***MUDBROOK HUNT BULLETIN***
Who: Paco
Subject: 8 Point Buck
When: Monday 11/13
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Where: Buck Hollow (Mudbrook)
Story:
There is a belief among bow hunters that if you get one chance at a big buck per season that's all you can hope for…anything else is just "icing on the cake". On Sunday 11/5 Paco had grazed a nice 8 point buck that drew blood but did not fatally wound the animal. It was not recovered and Paco was sick over the missed opportunity…fully believing that his one chance for this season had passed him by in disappointing fashion. He was not able to hunt this past weekend but was planning to take Monday off from work and hunt all day. The rest of us guys did hunt over the weekend but saw very few deer moving around and no shooter bucks. I kept saying to the guys that nobody has been to Buck Hollow for a bow hunt in over a month and I think it would be a great place to ambush a buck right now. With so many other places to hunt, Buck Hollow was not a chosen spot over the weekend. On Sunday night Paco called me to get an update on the weekend hunt. I told him it was really slow and that he should give Buck Hollow a try on Monday. He agreed. After setting up in his climber at 1:30 p.m. Monday afternoon Paco waited patiently until 4:30…that's when he spotted movement way down in the swamp bottom some 200 yards away. Even with 2" of fresh snow on the ground he admitted that, at first glance, it appeared to be a coyote or other small animal. It wasn't until a few minutes later, when the object got closer, that he realized it was a deer…not only a deer but a buck! As it walked towards his tree Paco could see that it was an 8 pointer and big enough to shoot. At 15 yards away the buck faced Paco and looked up at him in the tree. It then bolted a short distance before walking broadside. Paco drew his bow but the buck saw his movement and bolted again…only to stop broadside at 20 yards. Paco quickly shot his arrow at the buck and watched it sail over top of the bucks back. A clean miss…"HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?", he thought as the buck ran off. Before he could even digest what had occurred, his eyes caught a glimpse of something else moving toward him…it was another buck! With no arrow knocked he quickly re-loaded, grabbed his bow, and readied himself for a shot. This buck was bigger than the first but was walking on the same exact trail…directly towards his stand. As with the first buck, this one also stopped straight on at 15 yards and looked up at Paco in the tree. It then took off walking broadside and, just like before, Paco drew his bow back only to have the buck spot his movement. It ran a short ways and stopped broadside at a distance of 30 yards with the back two thirds of the deer sticking out behind some brush. Paco took aim at the buck and launched an arrow. You can imagine Paco's amazement when the buck immediately dropped in his tracks…he had spined it!! Not a bad deal considering: a.) he had just missed a buck, and b.) this buck didn't appear to be going anywhere. The only problem now was that Paco had to get down the tree with his climber stand and finish the buck off. Anyone who has used a climber, however, knows that it is not a very quick descent. As Paco was climbing down the buck was thrashing about all over the place…can you say "anxious moments for the bow hunter"? Anyway, Paco made it down the tree and was able to finish the buck off with one more well placed arrow (for a change). What a hunt! This buck is an 8 pointer that has one tine completely broken off (would have been a nine) and another one partially broken…he was a fighter!! Another very interesting thing about this buck is that it's hoof's were half black and half white and it's chest was black with a thin white line down the middle. This buck has all kinds of character. Way to go Paco!!! So much for the whole "one chance per season" theory.
A Side Note To This Story:
Paco has been known to make up some silly songs while spending countless hours sitting in a tree stand. The one that we have gotten the most "mileage" out of refers to squirrels in the woods. It goes like this:
Bushy, bushy, tail, tail, running down the trail, trail.
The idea is to start out saying this in your head every time you see a squirrel and then add rhyming verses as the day goes on.
(I know, I know, it's kind of a "rainman" thing but anyone who knows Jeff know's that he's "special"). At any rate, doing this becomes quite addicting and does make the time go by…not that I would know of course.
Anyway, Barnacle, Paco, and I were getting this buck out of the woods last night and Paco starts telling me he's got a new song that he's singing to himself this year. My first thought was "why am I not surprised by this", my second thought was to ask "what is it?", and my third thought was "that was a dumb thing to say because now he's going to sing this stupid song and it's going to be stuck in your head and you've got to sit in a tree stand for two straight days this weekend and you're going to go insane…".
After getting in the truck and driving a short distance my worst fears were realized…Paco started singing his new song. It goes like this:
(This song is sung to the tune of Here Comes The Bride. I know what you're thinking…and you're right).
Here comes a buck, He's out of luck
I'm going to shoot him, And put him in my truck
According to Paco, this song has many possibilities for additional verses because there are lots of words that rhyme with buck. He even encouraged me to see how many I could come up with while hunting this weekend and then let him know. Um, I don't think so.
So there you have it, now all of you hunters can sing this little "Paco Mantra" to yourselves while sitting alone in the woods this weekend.
We want three additional verses from each person…report back after gun season.
