SCOUT & IGNORE THE "BUCKET DIPPER"!!

I WROTE THE STORY BELOW ON MY SON’S FIRST BIRTHDAY. LOTS OF EMOTIONS. BEAUTIFUL MEMORIES. BUT WHAT IF I HAD LISTENED TO THE ARROGANT, “KNOW-IT-ALL-NOW-PRIVATE-LAND” “BUCKET-DIPPER” HUNTER? THIS HUNTER TOLD ME I WAS WASTING MY TIME. WELL, I’M GLAD I PAYED HIM NO MIND OR I WOULDN'T HAVE A STORY TO TELL. SCOUT, SCOUT, SCOUT! DO YOUR HOMEWORK, EVEN IF IT’S PUBLIC LAND. ESPECIALLY IN PUBLIC LANDS TO UP YOUR CHANCES. CREATE YOUR OWN STORY, YOUR OWN SPECIAL MOMENT, PERSONALIZE YOUR OWN TROPHY! AS HUNTERS, WE HAVE TO BE OPTOMISTIC EVERY TIME WE GO AFIELD.., OTHERWISE, WHY DO IT? LATER I WILL SHARE HOW I SCOUT PRESSURED PUBLIC LANDS. “DON’T QUIT!”, JUST SAYING.

Published by lxtagle on 24 Feb 2011
Lucky the Tree
I’ve hunted for many years. I’ve been blessed to have successfully filled my freezer and share that blessing with church members and friends. Happy the 2008-09 season finally came around, I could not wait to hit the woods hard that first opening week hoping to have a shot at a wall hanger. Little did I know this year was going to be an emotional roller coaster. My wife Alex (yes, we have the same name) and I had scouted hard during the off season and had spotted a great bachelor group and thought we had patterned them well. During one of our scouting trips, we looked for a good tree to prepare. While helping cut shooting lanes, she found a rack of a non-typical 20 yards from “the” tree. WHAT A MOMENT and what a sign of what was to come!

On IL opening day, October 1st, I was able to leave work early, pick my wife up, and try to beat the rush of hunters for the afternoon hunt. Thank God we were there early, because there were some hunters that had not done their off season “homework” and looked like lost kids. We had to “shoo” them off and hoped they had not bumped all the deer to the next county. We finally settled in at about 12:30 p.m. and got our bows ready. At the base of the tree, I set up our blind. When 5:00 hit, deer were moving. It looked like a hunting show. A few does came out first and were using the trail we’d seen. Then, thirty minutes later, a shooter (130 class) finally stepped out, and wouldn’t you know it, it stopped right at a lane we had not cleared well. A few vines covered his vitals. I maintained drawn for what seemed forever. Sweat was seeping like never before, and I could almost hear my pulse! My wife ranged him for me at 22 yards – 3 yards inside my comfort level. He finally spotted us, new something was not right, never took that one step and blew right out of there! My heart sank. I told my wife why I couldn’t shoot and quickly got out of the blind with my pruners, and snipped those vines.

15 minutes later, more deer started coming out. We were waiting for the right one. A spike buck finally walked the same route the 130″ class did. Stopped exactly on the same spot! He was about to start walking, but I threw a short grunt; he stopped and looked our way. My beautiful wife released that arrow and made a perfect shot!!! Her first deer. Her first buck. Her first experience in understanding the “THE FEELING”.

Later that week I had several encounters off the stand on the tree. It was on October 8th that I harvested a beautiful buck. I’ve harvested more deer since then. My wife skipped the next year because of her pregnancy, and on Feb. 24, 2010, my son Marko was born!!!! Happy birthday, son!

Hunting is a big part of my life, but only because of God and my wife’s support. We plan to teach our son about the outdoors, and that it’s not the size of the rack that’s most important, but moments like that one mamma and I shared that led to her successful hunt, down to how we “met” that tree. The spike she shot, her first deer, is literally……, our millennium buck. That experience was the trophy for me. That was the “wall hanger” in my heart. I will NEVER forget October 1, 2008, nor that tree we named “Lucky”.