Hunter: Clae Mathis
Points: 8 (4L, 4R)
County: Taylor
Season: 2022-2023
Hunt Story
This is the first buck that I have taken on this property that we bought two years ago. My wife killed her biggest buck ever off of it last year, but this one is my first off of it. I had pictures of two nice deer on this place since summer. This one had a much larger body, but the other was a much bigger racked buck. Neither of them had been in daylight a single time all the way through October. This buck named “Moe” started showing up in the food plot we plant on the opposite side of the property from where he was all summer. I had a plan that I would hunt this place three days in a row November 1, 2, and 3. November 1 I got skunked. November 2 I didn’t see anything until after I didn’t have any more camera light since I video my hunts for my YouTube channel. After camera light that evening some does were in the plot, and I started hearing some grunts. All of a sudden, a buck explodes out of the woods toward the does and chases them around the plot for a few. I could have shot him, but I wouldn’t have been able to video it, so I let him walk and snuck out. The next day on November 3, I had a good feeling the does would move earlier. Sure enough at 6:06 a lone doe came in to the back of the food plot. I watched her for about 30 seconds and there was “Moe” right behind her. He chased her out of plot and then posed up looking toward me. I rushed a shot while making sure I had my video camera framed up. I hit him a little back, but knew he didn’t run far before stopping. I snuck to the shot sight to see if I could see him. Sure enough he was standing 30 yards away. I had a quick second to shoot him again, but I couldn’t get on him in time before he trotted off. I let him trot off and came back with one of Scott Lopez’s dogs later that night. It is a good thing I did. There was no blood anywhere. We found him about 400 yards away and started the long uphill drag out. I weighed and cleaned him about 3:45 that evening just in time to get ready for work the next morning. He weighed 224 live weight which is one of the heavier bucks that I’ve shot. The video is live on my YouTube channel Out There Outdoors!
