The urge to go on a bowhunt out of state has burned inside of me for quite a while. This year finishing early and chompin at the bit with the meat of the rut coming up I decided there was no better time. I had spoke with my good friend in Nebraska earlier in the summer and wondered what the chances were on heading down there. He said let him know when... I was hoping Scott was going to go along to video but he had work obligations that kept him here so I packed up and headed west. I arrived and met my buddy and we talked about where to go and he picked out a good funnel and I sat there the afternoon. Not much was going on in that spot so that night I decided to hunt a piece that we turkey hunt and I had made a couple mental notes to myself that if I ever came down on a deer hunt these looked like classic spots.
I slept in and headed out in the morning light so I could see what where I was going and check some crossings and trails that I had remembered. I stepped out of the truck and immediately spotted a good track.
I followed it to the crossing that was just east of where I wanted to hunt. I hunted a long ridge that had a nice saddle that led to the creek. It was perfect.
I poked around and found a tree put up my stand and then ran a drag back to the crossing. Finally in the tree at 8:30. Not for sure what the wind was suppose to do. I was keeping my fingers crossed that it would continue from the Northeast.
Although I liked this spot, it wasn't where I originally was going to set up. I wanted to be about a quarter mile to the west so I kept pondering when I would get down and move over there. I rattled a little and sat down to take a break and decide how I was ever going to get a shot off if something were to come in. I am really considering moving now as it approaches 9:30 but decided to give it till 1 pm then relocate for the afternoon. Just then I heard what finally sounded like a deer coming up the ridge. Buck, nice buck, shooter, I swung and grabbed my bow and prepared for a shot as I had a slight window on the trail he was walking on. Sure enough he veered off and I had no shot. He was standing at 30 yards and I was going bananas because I knew there was no shot if he continued on the same trail. I grabbed my grunt tube and blew it into my coat and he snapped his head up and looked. I grunted again, he still stood there like a statue. Ffftt, Ffffft, fffffffffff, that was all he needed here he came on a string, still no shot he was now at 20, I am kicking myself for not trimming a few lanes now. He started to walk away now and I let him take a few more steps and again Ffftt, Ffffft, fffffffffff, this time he came to 10 yards and stood behind a big oak then all I saw was his right part of his face and an eyeball looking right at me.
As I was preparing for him to step around the tree he must have seen me shaking like a leaf as he move directly away with no shot presented. I figured that was it and he was gone however I wasn't going to just let him walk. I snort weezed at him again and he spun and just stood there at 40 yard for about 3 or 4 minutes which feels like an hour in a tree, then I grabbed in my backpack and pulled out the can call, he liked that as well, I still had his attention. He stood rock still for a while longer but decided he had enough. I let him get just out of site and snort weezed and crashed the horns together as loud as I could. That was all it took, before I could set them down on my seat he had made it back and was now standing about 5 yards from the base of my tree! I grabbed my bow and couldn't believe the movement I was getting away with and he walked to the fence where he thought the fight may be taking place and just stood there looking.
20 yards slightly quarting too I let er eat. He jumped into the fence, flipped over into the field ran a semi circle and jumped the fence on the other side and then started to get the wobbles and as his rack waved good bye and he finally fell over I sat in disbelief of what just had happened. I called my buddy and I think he thought I was kidding him but told him there was a good one on the ground. Then the texts started to fly and I was one happy camper. It was 10 am and there was a whopper of a husker buck laying 70 yards away!
Needless to say I am stoked about this Husker 8... Unfortunately this one did not get on video.
His main beams are 27 and 28 his g2 on the right side is 12 inches as well as the g3 on the left side. I haven't finished scoring him yet but he will look great on the wall! My wife is thrilled she will have 2 heads to hang this year...
