Success at “dating the fat chick”

[Wannabelikedan]

A couple weeks previous, I did a morning sit in this section of public I’ve never hunted nor scouted. Walking in well before light, I’m scanning the wood lots to my left/right and finding several sets of eyes. At one point, I catch a single set just 30 yards in the timber and shine a buck that’s clearly been hitting the crunchy PB hard. Super wide body and neck is nearly non existent. Taking note of the location and time, I figure this buck is probably bedding fairly close so I make sure to move well beyond the area to complete my morning sit.

Move ahead to the 27th, I’m out scouting and checking cams in other locations since a strong, wet cold front made it very unlikely for me to make a sit with my recent positive COVID-19 diagnosis. Just wasn’t worth getting pneumonia on my annual hunt-cation. So I walk a large north facing ridge looking for fresh sign to drop a cam on and maybe find some intel on the buck I shined a couple weeks earlier. Sign was lacking just about everywhere. As I make my way out of the bottom at last light I find a large annual rub in the draw and a massive fresh scrape right on top. I couldn’t have missed this buck by more than 30 minutes. It’s fairly thick on top so I just assume he has to be bedding very close. Once out of the timber 10 yards later, I realize I’m at a split in the access road. I do some pondering overnight and decide that I don’t have anything to lose throwing a sit at the scrape the next day with identical conditions.

Next day on cue, rain for half the day and it stops shortly after noon and I’m walking in at 3. Does already on their feet feeding on acorns. I get to the intersection of the access road and slowly creep in. The scrape trail is in some pretty short timber and quarters are tight. I notice an older scrape at the timber edge so I find the best option to shoot the timber edge and the scrape trail just in case. I’m only 50 yards from the road and all I can think is if someone sees me sitting here they’d laugh. Platform is probably only 7-8’ due to the timber height. Not very ideal with such a tight shot window. I’m still not positive if this buck is bedding to my east or my west. Just hoping the scrape is what buys me an opportunity to get it right. 5:35 a doe comes from the east and she’s met at my 12 by two bucks. A smaller 8 is in front and she walks by him and the back buck which looks like a shooter. He follows her out and they never show again. Almost an hour passes and I’m a little defeated thinking she threw a wrench in my plan. 6:25 I notice a body at the timber edge to my east. At first I’m thinking doe. After a better look, I’m thinking this “doe” is a little too large. Then he lifts his head and it’s kill mode. He takes a few steps closer and starts racking a tree to shreds and I’m getting excited at this point. During the sit, I’m constantly dropping milkweed and most times it’s blowing directly where I walked in at. On occasion though it parallels the timber a few yards before exiting so I’m a little worried. Hoping he comes to the scrape inside the timber would put me in a lot better shape. He keeps to the timber edge so I’m drawn waiting for him to hit the one opening before he hits my ground scent or my scent stream. Thanks to the Big Guy Above, it’s dead calm during the last 10 yards he comes my way. He begins to gallop and I stop him at the opening. Slight quarter to I rest it as far forward as I can and let him have it. He wheels towards me and screams back down the trail he came. It’s wet out so listening intently I’m 98% certain I hear him crash. I give it 45 minutes before I check the arrow. It’s soaked slimy like a liver exit but I can’t tell if there is any guts involved. Side effect of COVID-19 is loss of smell and taste so I’m SOL on that front. I find two drops of blood around impact and nothing is turning up down the trail so I’m just following his running track. I make it 50 yards down the trail trusting what I heard and saw since I still have those senses operable. Look up with my light and I see a white belly 20 yards in front of me. Stone cold in 70 yards. Let the celebration begin. Autopsy revealed I center punched the right lung and clipped both the liver and front of stomach on exit. Intestinal fat plugged the exit and the shoulder mass covered the entrance. All blood loss was internal and it was far from disappointing. 700 grain arrow with a large SHARP COC single bevel was more than enough to get the job done on my best public land buck to date.

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Yellow circle is stand. Scrape is marked with icon. Blue is wind direction. Pink line is buck travel with shot site at Red X. X icon is crash site.

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Scrape

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Pointing to shot site. Lines are milkweed travel during sit. Very lucky on no wind during his approach.

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Road 50 yards behind me

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As he lay. Exit mid body

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Entrance

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Happy site at the end of the day

[Motivated]

Beautiful work!

[briar]

Great write up! Enjoyed that! Congrats on a super deer!

[Jonny]

Congrats! Awesome buck.

Sorry to hear about your taste and smell. I lost mine about 2 weeks ago and am starting to get it back. Most others I know haven’t gotten it back. Some for 2 weeks, some for 3-4 months.

[seazofcheeze]

Awesome buck and story, congrats!

[Grizzlyadam]

Awesome job!!! Congrats!!!

[greenhorndave]

Classic just off wind

Great stuff! Appreciate the drawings with travel path

[RidgeGhost]

You should shoot a big one now

[Dewey]

Great job.

[PaPublicLandHunter]

Awesome buck and story! Congratulations again

[muddy]

Congrats on the short drag

[Tsom]

Good job! What a tank!

[Bonecrusher101]

Wow man what a buck!!! Congrats!

[Wannabelikedan]

Congrats! Awesome buck.

Sorry to hear about your taste and smell. I lost mine about 2 weeks ago and am starting to get it back. Most others I know haven’t gotten it back. Some for 2 weeks, some for 3-4 months.

Mine just came back in the last day or two. Definitely one of the weirdest symptoms to experience in my life.

[thwack16]

That is an absolute stud! Congrats man!