pictures of him all summer. I hunted the stand about a week later because I got the SE again, but all I saw was a black bear and a flock of tom turkeys. Right at dark, I heard deer blowing down on the edge of the swamp, but my wind was perfect and figured they possibly winded the bear. After two sits and no sightings of a mature buck, I was considering letting the Skinny 8’s core area cool down until the rut. Typically you have 1 or 2 shots at a mature buck like him, and I didn’t figure it would do any good to over hunt that spot and drive him out of there before the rut drove him to walk during shooting time.
On Monday October 3rd, I check the weather and saw that the 4 days straight of rain was going to let up and the sun was going to make an appearance for short time in the afternoon. The temps were dropping and I knew that, with the front passing through, the deer would be on their feet. I checked the wind - you guessed it; SE again.
Now: It’s decision time. Do I got hunt the Skinny 8? Or, do I leave him on ice until the rut? I had a feeling I should give it one more shot before the rut, and my main decision making factor was the fact that the stand on the white oak flat was such a low impact stand with great access that I could hunt it 1 more time without pressuring him. My mind was made up. As I got to the stand, I pulled the card from my camera that I had over a big sign post rub that sat in a line with many others that connected the swamp to the white oaks and then to cover further up the ridge. When I checked the card in my digital camera in the stand, I was excited to see a mature buck, who I thought was the Skinny 8, not 30 yards from my stand the night before during last shooting light. The buck in the pictures was a wide 8 pointer with a busted brow tine and a small G4 on his left side. I assumed that it was the Skinny 8 because of the similarities in their antler configuration, and I also hadn’t seen him out of velvet yet in 2011. The stage was set.
At about 5:30, I got a text from the same buddy who I believed had seen the Skinny 8 on the 19th. We usually compare notes and communicate to hunt around each other, but the wind was funky and both our hunts were last minute decisions. It just so happens he was sitting in one of his stands just up the ridge from me. He asked if I was hunting and I responded with, “Ya, I’m in the white oaks on the point. It’s the only stand I have for a SE early season, and it’s so low impact. I got a picture of a mature buck yesterday afternoon 30 yards from my stand.” He texted me back, “You just saved a big doe’s life. Had her at 22 yards.” Just so happens that he was planning on shooting a mature doe for the freezer and happened to look down at this phone, which was on silent, right as he was getting ready to shoot her. If he looked at his phone 10 seconds later, dead doe, and both of our hunts are over.
As light began to fade, I was asking myself what it was going to take to kill a big New Hampshire buck in the early season. Shooting light was waning, and I figured this stand with these weather conditions and the trail camera picture that I got the night before had to make this my best opportunity in years. Right at last light, I looked up and saw a buck walk through my 23 yard shooting lane and stop with his head obstructed with just his shoulder in the lane. I didn’t know what to