Story of "BRUISER" - Deer Hunting - Deer Hunting

A big front had just moved through filled with rain and wind. The next morning was setting up to be HIGH pressure and very cold and still. Its the Light wind I had been waiting for for weeks. I took the day off work so I could be sure not to miss my chance at getting into my “special” set undetected. I left for the stand earlier than I usually do, and went as slow and quiet as I could. It was one of those mornings when your chilled to the bone, and then then when the sun comes up you get even colder. I was praying for the suns rays to make it over the trees and when they did it was like the doors of heaven swinging open and I think even angels were singing off in the trees. HAHA.

I sat for an hour of legal time with nothing. It was so quiet and still, it was eerie. The kind of quiet you question if your ears are working properly. It wasn’t until the school bus rolled by that I confirmed my ears hadn’t frozen off.

The stand is in the corner of a piece of property where a fence line of the neighbors cut soybeans meets a drainage that funnels to a creek. So fence line behind me 40 yds (neighbors), woodlot in front of me (permission). The tree is the only one big enough in that immediate area to hang a stand, and it is very barren. So I had hung the stand at S.Y.P.H. (SH*T your pants high). Probably close to 26ft? Too high.

Anyways, I was sitting there and allofasudden (one word), I heard a cough from behind me. I thought great the neighbor is out checking fence or something blew my perfect set! I turned to look, and there was “YoungGUN”, a 155″ TEN pt. that I knew was 3.5 buck. I thought awesome, YoungGUN was on my bow hit list and hes at 80yds in the beans. So I grabbed my grunt call and let a few rip. He whipped his head around and looked in my direction. He immediately looked back behind him again in the opposite direction. I let it rip again… same results, looked back behind. I thought he might have a hot doe with that was just behind him on the field edge where I couldn’t see.

BOY WAS I WRONG… I caught movement back behind in the direction he was looking and out walked BRUISER!!!. I almost had a stroke. He was ears back ruffled up hairs, stiff legged walking to the middle of the beans, where YoungGUN was standing. I have never seen a more Tough looking buck that this. He was pissed. He stiff legged walked over to YoungGUN, and started posturing around him. I didn’t know what to do so I let the grunt rip. BRUISER must have thought YoungGUN was doing the calling because he turned into him hard. And the next thing you know I was watching a knock down drag out fight between a 155″ in and a potential BOONER. Coolest moment in the outdoors Ive ever had. It looked as if BRUISER had 60-70 lbs on the younger buck. He was just straight power.

After they finished up they just stood there. I was so rattled I was unsure of what to do. So I ripped another GRUNT. Well more of a roar this time followed up by a snort wheeze. YoungGUN snapped in to action and ran directly at me and hopped the fence ran right under me, and stopped 25 yds directly down wind of me. I thought I was POOCHED. He stated nosing the air and knew something was not right. I thought to myself, OK if I don’t shoot this deer they are both going to spook; but if I don’t try to wait for BRUISER I will have to live with that the rest of my life. So I rolled the dice.

I leaned on my SCENTBLOCKER and my obsession with scent control let that deer sit down wind of me trying to figure it out. I grunt call softly one more time and BRUISER sprand to action. He ran over and hopped the fence and into the ground I was hunting. He entered farther down the fence than the other deer. He stood and looked around. He walked a few steps and conveniently stopped behind a big bushy cedar. I ranged him at 37yds.

I drew back my bow and sat at full draw for what seemed to be an eternity. Waiting to one step. Finally the other buck began to walk, and BRUISER Took that one fatal step. I LET IT FLY, and hit him half way up, and half way back. I was a wreck. I had absolutely zero bodily function, I couldn’t stand, I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t breathe. I fell to my seat. Tried to breathe and remember what had all happen.

I climbed down an hour later and went over to look for sign. I found my arrow and a tuft of white as snow hair. I smelled the arrow and it smelled sour. My heart sank. I knew that I had hit back, but I pray I had clipped one lung at least. There was dark blood on the arrow, which led me to believe I had hit the liver as well. I did have a complete pass through at least.

I came back 7 hours late with my friend. We tried to piece the parts together where we saw him run off, last blood.. things of that nature. Well we had no blood trail after 20 yds. But we had a deer trail. So we walked along looking and 300 yds. down the trail we picked up blood trail. Just specs. The blood started doubling back to the stand, and I was confused. This ground is only 80 acres and so far he gone in a big circle.

We looked and looked and looked. And the next morning we looked some more. By the grace of GOD, We stumbled on a spot where he had bed down. There was gut material,and dark ,clotty blood all over. We looked around that area and saw white belly not 50 yds past that spot. 85yds from my tree, there he lay.

Was it luck…. absolutely…
Do I hunt hard…absolutely..

Does good things happen to people who work hard….
ABSOLUTELY!!!!
Gross= 168 3/8″