The Giant 2

 2017 came as any normal year. Preparation started early in July, with shooting on a daily basis being the normal in prep for the upcoming season. Always my biggest anticipation of the year being archery antelope, I make sure to be crisp in my shooting form, and shot execution.

 Starting off with a solid antelope buck two weeks into the season had my confidence high. With a marvelous stalk, and pinwheel of a 76 yard shot on my antelope, anticipation was high for what was to come. I was coming into form for the season. With a narrowly missed opportunity on a stud of a Montana bull elk. Motivation was at an all time high coming into the beginning of the whitetail rut. 

With the first two weeks of November being my favorite two weeks for any whitetail hunting, I had plenty of time to shoot and prepare for what I thought would be an awesome November. 

First two weeks of November came and went with many close calls on some great deer. With two buck tags in my pocket, I was fortunate to take a funky 4 point with my bow that had a busted pedicle, which I thought was a growth abnormality. His right antler dangling tines up, off to his right side created the illusion that the growth carried his antler down the side of his head. Upon inspection, he must have been hit by a car, with the entire right side of his skull broken, and healed back together in a twisted and strange manner. It was nice having a good meat buck to fill the freezer, but I was looking to top my archery buck from the year prior, scoring over 150 inches pope and young.

Thanksgiving, has always been a very solid time period for rutting whitetails. Bucks up on their feet and searching for does, makes for exciting sits in the deer woods. The possibility of having a chance at a buck of a lifetime is at an all time high. Little did I know, my Thanksgiving would take an unexpected turn that would affect the rest of my life.

Usually Thanksgiving morning you'll find me in a deer stand somewhere in the river bottoms of Western Montana. This year I decided to sit out the morning, and spend some time with the family. A strange change for those that know me. Having spent many days chasing deer, the rest would recharge my batteries, and allow a fresh comeback with a clear head. 

Approximately noon Thanksgiving morning, my cousin and I were T-boned at highway speeds heading to Thanksgiving dinner. Much of the day I do not recall. An SUV crossing traffic didn't see our light colored car in the bright sunshine of high noon. Ultimately connecting with my side of the vehicle, just in front of my feet. Losing consciousness instantly, a lot of details are still unclear to me on exactly what happened. 

I was rushed by ambulance to the nearest hospital. I stayed for hours undergoing tests to figure out the extent of the damage. The hospital was slightly underpowered to make a solid accusation of the extent of my injuries. Suspected neck and head trauma, with trauma to my right arm/shoulder was the broad diagnosis, but I was instructed to go to a nearby hospital that specializes in trauma for further testing. 

I was fortunate to leave that evening with a neck brace, and some sore cuts and bruises. As strange of a day as it was, my cousin and I, who was lucky to come away with very little physical damage, were able to head home with the rest of the family, and enjoy hugs, and a great Thanksgiving dinner that had waited just for us. 

With days after the accident being just as rough as I thought, I had a hard time getting in the deer woods. Unsure of how I would pull my bow back in crunchtime, I found myself sitting in my favorite deer area, waiting for a giant buck just 3 days after my accident. With my right side being in rough shape, and still in a neck brace, I knew I had an uphill battle when it came to releasing a fatal arrow at a whitetail deer. Luckily for me, that night ended with no shooters coming into range of my homemade blind on the ground. 

Two days later I found myself in the same place as I had sat prior. With a total of 5 days of healing under my belt, I was more confident in my ability to get my bow back. The muscle soreness and stiffness starting to subside, I knew It was time to get back out and work for the opportunity that I had been preparing for. 

That evening brought solid deer movement, with a handful of smaller bucks entering the field. With approximately 30 minutes left of shooting light, I could see a large bodied deer coming my way about 200 yards out. Pulling up my binoculars, I could see the tall frame of a mature looking deer. With no time to doubt myself, I picked up my bow, and settled myself into the best power position I could get my body into. The buck coming quickly, took the trail that would lead him 35 yards in front of my small dugout ground blind. 

With all my strength I was able to horse my bow back, with a little help from my knee, and settle into position. The awkwardness of the neck brace made it hard to look down my sight window. Unable to really move my neck, I relied heavily on my IQ bowsite to make sure things were inline since I was unable to use my normal anchorpoint. The buck stopped on his own, allowing me to take one last look at my IQ and level. With everything looking as good as I could make it. I released the arrow and heard one of the loudest cracks I had ever heard. Completely unsure of what had happened with the shot, the fear of shooting this deer in the shoulder became real. I quickly pulled up my binoculars and saw the deer start to stubble left, then stumble right. With an ending being an acrobatic flip backwards into the grass. I didn't see another flash of that deer. 

As it often goes with me, the first thing I do is dial up my Dad to tell him the news of what had just happened. Unable to be there with me, I relived the moment with him over the phone. 

As I started walking towards the spot of the shot, I was fairly overwhelmed. I’m not the type to hoot and holler. I tend to feel more of a sense of relief and calmness. But this time I was more excited than usual. I had overcome a lot to get to this point, to be able to harvest a buck of any caliber within the previous 5 days I had was truly humbling. I briefly looked for blood and started tracking towards where I already knew the deer was laying. This buck was a mystery to me. All I knew is that the buck looked mature, and he was tall. At that point in the season, that was all I needed to see. 

As I approached, my flashlight began to flash over white spots of the deers belly through the thick grass. What I discovered next had me fairly shocked. My thoughts of what the deer had on his head revolved around the idea that it was a 4 point, or 8 as they call it elsewhere. But immediately I realized this deer was basically a big two point! I had seen deer like this, but on a much smaller level. This deer, having main beams that were almost 20 inches long, was unlike any deer I had seen in my home state of Montana. Very solid mass, and overall frame made this deer fairly spectacular to look at. Genetics wasn’t on the side of this mature Western Montana Whitetail, but a caliber of deer I would take under most circumstances. 

The trials I had endured up to that point were some of the most challenging I had faced. With so much uncertainty, I could have hung up the bow, and focused more on myself, and the healing process. But with the ideals bestowed upon me at a young age, I wasn’t willing to sit back and watch my hard work go to waste. Physically it was challenging, but the muscle that was strengthened was my will to push forward and succeed. Failure was not an option. 

I have taken plenty of deer larger. I have taken very high caliber trophies of many species. To this day, that is one of the greatest trophies I have had the opportunity to take. That struggle brought me so much success later on in life. An irreplaceable experience I will never be  replaced.