried his nose into the tree branch/scent. That's when Steve shot this deer through the heart. The buck died standing on his back legs. Steve was a good friend of mine and he was a very good hunter, outstanding. He died of pneumonia a couple years after he got this buck. He will never be forgotten.
I hope you guys enjoyed the story.