Friday, November 9, 2012

The ups and downs of a buck named Bruiser.

Early November - Rut Report - Illinois

The last entry I had commented about the alarming lack of mature deer to be found.  Since that time an old friend had shown himself.

Flash back to 2011...November 8, 2011, A trail cam picture revealed a deer that my son Cannon....5 at the time, named Bruiser, after his busted up rack and rough looking face and head.  Perhaps it was not the most fitting name as the easiest way to identify this deer was his floppy ears in all his photos, but Cannon chose the name and from that day forward he was known to us as Bruiser.  It was the first I had seen of him on camera, but I had a history with this deer from 2010, only a couple sightings, and at the time...I was so excited about a mature deer on this heavily pressured property that I told no one, but I knew in my heart it was the same deer.  From that day forward, I tracked pictures, plotted maps, and figured out his travel patterns and preferences.  My first hunt, I came close, he bedded just 100 yards away, and I even passed a fine 140" class deer that I believed was 3.5 years old...just because I wanted this specific deer.  You see, I believed him to be 5.5 years old in 2011, and for me he just tripped my trigger...he was not the biggest deer, but the character of the wide simple rack and the floppy ears was just my thing.  Finally just before the Illinois gun season in 2011, I had him pinpointed and was waiting for him, when my best laid plans were foiled by a person walking in to hunt without permission at 7:30 A.M.! That was the last contact I had with Bruiser until October 2012.
One of the first pictures of Bruiser - 5.5 years old

Back to 2012:  On October 21, 2012, He appeared on camera again for the first time since November of 2011.  He sported the same floppy ears, and managed to keep both his brow tines this year, yet he was missing a kicker off his right side G2.  Seeing that picture rekindled my obsession and I went to work immediately adjusting my plan and approach. 

After being spooked Bruiser finally reappeared almost a year later!

I hunted when I could and made sure to play the wind correctly and carry myself as if I was hunting on egg shells...so as not to spook my old nemesis out of the area.  Though I tried my best, I had yet to see him during daylight.  November hit, and the pictures continued to portray the stuff of legend...a deer that left the bedding area at midnight, and returning between 3:00 A.M. and 4:00 A.M. every day.  Even as the chase phase began to hit, he remained a nocturnal ghost. 

On November 6, 2012, amid 40 degree weather and spitting rain, I climbed a tree midday overlooking a secluded food plot connected to his favorite bedding area.  The day met with great deer activity including an intense chase between a definite shooter deer and two smaller deer and one very unhappy doe.  Those deer teased me and for several moments as they ran circles through the woodlot, I thought to myself, I hope he doesn't give me a shot, or I may have to kill him instead of Bruiser.  I know silly right...but, I just had a thing for this particular deer.  It boiled down simply to this...I wanted this specific deer.  As the light faded that night I thought about the chase I had seen, and wondered why a deer that had been in the area for at least three years and appeared to me to be a 6.5 year old this year, would not be right in the mix.  Was the old warrior losing his edge against the younger 4.5 year olds, did he get run from the area when the rut began?

Little did I know as I walked out with nothing but the mist and my thoughts...that my answer would come on November 9, 2012.

I guess I should point out that my primary hunting spot is a 60 acre tract that has less than 40 acres of timber.  It is heavily pressured by the neighbors and in fact, one neighbor had already harvested two immature bucks in the past week that I had passed this year. The land is owned by my father in law and I am greatful everyday that he lets me hunt.  In addition to myself, my father in law allows a good friend of his, named Irv hunt the property.  Though Irv did not typically pass on younger deer, I had asked if he would at least make an effort to kill a doe or a 3.5 year old buck.  Though he made a few comments to my father in law about being hungry, Irv did pass several juvenile deer over the first few weeks.  Each day we would trade reports through my father in law and it became almost a daily thing for him to call and check in with me either to give or take a report. 

After a short hunt on a different farm on that morning I begrudgingly went to the office to catch up on some work.  The phone call that ended this saga came a short time later, when my father in law called.  I expected it to be another daily report, but he was calling to let me know that Irv killed "a big 9."  I immediately hopped in the truck to go to the farm and see the deer.  Not once did I think it may be Bruiser...hell he never shows himself in the daylight, even during the rut.  I also always considered him a main frame 8, so the thought was not even in my head.  As I walked up to Irv and my father in law, I noted the huge body size of the deer, and immediately I thought to myself...well it is definitely mature!  As soon as I could see the rack I immediately recognized the deer from the binder of photos, the online albums of photos, and my dreams...and nightmares..I would recognize Bruiser anywhere.  A flood of emotion ran over me...it was really the first deer that I have had real history with that met its demise somewhere other than at the end of one of my own arrows. 

I told them it was Bruiser, and gave them a brief history of the deer...and my father in law asked if I was mad that Irv shot him.  I told him no way...he did exactly what we planned to do and my hope was that in the future mature deer will become the norm and not the exception.  Since I was already there, I quickly checked my trail cams...and guess who made one final appearance on his typical early morning venture:

The morning before...

As is the case often in November, ole Bruiser met his maker while following a hot doe.  His final picture was his first in the daylight for nearly a full year...
Irv with his deer - Harvested 11/9/12

2 comments:

  1. Guess if we were together, there would be some Quiet time and then I would ask you about who is going to fill Ole Bruiser's job of pushing your button.
    You do it right .

    rg

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  2. I'm thinkig there's another about to take his place - at least short term - and I heard where he bedded tonight.

    SS

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