On the morning of the 2004 early youth gun season, I was archery hunting with another close friend, Rocky Prezioso. Around 8:30 a.m., I saw movement coming through the clear-cut. It was the big 10-pointer, walking down an old logging road that passed within a few yards of the stand I was in!

THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!
This was going to be the moment -- or so I thought! As the buck approached, he suddenly stopped just out of range. Then, for no apparent reason, he changed direction and bolted out through the clearcut on the other property. The wind was right, and I had been quiet and still in my 26-foot-high stand. What could have gone wrong?

The answer came a few moments later, when I heard voices. A young boy and an adult came walking through the woods on the adjacent property. Obviously, the buck had heard them coming and he had spooked.

Gun season came and went, with no big buck sightings on the property. But we still had muzzleloader season and late archery season to go, and I wasn't about to give up. On the eve before the muzzleloader opener, I decided to hunt the same stand I'd been in on the day when the big 10 had been spooked.

DAY OF RECKONING
The muzzleloader season opener, Dec. 27, 2004, was a cold day with temperature readings in the single digits. Six inches of new snow covered the ground. I picked up my brother and my buddy, Rocky. We arrived at our hunting grounds at approximately 6:30 a.m.

As I made my way to the stand, I could feel a slight breeze on my face coming from the south, blowing directly toward the rub line I had planned to hunt. Knowing that wouldn't work, I retraced my steps back to the truck, then circled around and entered the woods from the north, so that my scent wouldn't disturb the area I planned to hunt.

I settled into my alternate location -- a hollow beech tree that had been struck by lightning. I had gun-hunted this location on the ground in the past and felt good about it.

With all the snow on the ground, it was easy to see through the woods Suddenly, I glimpsed movement along a rub line on the edge of the clearcut. Three does went trotting through, with a larger deer trailing behind them. The does passed by me, and as the larger deer neared, I could see bits and pieces of massive antlers.

The buck stopped directly in front of me at about 60 yards, with a small opening revealing his chest. I centered the crosshairs behind his right shoulder and gently squeezed the trigger.

At the shot, I could not see directly ahead, due to all the smoke blowing back into my face. As the smoke cleared, I hoped to see a buck piled up on the ground. But all I could see was white snow.

Upon closer inspection, I found a few bits of flesh with some brown and white hair attached to them, but only a few flecks of blood. That let me know I had connected. I followed the tracks in the snow for a short distance, and still saw no sign of blood.

Serious doubt starting creeping into my thoughts. I was only a few hundred yards from the adjacent property, when I heard a shot from that direction. I wondered if my wounded buck had been the target.