Last year I photographed many nice bucks. One certain buck that we named “Blade” was at the top of my hit list. On October 30^, 2008, I noticed I had a strong south wind that would work perfectly to hunt a stand that Blade has been walking by for the last two months.  I got off work a little early and was in the stand by 4:30. It all went as planned: I rattled just a little bit and he was bedded down just south of me about 100-150 yards. The rattling got him on his feet and he walked into bow range during shooting hours.  When I first saw him walking towards me I didn’t think he was a shooter, but as he got closer I came know that it was Blade.  

I had a lot of nice buck on camera again this year but nothing stood out from the rest until early October.  I was hunting an old stand on a small 40-acre farm where I have a camera on. I hadn’t checked that camera for four or five weeks, so I was really excited to see what was on it.  I didn’t see much that night from the stand but when I got home and viewed the trail camera pictures it revealed a big “Shooter” and it changed my whole perspective on the ground that I needed to be hunting.

On October 24, less than two weeks ago, I got my chance at this big boy and I think I blew it. A little after six in the evening I heard  something back in the timber, so I got out my grunt tube and did a few quick grunts. In seconds I had this big boy walking straight into my stand. He stopped at 17 yards and looked right up at me. I shot him straight in the chest… not a good idea! I let my emotions get the best of me and I really regret that now. 

I let him set all night and went back in with eight buddies the next morning. I knew that I’d made a tough shot, that there wouldn’t be much of a blood trail. Long story short, we tracked blood for 500+ yards and jumped him. We jumped him again the next morning and he ran back onto the ground I’m hunting on now.  I’m currently spending every minute possible in an effort to get a second chance at Shooter.

I’m convinced that trail cameras help me figure out what stand to hunt and when.  I spend just as much time before the season running trail cameras as what I do hunting during season.

Thanks again to Leaf River. And good hunting to all.

In the Photos: Brady Cox’s winning image of Shooter (top) was taken remotely at 6:30 p.m. on 10/10/09, 14 days before the bowman had his first crack at the buck. This on the hoof photo of Blade (middle) was triggered on 8/30/08 at 8:10 p.m. Cox arrowed that buck of an evening exactly two months later. There is a third 2008 trail camera image of Blade for consideration therein the November 2009 Leaf River trail camera sweepstakes depository.