Charles Hedland

Harvest Story: Browser.. the buck that has impressed us since May. He was the biggest, most mature buck on the property this year. My focus was on another giant buck an hour north of his location and I was torn between the two deer all year. I probably hunter him a handful of times and in the first week of November he daylighted 2 or 3 days in a row. After an encounter with our #1 buck where I come to find he is now a half rack, focus shifted to Browser. That next day I had him on camera at 6:20am slipping back to what we thought had been his favorite bedding area all year. I got in below him that afternoon and with maybe 30 minutes of legal shooting light, I started a rattle sequence. Within 5 minutes I hear foot steps coming down off the ridge I had assumed he’d come from. I finally put eyes on him and his frame took my breath away and made my heart start to thump out of my chest. After about a 7 minutes standoff where neither of us moved and he locked eyes on me, he finally broke and came hobbling in. At 18 yards I was able to get the pin settled and place a perfect shot on him. He bounded maybe 40 yards and stood there in the darkness I could barely see him. Thinking I missed I heard him walking away and then what appeared to be a thrashing noise. Sure enough he had died right there 50 yards from my arrow.