An encounter with "buffulo"

[jjudge]

This is a deer we have been chasing for 3 years. He earned is name by how fat, lazy and smart this deer is. We only see him a few days each year because he is to smart and lazy to leave the marsh he calls home until that magical time when other urges make him actually move around.
My first encounter with this deer was 3 years ago when he was a small 10 with a huge body. I had him at 10 yds 3 times that season and passed on him each time. Two of those was in the same tree I was in last night.

We have tried to get pictures of this deer with NO success. I have seen him from a distance on several occassions and the farmer has seen him many times from the driveway.

Last night I went to the stand near where he stages each year during the peak of the rut. I have watched him do this several years in a row. I have not touched or even gone near this stand since last year..

For the first 2 hours of the evening I see nothing, not even a squrrill. It is raining hard and blowing 25 from the northeast-a perfect wind for this stand.

4:00 I stand up to be ready because I know I will not be able to stand when he comes out of the marsh.

4:15 I look DOWN between my feet and I have a mature doe standing below me. How in the hell did I miss her. In this wind and rain they appear like a ghost and this one did just that. I think, this is not good. He is not going to be far behind. I slowly turn to my left to look behind the tree and standing 25 yds away is the MAN. All seven years of smart lazy fat a** of him. My bow is hanging on the tree a mere inches from my hand but I am stuck. I can not turn or move. He proceeds to stand staring at me or my direction for at least 20 minutes. He is very nervous but I know he can not wind me. The doe proceeds to feed under the tree for 10 or so minutes. She turns and heads back towards him. He follows her for about 10 yds and stops under a holly tree where he stands until dark and goes back down the hill into the marsh for the night.

This is why I love this game. It truely is about the encounter with such a special deer. I will try again tonight as we still have a NE wind.

I believe this deer has actually gone down from last year. He is still 250lbs but his horns seemed smaller last night. I would say 140 inch 10 pointer.

[cravertosu]

Great post!! You're not kidding that they can appear like ghost on those wet and windy days! Good luck sticking ol' Buffalo!

[weekender]

sure hope we get to see a close-up of this legend

[Jared D]

Great stuff. It never ceases to amaze me at how quite they can be. Cant tell you how many times I have just looked at one side of a big clearing, swept my eyes another way, then returned mere seconds later and in the middle of said clearing stands a deer. I am always like???????

Cant wait to see this old bone head!

[Buckeye]

My bow is hanging on the tree a mere inches from my hand but I am stuck. I can not turn or move. He proceeds to stand staring at me or my direction for at least 20 minutes. He is very nervous but I know he can not wind me. The doe proceeds to feed under the tree for 10 or so minutes. She turns and heads back towards him. He follows her for about 10 yds and stops under a holly tree where he stands until dark and goes back down the hill into the marsh for the night.

This is why I love this game. It truely is about the encounter with such a special deer. I will try again tonight as we still have a NE wind.

.

Amen to that.

[Anders]

Dude, I hope you shoot that deer, history like that makes hunting and harvesting a dream come true, thanks for the post

[jjudge]

A quick update. I hunted him the next two days either in the same stand or another stand close to where he comes out. I have seen several small bucks and a few does but not him. I am afraid I had my chance on this deer.

I gave the farm a break this morning and hunted one of our other farms. Saw 3 bucks, 2 small 8's and a decent 8. They were all pushing deer and because of how thick this spot is, were all within 10 yds.

My brother saw a good shooter at 50 yds this morning. He has now seen this deer 5 times and still no shot. He is actually on the same property as "buffalo" but almost a mile away.