Size Does Matter

The archery season in Texas had come to a close and I had not managed to score on a buck of any kind. It was only a few days until the general season kicked off and I had plans to hunt with Brazos Archery Outfitters. I could not wait to get another crack at the huge bucks that call the Johnson Ranch home.

Friday finally arrived and I had to wait for my wife Donna to get off from work. We got a late start and I knew we would be the last hunters to arrive in camp. I had a particular stand in mind that I wanted to hunt but due to our late arrival I was afraid that stand would already be spoken for.

We arrived at Brazos Archery Outfitters a little after 9 P.M. I grabbed a few things from the truck and headed inside to take a look at the ranch map. John Shelley, one of the operators of BAO, was the only person awake. I quickly looked at the map to see if the red stand on the north side of the ranch was still available. To my surprise I did not see any name tags hanging any where on the ranch map. I quickly located my name tag from the bucket and hung it on the red stand. Now that I had my stand of choice selected, I could finish unloading the truck.

The red stand was where Donna took her nice buck the second week of archery season. While we were hunting that stand, we saw another nice buck that we could not get a shot at and as far as I knew no one else had shot that buck. I was hoping to have a close encounter with that buck again!

Saturday morning the temperature was a little warmer than I would have liked, 56 degrees, but I was determined to make the best of it. Donna and I got dressed in our Max-1 Camo and we were off. We made the familiar walk to the red stand and were all settled in just in time to watch the sun rise. A beautiful west Texas sunrise viewed from atop an old oak tree is a sight to behold!

Once the sun came up we did not have to wait long for the action to start. Donna tapped my leg and pointed to the south. There was a small buck headed our way.

We were hunting just north of a bedding area in a mesquite flat that was littered with old oak trees. There were still some good acorns on the ground and the deer wandered from tree to tree to locate the last bit of fresh goodies. The tree we were in overlooked a road that the deer used to make their way through the area.

In no time the small buck was browsing around us. It was not long until two more small bucks joined him. Their testosterone levels were rising because they could not get near one another without crashing horns and pushing each other around. As the three 1 ½ year old bucks tried to figure out who the dominant buck was another buck appeared in the road to the north of us.

We noticed the buck about the same time the three smaller bucks did. Their demeanor immediately changed. I could not see the headgear on the new buck but by the way the yearlings acted I knew he must be an older deer.

As I was straining my eyes to see the buck through the treetops he suddenly appeared in the shooting lane right in front of me. This buck was a mature 8-point that was at least 4 ½ years old. He was an 8 point with 10” G2’s and a spread out past his ears!

The 8 point ran at the smaller bucks and they scattered. I could not believe what was standing in front of me! This buck was definitely a shooter and my bow was still hanging on the bow rack.

As the buck went behind some cover I slowly grabbed my bow. I now had four bucks in front of me and I did not want to get busted. Just as I got my bow in hand, the massive 8 pointer appeared in my next shooting lane and began grazing. His neck was all pumped up and you could tell he was the boss. The younger bucks stayed clear of him. Two of the yearlings began grazing right under my ladder stand, which made things more difficult for me.

As the shooter buck was feeding, he was quartering towards me. The wind was blowing hard and he was very nervous. I was afraid he was going to leave without offering me a shot. The buck looked like he was going to get out of there so I drew my Mathews Switchback so I would be ready when he presented a shot. The buck just stood there facing me looking at the smaller bucks. I eventually had to let down and wait. The two smaller bucks were still under me and thanks to the wind they never knew that I was just 12 feet above their little heads.

By now my heart was really pumping. I was shaking so bad I did not know if I could calm down to draw my bow again.

The big 8 had turned some and he was only slightly quartering to me. The buck was getting jumpier by the second and I did not know how much more time I had. I knew my Wac’em tipped Carbon Express Terminator Hunter arrows could make short work of that big bucks shoulder blade so I clipped on my Tru-Fire release and drew my bow once again.

I took a deep breath, placed the 20-yard pin of my Trophy Ridge Rhino sight on the bucks shoulder and watched as the Lumenok disappeared into the big beast! The buck jumped and took off in a dead run towards the bedding area. As he ran, he began losing steam fast and after about only 70 yards he staggered and went down!

All of the emotions that were running through my body at that moment are too hard to put into words. I just arrowed the biggest buck of my entire hunting career and I got to share that moment with my best friend and life long partner, my wife Donna, who was running the camera!

I could not wait to get down from the stand. After a few high fives we packed up our gear so we could go collect my deer, my deer that was shot from the same stand and almost in the exact spot as the nice buck Donna shot just a few short weeks ago!

After we exited the stand we walked right to the buck. He was bigger than I realized! At that time I had no idea what he would score and I did not care! He was the largest buck I have ever had the opportunity to take and I was proud to have him!

After taking several photos in the field we loaded up the buck and were back at camp by 8:00 A.M. I could not wait for John to get back from hunting so he could take a look at my buck.

After it was all said and done my buck scored 122 P&Y. No matter what anyone says, SIZE DOES MATTER!

Thanks John, Johnny, Ben, and Carlis for running one heck of a bow hunting operation!

James Ferguson

President/CEO

Bowhunting North America, LLC

This hunt was made possible in part by our sponsors:

Mathews, Inc., Carbon Express,

The Gean-Edwards Company, Rynoskin, Trophy Ridge, North Starr Tree Stands,

Shed Hunter Co., Fieldline, DoskoSport, Lumenok, Tru Fire Corp., Rocket Aeroheads, Quake Industries,

Limbsaver, Bushnell, Huntin' Hoist, Wac'em Broadheads,, Beard Buster, The Beckham Group, Sure Grip Gun & Bow Racks