The two that haunt me,
First one I was in high school and had taken one of the fellas in my metal shop class up to our farm to do some fishing and squirrel hunting. It was late season and everyone had for the most part gotten their deer and were done. In most cases dreary days we could skirt the lake and pick up a limit of squirrels pretty easily, but this morning was different for some reason. We slipped around the lake like I usually did this time of year and saw nothing. So I went to my back up plan which was an old plywood box stand that had been out in the back woods for years. Again a solid place to pick up a limit as you could usually get inside, and use a couple of quarters one cupped in one hand the the edge of the other dragging across the ridges would get them perking up and looking around. Similar ot a bark.
So we got inside the stand and I let my friend sit in the chair to do the honors. It took about 3 minutes of clacking those quarters before we heard leaves rustling. He said "thats amazing", of course I thought he was talking about how I had gotten the squirrels up and going again, WRONG...His face went blank, then faded to pale, as he attempted to point out the window I was sitting by. Now he was toting a 22 rifle that was chambered in 22 short and you had to pull the shells out with a pocket knife. Me I was packing the "big" gun in a Mossberg bolt action .410 loaded with #6 shot. Well I eased up and peeked out the window at what he was blankly staring at, and OH MY GOD what a buck. He was a solid typical 10 with about a 18-20" spread and tines up around 10-12 inches long. He was the biggest I had ever seen at the time and still probably one of the best ones I have ever seen on that property, and he was standing broadside looking right at us at about 30 steps. We sat as still as we could and were as quiet as we could be and he eased on off into the woods. As soon as he was out of sight up the hill, we eased the door open and literally ran back to the house to get a REAL rifle. I hunted that area the rest of that season and the next and never saw him again.
The other one I was at my friend property and had been sitting my bow stand. The river was up and we figured they would be running along the edges of the high water moving between bedding areas and food sources. My stand was perfect to intercept them. The afternoon started off nice with a decent breeze right in my face but it quickly dies about an hour after I got settled in. Then the vampire bats came a calling. These are some of the biggest mosquitoes I have ever been around. They can actually be felt when they land on your ball cap, and can bite through several layers of clothes. They drink Deet instead of coffee every morning as well. I had two thermocells going, one on each side of my seat and was being eaten alive.
After about an hour of this I had all I could stand and was not in anyway being still having to keep those hypodermic F-16's off my back and neck. So I decided to call it and eased down. I gathered up everything and then I heard a low grunt. I knew it was a good buck by the tone being so low so I eased up to the edge of the wood line and got a better look. The one I was hearing was a typical 9 that my friend had hit solid on the shoulder two years before with an arrow. It penetrated about 2" and he broke it off on the first tree he went by on his way out of there. This was a sure nuff hoss of a deer, and would easily push the 160 class with his heavy tines and beams. Well as I watched him, I see another 8 point, young, and full of vim and vigor attempting to steal this ol boys thunder. So the ears go back, the hair stands up, and things get crazy for about 5 minutes in this pasture in front of me. Everything is happening out 150-200yds in the wide open middle of this pasture, as this big ol moose of a buck proceeds to take the young testy one to school. So after the clash of the one titan into the young testosterone filled 8, the 8 heads to the woods on the far side of the pasture. I see a chance while big boy is worked up and hit my grunt. He started my way, then he must have heard the other one grunt as well and didn't like that one bit as he turned away from me and headed straight for him again. About this time another one walks up out of the creek bed from behind the 8 and at first I thought it was deformed. I mean I have never before seen anything like it or since.
This buck had two, for lack of a better tern, post sticking up out of his head which looked like antelope horns. The difference was these were about 2-3" or so in diameter and came up close to 24" and instead of any branches or a main beam it was simply solid mass sticking up and covered with stickers about 1/2" to an inch in length from top to bottom, in every direction, like a Saguaro Cactus. I about fell apart. I have NEVER been shaken up as bad as I was on that one deer. THere wa sno way to get around to him and no way to get across the 150yds of flat pasture in order to even attempt pulling my bow back much less actually complete a shot. After seeing him and hunting for him for over two seasons I at least DID see one of his offspring, but he was typical framed 6 point and the crapper of the deal was he wasn't wide enough to be legal, even though he was also close to 2' tall.
