Luvntheoutdors
Senior Member
I'm sure ya'll have seen this on FB but im still riding that high days later! I had to post this story. For starters we called him Hermie being we thought this deer was a antlered doe. I first seen this unique buck end of 2019 rifle season and holding velvet. I couldn't believe it. Never seen him again so I figured he was killed. Summer comes around and I see him on camera with a single drop tine. The next year he had double. So I kept the feed to him hoping he'll stay around for bow opener. Never happens, only at night of course. Rifle season comes around and I hunt him hard and don't see him the whole season but maybe a hand full of times on camera for the rest of the year. Pretty much same thing every season after he's always a step ahead of me. This season I did something different and stayed off the property 120 acre total, with zero pressure. I put out corn twice around July just to make sure he was even around and he sure was. I only have 2 true bedding areas on the property on each corner. The property is very tough to hunt being its a legit bowl. All entrances are from up high and the property is down low in bottom. The deer always see you enter for the most part. Saturday morning I changed it up and I walked in right at first light and parked the truck at the entrance. The last photo of Hermie was on one side of the property near oaks just a week ago but wind was bad there in the morning so I scrapped that stand. The other bedding area near oaks had a great wind and that's where I hunted hoping he was near. I didn't hear a shot all morning accept mine. At 9am, 5 doe come out the thick into the oaks to feed. Single file line one by one. I almost took the first doe knowing I have no deer meat but knew to always wait during the rut "thank god I did". The last deer had a way bigger body than all of the does and it walked a lot slower in back so I knew it was a buck. Finally it steps into the sunlight and I could see fuzz! It was herm and I could not freaking believe it! I swore that I would never ever see this deer in person because he was so ghostly but I knew there could always be a chance. So many hunts, day dreaming, photos, stories and what if's had finally come to an end. He stopped at 60 yards in a bottom and I had a new .308 that I was dying to use and it couldn't have happened on a better deer. The shot hit him perfectly behind the shoulder and he reared up almost landing on his back, ran about 20 yard and died at 80yrd. From what I could tell, he didn't have any teeth, but I am told I took the photo up front too close of his jaw. I took it to the taxi immediately and he caped it quickly and put it away. Said he will pull a jaw bone for me eventually to have sent out. After I posted on FB I got a message from a hunter that has been hunting for 4 years himself! He sent me a few photos of him and found out he hunts a half mile up creek from me. God is so good beyond words I cannot explain. He finally answered this boys prayers on Saturday morning and that's a fact!
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
