235 pounds of ugly and nasty.

So on both threads cause I can't keep track

Alright guys long post from phone so bear with me as I'm pretty excited....backstory

My buddy lost his father a few years ago and was trying to rebuild the family property to its former glory days. I started to help him and he offered to let me hunt up there (near Woodville) for free. I've never been on a lease as family never hunted so I jumped on it.

I bought an all seasons feeder rec'd from you guys and a nice game camera Sean recommended. We started feeding and seeing deer ...and hogs... At night mostly. Due to road being close to house I wanted to hunt I wanted to elevate the ground blind so I started to build a platform with the woodworking wife...



I then got it put up and secured



I was damn excited for opening rifle weekend but was concerned with warm weather as deer only showed at night except for random afternoon deer. I arrived Friday and learned I would be only one here which was a downer but I'm here to hunt not socialize. Did some fishing to pass the time Friday...




I went out at 5am with a cooler expecting to be out all day. My view to the right...



It was a hot night and it rained at first light so I figured my chances of seeing a deer were very small. About 9.5 hours in to being in the stand I catch a head of a doe poking out. My heart instantly goes to over drive and I rush moving my position and make too much noise and this little year old doe bounds back where it came from. Would I have shot? Nope...did I have an adrenaline crash second guess everything and think I'm an idiot who won't see another deer? Yep.

Two hours later near 4:45 on the other side I see another head poke out, holy **** I hit over drive again as in those two seconds I see... Big... Mature...and antlers. Smoothe as a high schooler hitting on a college chick can be I reposition my sticks and get my gun up.....my rest is very sturdy so from gun on deer to head turn confirming he is a shooter to bang was all of 3 seconds......Bang!!!

The deer crumples forward but dashes into the woods .... Oh crap I rushed it ... Did I miss? Ciuldnt it obviously was hit but how bad? I've been lucky and have never had a deer run off on me. Ok let's wait a good 30....make that ten minutes...amount of time in blind equals time it felt for those ten mi Utes to pass up to that point.

I get out and initially don't see blood. I look further and finally see a good size drop but it seems to just vanish and his prints are included in with hog tracks so of course the deer is gone never to be found is my first thought... Idiot!... I back track and take a very slow approach as Texas always says and fine small droplets as I go and mark them if I have to back track. It eventually leads me to a barb wire fence I see so I abandon the trail and go over the fence knowing if he did t jump it then I have a small area to look. Low and behold a lot of white tuff and larger blood marks....20 yards in and he is down......Aaaaaaaaah!



He was definitely a fighter with those scars...




He is pretty big for that area and old. Largest buck to date for a whitetail. Feels so awesome to have out the work in on the land and to get rewarded with largest buck they've seen in years.

Good luck guys and remember just takes that one moment!