"Amazing Second Chance"

by Chez Martin
(Delaware, Ohio USA)

I had been tracking the movements of a huge 12 point bruiser all summer. All though he would duck and dodge the trail cam and come from the side view of the cam with his head down, I was always able to get a picture of his body at least and see his hoof print and even saw his rack one day on the trail cam as he was bedded down in the bushes. This deer had a body so big that to anyone who didn't know their animals they would think it was a brown cow. On November 16 2012 I was in my tree stand and at 8:10am I hear a little bit of rustling and its gets louder like a buck was walking and rubbing on trees as he passed them. 20 seconds later I see the buck about 25 yards away from me to my front but I didn't have a shot cause I was tucked into a woodline. It was the 12 point buck I had been tracking since the summer and there was no mistaking his huge body but now I'm finally getting to see his face! My heart racing but I stay steady and as I draw back as he comes into my shooting lane all of a sudden he bolts at 8:15am. I was in disbelief. I didn't know what happened. He was 15yards from me and showed no sign of alarm! He only trotted off about 15 more yards so if he smelt me he wouldn't still be so close and he didn't even look up. I draw back again and he bolts but he was looking straight ahead that I didn't realize was that there had been a really small 6 point buck that had came from behind me and out into the field chasing hot a doe in this big bucks line of vision. He wasn't having that so he chases off the smaller buck and started trailing the doe. By that time he was already at about 70 yards and then even further and was out of sight so I didn't take the shot. I was pretty down about the whole event because most hunters rarely get a shot at a trophy buck twice. I tried to keep my faith that he would be back

and I would get another shot since he had no idea I had been there and may come back through. Two days later I had prayed pretty hard in my tree stand that morning that the big buck would come back through. At 8:05am I hear the rustling and it gets louder, just like the big 12 point had done previously so I was for certain this was him again. Then I see the deer come into view but it's not the 12 point I had seen 2 days before it was huge body and really nice racked 10 point. I decided to take him but the only problem was he changed direction and was starting head left after a doe. I didn't think I had a chance now. So I did a buck grunt and he looked but then kept walking, so I did a doe bleat and then another buck grunt and then a buck growl and that was the ticket that turned him around and he was heading back towards me again. I was so relieved. I did two more low grunts and then drew back. Where I was set up at there is a 2 second window for me to draw back without being seen by the deer and that's because there is a thick crab apple tree that can barely be seen through which is a pro but the con is I lose sight of the target for a second too. I'm at full draw and when the buck comes back into view he is 8 to 1 0yards from me and I take the shot! I hit him in the lungs and had a clean pass through. He had no idea what hit him. He ran 20 yards, stopped, and went down. The crazy thing is that I harvested that 10 point at 8:15am which was the exact time I had a shot at the big 12 point and the 10 point was standing in the exact same spot as the 12 point 2 days prior. My 10 point buck wasn't the 12 point from earlier but I got an AMAZING SECOND CHANCE to take a beautiful buck in the exact spot where an earlier opportunity was missed! I named the spot where I had the shots on those buck "BRUISER ALLEY"!