Mr. Three Wiggle

The story of Mr. Three Wiggle originated a few years back during the 2002 bow season. Mr. Three Wiggle was a three point buck who lived near the Turkey Ridge Stand and would consistently show himself, at close range, to any hunter who stood there. Pedro gave him the nickname after watching the movie “Tin Cup” and hearing the main character refer to his three iron golf club as Mr. Three Wiggle. He thought the name was a perfect fit for this deer. Mr. Three Wiggle had a single spike on one side that grew to around 7 inches and a fork on the other side that was about the same height. He was a fine looking young buck, but because every member of the Highbanks Hunting Club had expectations of an “8 point or better” buck, Mr. Three Wiggle was always allowed to walk on by without incident. After awhile it became quite comical because a hunter on stand at Turkey Ridge could pretty much always count on getting a visit from Mr. Three Wiggle. This went on all fall.

Pedro’s nephew TyBone was in his second year of bow hunting and had not yet killed his first buck. What a thrill it would be, Pedro thought, if he could put TyBone in position to get that first one under his belt…and he knew just the place to make it happen! Pedro called his young nephew and scheduled the hunt. He told TyBone all about Mr. Three Wiggle and how, if he waited patiently, there was a very good chance of getting a shot at the buck. What an exciting thought! TyBone is not one to show a whole lot of emotion but he seemed pretty eager to hit the woods. The big morning soon arrived.  After driving to Mudbrook and getting dressed for the hunt, Pedro walked TyBone out to Turkey Ridge in the dark, then waited until he was settled in the tree before moving off to hunt from the Twin Oaks Stand. On this day Pedro was way more excited about TyBone’s hunt than his own…and was anxious for the next three hours to pass quickly. As Pedro’s watch slowly ticked the minutes away his mind filled with thoughts of what was happening over at Turkey Ridge. Did TyBone see any deer? Was he being quiet and still enough to not spook any deer away? Was he warm enough? And most importantly, did Mr. Three Wiggle show up to present a shot opportunity? Finally it was time to go see what happened. Pedro climbed out of his tree stand and quickly made his way towards Turkey Ridge with much anticipation. Upon his arrival he looked around frantically to see if there was a blood trail on the ground or any other sign of a deer being hit…but one glance at TyBone, still in the tree stand shaking like a belly dancer, told Pedro all he needed to know about what had happened.  As their eyes met, TyBone, his voice shaking as bad as his body, told Pedro “I saw your little friend”. Pedro, smiling wide, asked “did he come close enough to shoot at”. TyBone then pointed towards the ground right next to where Pedro was standing to show him how close the buck had come to his tree. It was only 7 yards away!! Pedro, smiling even wider, asked “did you take a shot at him?” TyBone, still shaking, sheepishly answered “No”. Pedro started laughing and asked TyBone to climb down and tell him the story.

Once on the ground, but still a little shaky, TyBone began telling his story. He said that he was looking the opposite way when Mr. Three Wiggle arrived on the scene. When he saw the buck moving closer he immediately positioned himself for a shot, and just as expected, so did Mr. Three Wiggle…by walking within 7 yards of the tree! It was at this point that TyBone caught himself a bad case of “buck fever”. As Mr. Three Wiggle stood there waiting to be drilled with an arrow, poor TyBone did his best to pull the bowstring string back into shooting position while keeping an arrow on it’s rest. Unfortunately, the “fever” induced shaking just wouldn’t allow for that to happen as time and again the arrow fell off.  Finally Mr. Three Wiggle quietly moved on and TyBone faced the reality that he would have to wait for another chance to shoot his first buck. After hearing what happened and consoling Tybone, Pedro could no longer contain his laughter. It was hilarious to watch this young kid shake and shiver as he told his story. What a great memory…all because of Mr. Three Wiggle.