Travis an Exceptional Deer Hunter

The Shed Buck

This year's bow hunting season started back in February of2001 while shed hunting I found the right side shed of a big whitetail. The antler had four long tines with a thick base. I then knew there was a big mature buck in my hunting area. Over the next two years I grew to know the deer as the "shed buck". The buck always seemed to be a step ahead of every hunting setup I had. The shed buck would make rubs on trees bigger than I had seen from any other deer in the past. He left numerous scrapes leaving his scent to both warn other bucks and entice does into his territory during the breeding season or "rut". After the 2001 hunting season the rubs, scrapes, and rare sightings ended. During a scouting trip in March of 2002 I was disappointed to not see any signs of the big buck. During the next seven months I would reminisce and tell stories of the big buck showing the shed antler to family and friends. As October came and went I had a good archery season taking a nice eight pointer. Although my archery season started as a success with a buck, my thoughts still drifted back to the shed buck. I wondered if I would ever come face to face with a buck of that caliber again. As rifle season approached I decided to hunt the property where I found the shed. I knew there were plenty of does on that land and they might entice a big buck onto the property. As the alarm sounded on opening day of [deleted] season I was excited to see what the day would have in store. After a long walk to my stand I nestled in for a full day of hunting. As the sun started to rise I thought to myself of all the great memories I have from hunting and how it has helped me in life to respect wildlife and all things in God's creation. Glancing to my left I saw a small six-point buck walk out into the field. As the buck moved off into the woods up the ridge, two does flew through an opening. Shortly after two spike bucks tailed the does chasing them allover the field. When you think of reality TV shows like Survivor, The Osbourne's, and The Real World, reality TV has nothing on the joy of sitting in a stand and seeing the ultimate reality show, the outdoors. As the sun rose and the morning shadows left I still saw an occasional small buck chase a doe by the stand. At about 10:30 the deer movement seemed to slow down. Suddenly a doe stepped out 60 yards from my tree stand, obviously being chased by a buck, as she panted and frantically looked back into the woods. She started walking the wood line towards me, when a buck jumped out of the woods and was running the doe my direction. I could see his right side had four points, so I figured he was an eight point. Everything happened so fast and not seeing his rack well due to the heavy brush I decided to pass on him in hopes of seeing a larger buck. As the doe ran back through I decided to stop the buck in the opening to make a [mal decision. As he approached the opening I grunted and he stopped, looking right at me. I then could tell he had a nice wide spread. Not having much time I changed my mind and decided to take him. I steadied my rifle and shot. The buck ran a few yards and disappeared. I climbed down the tree and approached where the buck was standing when I shot. I searched through the woods and eventually picked up on a glimmer of an antler tine. As I walked closer the glimmer got brighter and the tines got longer. Not seeing the deer's left antler before the shot, I had no idea he was that big and with so many points. As I picked up the big non-typical I noticed the right side antler looked very familiar. I dropped to my knees realizing it was the shed buck. The shed I found two years prior matched his right side perfectly despite the growth he had accumulated through the years. To my surprise I had no idea when shot that his left side was non-typical with nine points and a point coming out of his base. I couldn't believe that I had harvested the 14-point huge bodied whitetail that I thought would just be a memory. So with tears of joy this hunts memory will live on and the respect for the old 14-point shed buck will never die. The beautiful thing is that next year the cycle will continue and we as hunters will again attempt to match wits with the elusive whitetail deer.

Late season, January 2, bow harvest from a ground blind in a woodlot bordering a feed field of wheat and clover. The deer were feeding on the wheat as the clover appeared grazed out. This buck came out to feed in a group of 4 where the other 3 had each lost 1/2 of their rack. An evening hunt.

Muzzleloader harvest from a small 4 acres wood patch surrounded by other small wood patches and large crop fields. The deer appeared to be bedding in the wood patches. A morning hunt.

A rifle harvest from a wood lot where bucks were chasing does. This trophy was trailing a doe that passed an hour earlier. An evening harvest.