truper351
Senior Member
All hunters have their own image of what a trophy whitetail looks like. Since November 10, 2016, I have had a specific image in my head as to what my next trophy was going to look like. That is when the story of Ole' Warrior began. I wrote a story (November Toad) of an awesome deer that I harvested on a small suburban track of land that I am so graciously privileged to hunt. When I say small, I mean 27 acres small, mostly hay fields.
The deer I harvested last year was actually fighting another buck that morning and I watched as Ole' Warrior stood above the lifeless big bodied buck I shot just moments before. I had my eyes on him for almost 30 minutes before he disappeared into the woods only to be seen on trail camera until yesterday, Monday November 27, 2017.
I haven't had much time on the stand this year and the weekend after Thanksgiving was looking good for my schedule. I hunted the mornings and was for certain Monday morning would be the day. It was a crisp 32 degrees, frost was covering the ground, the wind was still and i was sitting over a food plot that has shown some good activity for me. The morning hunt came and went without even a glimpse of a deer. I left the woods and got ready for the afternoon hunt. I left to go into the woods around 3:00 pm and as I was going in stopped and talked with my neighbor who owns the land. I finally got on the stand around 3:30 and settled in waiting on those magic minutes when the woods start to settle and the sun is almost down.
A few minutes after 4:00, a smaller buck entered the food plot from my right and fed around. This young deer seemed very interested in something behind him from the same trail he walked out from. With every 3-4 steps, the young buck would spin his head around and look back. I then focused my attention to the sound of crunching leaves in the edge of the woods in the direction in which the young buck came. I gripped my binoculars and as I was about to lift them to my eyes, I saw horns moving across the top of the brush. I quickly focused in and realized that the buck I was looking at was Ole' Warrior. This deer was the same deer that was fighting with the buck I had shot just over a year ago; the one I was so happy to see in February on trail camera that proved he made it through one more season. The last picture I had of him as taken on the Friday after Thanksgiving around 8:30 in the evening.
I had my rifle across the top rail of my ladder stand which is tucked back on a pine ridge between two fields. Ole' Warrior stepped out and the turned and starting walking in my direction. My only assumption was that he was smelling a scent bomb I had hung on a tree limb not far from where he entered the plot. Instead of pulling my rifle up, I leaned down to the scope and when I did, the stand made a small squeaking sound. Ole' Warrior stopped looked up as I froze. I exhaled and he put his head down to feed. I squeezed the trigger and watched him fall in his track.
All of the sudden, I was starting to shake and as I chambered another cartridge the smaller buck bailed out of the plot into the high grass of the hay field. I shook my head in disbelief as I had only been on the stand for no more than 40 minutes. I made my way down and over to this magnificent deer. Grabbing those horns was an awesome feeling. Observing the battle wounds on this old buck. His right hind leg looked broken and grew back deformed (notice in pic) and some scarring on his face. You see, I was so glad I was the one able to harvest this Warrior of a deer and he didn't fall victim to a Toyota Corolla out on the main road. Its a great feeling having interaction with these animals. Hunting for their sheds after the season and seeing tons of pics of them over the years. The best feeling without question was being able to be the one who holds the horns of the mighty "Ole Warrior".
The deer I harvested last year was actually fighting another buck that morning and I watched as Ole' Warrior stood above the lifeless big bodied buck I shot just moments before. I had my eyes on him for almost 30 minutes before he disappeared into the woods only to be seen on trail camera until yesterday, Monday November 27, 2017.
I haven't had much time on the stand this year and the weekend after Thanksgiving was looking good for my schedule. I hunted the mornings and was for certain Monday morning would be the day. It was a crisp 32 degrees, frost was covering the ground, the wind was still and i was sitting over a food plot that has shown some good activity for me. The morning hunt came and went without even a glimpse of a deer. I left the woods and got ready for the afternoon hunt. I left to go into the woods around 3:00 pm and as I was going in stopped and talked with my neighbor who owns the land. I finally got on the stand around 3:30 and settled in waiting on those magic minutes when the woods start to settle and the sun is almost down.
A few minutes after 4:00, a smaller buck entered the food plot from my right and fed around. This young deer seemed very interested in something behind him from the same trail he walked out from. With every 3-4 steps, the young buck would spin his head around and look back. I then focused my attention to the sound of crunching leaves in the edge of the woods in the direction in which the young buck came. I gripped my binoculars and as I was about to lift them to my eyes, I saw horns moving across the top of the brush. I quickly focused in and realized that the buck I was looking at was Ole' Warrior. This deer was the same deer that was fighting with the buck I had shot just over a year ago; the one I was so happy to see in February on trail camera that proved he made it through one more season. The last picture I had of him as taken on the Friday after Thanksgiving around 8:30 in the evening.
I had my rifle across the top rail of my ladder stand which is tucked back on a pine ridge between two fields. Ole' Warrior stepped out and the turned and starting walking in my direction. My only assumption was that he was smelling a scent bomb I had hung on a tree limb not far from where he entered the plot. Instead of pulling my rifle up, I leaned down to the scope and when I did, the stand made a small squeaking sound. Ole' Warrior stopped looked up as I froze. I exhaled and he put his head down to feed. I squeezed the trigger and watched him fall in his track.
All of the sudden, I was starting to shake and as I chambered another cartridge the smaller buck bailed out of the plot into the high grass of the hay field. I shook my head in disbelief as I had only been on the stand for no more than 40 minutes. I made my way down and over to this magnificent deer. Grabbing those horns was an awesome feeling. Observing the battle wounds on this old buck. His right hind leg looked broken and grew back deformed (notice in pic) and some scarring on his face. You see, I was so glad I was the one able to harvest this Warrior of a deer and he didn't fall victim to a Toyota Corolla out on the main road. Its a great feeling having interaction with these animals. Hunting for their sheds after the season and seeing tons of pics of them over the years. The best feeling without question was being able to be the one who holds the horns of the mighty "Ole Warrior".
