Rifle season came quickly and ended quickly for Tadd and me. That’s right, we both connected on forked horns in the first three days of the season. But that is another story I will get to soon. The big story is Tadd’s big 6X4 he nailed during archery season.
On the second Monday of the archery season we decided to travel to Swain Mountain, do a little mobile spot and stocking (road hunting), and try to put together a game plan for the rest of the season. Upper B-line just wasn’t producing so we needed to change our attack and try to find a buck that would stand still long enough for us to launch an arrow. We seemed to be the only hunters on the mountain that morning which turned out to be just the ticket. We started working our way to the top on the east side of the mountain and we started seeing a few does here and there but as we neared the upper half of the mountain we noticed sighting to be few are far between. We decided to move back down the mountain and check out a dead end road that wraps around the north side that had several spur roads and plenty of brush. We had just turned down a spur road which was lined with lodgepole and I noticed movement at 1:00 at about 50 yards. ( mobile spot and stock language) Immediately the radio barked out "buck" and without slowing Tadd peeled off the back of the truck and I continued down the road as if we didn’t see the buck making a quick exit. I continued down to the end of the road, parked and then sneaked back angling up the hill back towards the action. I found a good opening and quickly ranged the yardages to the trails leading into the clearing. Then the waiting began, like many times before, but this time it seemed different. The wind was blowing the right direction; Tadd had the perfect cover to exit the truck, the brush wasn’t too dense, so the buck was totally unaware we were on the chase. Like many time before I sat there waiting for the call on the radio, hoping that this would be the time. Well, this time was different and I will never forget the electricity in Tadd’s voice when he said: “Dad, I’ve got blood”.
After Tadd slipped off the back of the truck the hunt was on. Slowly he angled up the hill noticing that the wind was blowing across the trail where he had last seen the buck. Fifteen minutes went by and still no buck. When Tadd reached to top of the hill he could look back and see the line of trees and brush that bordered the road. By now he was 300 yards up the hill and figured the buck had angled back into a brush pile just behind the lodgepole that lined the road. Now he had a 10 mph wind directly in his face, not only covering his scent but also muffling his movements. About a third of the way back down the hill Tadd peaked around a large patch of brush to see a three point bedded down, facing into the wind and watching the road. The range finder quickly read 82 yards and Tadd had to take a few seconds to calm his nerves and stop the shaking. Then he noticed movement about 5 yards to the right and holly s—t, there was another buck, a monster. He was also bedded down but all he could see was the massive rack towering above the brush. It was time to settle down again. It’s great when a buck is totally unaware of your presence because it gives you time to rid the buck fever that always seems to alter your sense of judgment. Step by step over the next twenty minutes Tadd closed the distance, 65 yards, 54 yards, 42 yards, 36 yards and then finally 28 yards. The three point presented a slam dunk shot but the monster was hidden by the brush and it was time to make a decision. After getting the shakes under control again, Tadd slipped back up the hill a few yards and started back down another trail that hopefully opened up a shooting lane to the big boy’s vitals. Back again to 28 yards, Tadd could see the horns, head, neck and part of the buck’s right shoulder. Now another decision, wait until he stands up and then draw and shoot or just draw and wait for him to jump up. Tadd has been there before and waiting for the buck to stand up before drawing the bow has never worked before. When a buck is standing and he hears the arrow sliding through the rest he tends to take on the properties of a rocket ship. Tadd knows. Tadd went to full draw and the buck heard the noise and stood up. With the 20 yard pin placed just a little high the arrow was released. At 28 yards, slightly down hill, the arrow should have entered right in the boiler room, but the buck heard the release and dropped a little spinning to the left and the arrow entered right between his should blades and exited just left of his wind pipe.
Tadd was right; he had blood, lots of blood. After years of missing and missing and missing the arrow finally found the mark on a buck of a lifetime. When I got back to the truck I immediately got out the video camera and the excitement of the recovery is on video from beginning to end. I’m sure we will watch it many times over because the excitement is just down right addictive. Tadd will remember his first kill not only as the first buck but a buck of a lifetime. I have bow hunted for 46 years and this was my hunt of a lifetime.
Now back to reality. The rifle hunt story will follow.
