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Golf ball Buck !
as submitted by Lon Sherman of Waupaca County, Wisconsin
Year 2000 Whitetail hunt in Wisconsin
The "Golf Ball Buck" story starts
at daylight on the last Saturday of Wisconsin's 2000 Whitetail gun season. I haven't shot a buck with a gun since
1994. However, that is not to say I haven't put my time in just like everyone else. Many yearling bucks and two
and one half year old bucks have been passed up. QDM says, "let 'em go to let 'em grow." Unfortunately,
the neighbors or the cars always seem to cull these deer before they can reach their full potential.
Little did I know what lay ahead for my two hunting partners and me that morning when I crawled into my stand at
5:45 a.m. At 8:00 a.m. a group of deer with two bucks passed right beneath me. As usual, the bucks were too small,
trophies for some but I decided to let 'em go. The first couple of times I passed up 10 point bucks with 16 inch
spreads it was hard, but when you see how big these deer can get, it is worth it.
At 10:30 a.m. "he" showed up following a small doe. WOW! What a deer! No questions, the sight was on
him and the shot made. A good hit? After he disappeared my mind started to play games. Was he really big? After
all, it'd been years since I made the decision to pull the trigger on a nice 9 pointer that now hangs on my basement
wall.
The snow helped me follow him the first hundred yards but the trail told me it didn't look like a fatal hit. A
flesh wound; possibly a broken left leg. I could see drag marks of a hoof and the blood trail was getting weaker.
At noon I was getting discouraged but I still managed to keep working the trail out. Then there he was 125 yards
away on the other side of the cornfield standing looking at me. I held the sight of my shotgun slightly above his
back and touched one off. The deer disappeared into some pines.
Then one of my best friends caught up with me and joined the chase. Shortly thereafter my son also joined us. He
had harvested a 195 pound 10 pointer earlier in the bow season. They were both anxious to help me be successful.
As I tracked and they flanked, I thought about all the times I had spent in the stand waiting for the opportunity
to get a buck like the one we were after. I also thought about the average 100 hours a year of tractor time my
best friend and I put in every year trying to keep his land prime whitetail deer country. Had I blown it?
The shot across the cornfield was not successful. However my hopes perked up as the blood trail got heavier as
we approached a well-known bedding area. There he was! He was twenty feet in front of me lying down. As fast as
I could get the gun up he was gone like a rabbit from a brush pile. My heart sank deeper than a deer hunter can
imagine. (If you are a deer hunter and have been in this situation and not felt really bad, then it may be time
to think about taking up bowling or some other sport.)
The buck hit the open country and headed for the city limits, which were over three miles away. At the city limits
my two chase partners retreated, but I continued following until dark. The last track led into a river bottom that
ran through the local golf course (of which, fortunately, I am a member). It was getting dark and I was over four
miles from where I had started that morning. Time to concede to the deer and head back. |
The night was sleepless (again a trait that most deer hunters suffer when a beautiful animal
is injured and not retrieved). After breakfast and getting the Christmas tree put up and the lights on, I told
my wife I was going to take a walk to ease my frustrations. I had already decided not to hunt the last afternoon
as I had previously planned.
My walk led me over two miles to the local golf course where I crossed a service equipment bridge over the river.
As I looked into the water I spotted two golf balls which I managed to retrieve after almost falling into the river.
As I climbed back to the bridge I looked up stream into the thick brush and canary grass and what to my surprise,
there lay the biggest deer I had ever seen in my life, my buck. I was over one half mile from where I had left
his track the day before! I knew it was him as he struggled to rise from his bed, left leg badly broken. What had
led me to this spot? |
There lay the biggest deer I had ever seen.
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I proceeded to call my son and best friend and the chase started anew. However, it was without
guns or any other means to dispatch a deer. After several close sightings and river crossings, we finally got him
tired and unwilling to move. Now what do we do?
It was getting dark so a quick call to the police department led to an officer joining our chase. After a brief
explanation of the circumstances, the officer quickly dispatched the golf ball buck we had chased for the better
part of two days.
The six-year wait was worth it. QDM does work! The "Golf Ball Buck" weighed in at 220 pounds, had a gross
score of 159 and was aged at 5.5 years. "Let 'em go to Let 'em Grow" works. Try it! You might like it! |
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