Backstory:

There is a house that sits on about 30 acres that borders our property with the Sky Condo on it. The house was abandoned and bought by a family in town that hunts. With the purchase of the house, they now border 3 sides of our hunting grounds. They are kinda obnoxious in that they have a generator that is so loud, we can hear it as soon as we step out of the truck. They come and go at all hours, which keeps the deer from moving near the camproad and they have a four-wheeler which they start up, rev up and drive down to their tree stand with. Basically, they make a crazy amount of noise and hunt for the trophy, not the meat. Basically, they are the opposite type of hunter that we are. ##

So, this past weekend, I ran into one of the family members at their shop. I asked him what the final number was and he said they got one 8-pointer. Now, up until the last weekend, Dad and I had been told that they had let a 6 and 8 pointer go by. Dad and I called BS on that, especially since I heard their shot when I was in my condo the 2nd weekend. And I know the difference between a close shot (snap, crack) and a long distance shot (boom). It was loud enough to make me jump. And I heard them come and get the four wheeler. The fact that they said they didnt get anything seemed just silly. Why lie? Be proud of the deer you shot.

When we tagged my deer, we saw that they had tagged an 8 pointer and that it was over 200. With the confirmation this weekend that it was a 210, nice 8-pointer, it ended the hope for me and Dad that the beautiful 8-pointer we had seen on the camera and the one he wanted, (knowing it was over 200lbs and thinking he would be his biggest rack over 20inches), had survived the season. Assuming it was the shot I heard, they shot it around 1:30 in the afternoon, near the snowmobile trail where Dad usually walks when he leaves me in my tree seat. It sucks. I really wish Dad could have gotten that deer. He would have appreciated it more.

But, maybe next year. Maybe it was a different buck, like the deer I shot. Mine was not a deer from the camera but still a nice 10 pointer. I will cling to some small hope that Dad’s big buck is still out there. Next year will be a big year for us – 10 years since I started hunting with Dad and I am having a big birthday. So, we deserve a couple big bucks to celebrate. =)