Derek Reese 29
5 year old buck +
Been on this site for over 3 years..and this is my first write up in the successful hunts category!! So my hunch was right last night. Sitting just off a food plot put in this summer, swatting mosquitos and blowing in a stiff breeze till about 6 PM. Then the wind just died and I started hearing walking noises that I was pretty sure weren’t squirrels. Grabbed my crossbow and got ready then happened to glance down. A good sized 2 year old 9 point was scanning the plot just below me then proceeded to walk out into and start chomping on the clover, rye and purple top turnips. I was getting ready to shoot when I heard a twig break to my right. Glanced over and saw tines about 10 yards away. This one was being a little cagier, checking the wind (which was blowing from him to me) and doing a bit more in depth scanning. It took about 2 minutes for him to decide everything was safe. He just put his head down and crashed out through the brushy edge of the plot and started making his way towards the other buck. At about 8 yards I grunted to stop him, got the sights settled and let fly. He mule kicked then just stood there. I thought “no way I missed a big buck at less than 10 yards with a crossbow.” Saw he was having a bit of trouble with his shoulder as he wandered up to the top of the plot so I knew I hit him. As I was reaching for the cocking rope in my backpack, the smaller buck saw me and took off. The bigger one looked unsure then started to sway and crashed in some oats and lay still. I was shaking so hard I thought I was gonna fall out of the stand. Once the shakes stopped enough, basically rappelled down to the ground and found my bolt stuck in the ground with good blood on it. Walked up and found him where I’d seen him crash. Food plots work!! Thankful for all my in laws’ and parents help with getting him processed. Also thankful for all the guidance and suggestions from this forum which definitely contributed to this successful hunt!
