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Trophy Whitetail Deer |
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Mark Whisnant
December, 1999
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This impressive 10 point buck scoring 156 and measuring 22 inches inside was harvested by me in December of 1999. A guest hunter had spotted this buck in company of a larger atypical on the last day of his hunt, but had been unable to get within bow range.
The hunter had been so excited about what he had seen that I decided to sit in the same stand the next day. I had my son, Jack, drop me off at the stand and told him not to come back for me until after dark, no matter what.
The weather had turned cloudy and an hour or so before dark it began to rain. I saw two deer along the ridge and with poor visibility was hopeful because of body size that it was "the" pair.
As they drew nearer the rain intensified and began to pour. As they moved closer, I could indeed see that it was a nice 10 point and an awesome atypical that took my breath.
At the outer limit of my bow range the pair caused my heart to race. Yet, the deluge along with the rapidly approaching darkness caused me to make the decision to pass. There was too great a chance that something would go wrong.
I let the stand rest for three days as I thought of these two bucks at least hourly. Finally, I decided it was time to give it another try. Again, I had Jack drop me off with instructions to wait until after dark before coming back for me.
Sure enough, the pair returned to feed at the bottom of a white oak. As it approached that magic hour just before losing shooting light, I stood with bow in hand.
The 10 point was already within bow range and yet I held my hand . . . waiting and hoping that the atypical would present a shot. As the minutes passed, along with the light, I decided to take the excellent 10 point.
I drew and released the arrow for a clean lung shot. The buck traveled no more than 70 yards, falling within sight. I could not have been more pleased.
The atypical that had so caught my fancy remains in the woods to this day. I don't pass through the area without thinking about him and searching the ridge line for his image. Ah . . . but there will be other days.
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Mark Whisnant |
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