I Like Big Bucks and I Cannot Lie

The only thing more delightful than a buck on the ground is the smile on the face of the huntress who put him there. During late bow season a remarkable whitetail buck made his first appearance on my father’s trail camera. After pictures of the rack showed a crab claw and split G3, the deer was named the “Split G3” buck.

Like any wise deer, his visits on camera were in the early morning and sporadic. The Split G3 buck was only photographed four times in a six week period. Based on size, he became the number one priority on my hunting list. Hunting this buck became an obsession and I was willing to do whatever it took to wrap my tag around his horns.

Shortly after seeing the Split G3 buck on trail camera, my father had his first bowhunting encounter with the deer. As fate would have it my father shot under the deer and missed. The buck went into hiding and was not seen or photographed for the rest of bow season. Determined to harvest the Split G3 buck I started hunting aggressively. Every opportunity I had to hunt I was in the woods. For six full days I sat in a tree stand, twelve hours at a time, and never saw a buck mature enough to shoot. Deer movement was unpredictable and highly frustrating, since Missouri firearm season takes place during the rut in mid-November.

As firearm season came to an end, the mysterious crab claw buck remained unseen. On the last weekend of firearm season, I decided to hunt from a new location. In a meadow that had not been hunted in previous seasons, my father and I built a blind. The blind, being made from cattle panels and brush, provided no wind breaks for the irritating and bitter November winds. Hearing gun shots from surrounding hunters throughout the day also added to my frustration.

During the first eleven hours of the hunt I did not see a single deer. Suddenly, to the right of the blind I heard rustling in the leaves. Two does ran behind the blind and I was able to slowly turn around to watch them. Hot on the does trail was a wide main frame ten point buck. It was the largest deer I had ever seen while hunting. Concerned with the does, the buck paid little attention as I moved my rifle into position. Once I tucked the gun into my shoulder, I slipped the safety off and waited for the deer to turn broadside. With the cross hairs of the scope on the deer’s vitals, I gently squeezed the trigger and prayed that I wouldn’t miss.

After hearing a gunshot my father called my cell phone to see if I needed help. Minutes later he came to the blind to help track the deer. Trying to calm my nerves I explained what happened and pointed in the direction the deer was last seen. My father mischievously asked, “Do you want to look for blood or do you want to go get your deer?” It Turns out the deer was laying 40 yards from the blind. My father had walked passed it on his way to me! Neither one of us realized I shot the Split G3 buck until I picked the rack up. Not only did the deer have an impressive rack, he had a three inch cut on his stomach where my father’s broadhead grazed him in bow season. The Split G3 buck had 14 points, gross scored 150 1/8” and is the largest whitetail buck I have harvested to date. The endless hours spent checking trail cameras, hanging stands, and sitting in the woods paid off. Harvesting the Split G3 was the highlight of my hunting season and being able to share the journey with my father is something I will never forget.