The Buck That Got Away

It was a beautiful December morning. My dad and I were sitting on two stands that were about 200 yards away from each other that overlook a 40 yard wide gas line. About 500 Yards to my right past where my dad was sitting is the railroad tracks. Behind me is a thin strip of pines. In front of me is some oak woods that go down to the creek bottom.

            I like this stand because one day during turkey season I walked down to the creek and could see a clear path where the deer walked across the creek quite a bit. My stand was a straight line up the hill from that spot.

            It had been a slow morning. I had been in the stand since before sunrise at 6:30 and had seen nothing but about a thousand squirrels. Any deer hunter can tell you they know the inconsistent sounds of squirrels running around but every once in a while when two squirrels start chasing each other it makes you think for just a second it might be a deer running.

            But at about 9:45 A.M. I heard something walking much more consistently than a squirrel. I brought my muzzleloader up from my lap to my shoulder and looked through the scope. Coming out of the woods from where I heard footsteps I finally saw antlers. It was an 8 point buck. Not a huge one but big enough that the antlers were noticeable and made my heart beat a little bit faster.

            He stopped while still in the woods just off of the open gas line. I had the gun trained on him. I had a shot but wanted to wait until he stepped out into the open. The few seconds he stood still in the woods seemed like an eternity. He finally stepped out and I could see his whole body. He was standing about 40 Yards away from me to my left. The best place he can be because I could stay seated and have the gun on my right shoulder crossing my body.

            My heart raced fiercely. I tried to breathe calmly. I always mentally talk to myself about shooting. I think it helps me to slow down and make good shots. Looking through the scope aiming right behind his front shoulder I said your on him, your on him, your on him. I said take your time and squeeze the trigger when you are ready.

            I felt solidly on him. While trying to keep the gun as still as possible and controlling my breath I started to squeeze the trigger. After again what seemed like an eternity the gun went off.

            But it was just a puff of smoke. And the sound was not the typical blast of my muzzleloader. Something wasn’t right. I looked up and the deer was standing in the middle of the gas line looking at me. He must have thought that gun didn’t sound right either.

            My shotgun was hanging on the tree I attempted to quickly grab it and put my muzzleloader down. But by the time I got the gun up the deer had ran into the woods ahead of me.

            My phone rings and my Dad asked me what happened. I told him the whole story. About an hour later he walked down to me and helped me look for blood. While my gun didn’t sound right if it did fire a bullet I was very confident that my aim was true.

            We looked all over and there was no blood or deer to be found. I was very disappointed. But sometimes the deer has to win. Sometimes deer hunting can be boring when nothing really happens and if you really think, you just spent several hours sitting in a tree. But when the deer walks out within shooting distance and you feel that adrenaline rush, It reminds you why you enjoy it so much.

            Now my hope is that that buck has great health, eats well, and grows for another year. And if him and I have another show down, I hope I’m holding the correct gun that fires exactly like it is supposed to. And then he may no longer be the buck that got away and can become the buck on my wall.