Hunter: Eric Byce
Points: 9 (4L, 5R)
County: Marion
Season: 2015-2016
Hunt Story
With the early morning hunt a bust with blaze orange activity, I put plan B in action, moved to another location, and began a corrugated series of movements to get close enough to surprise a legal, quality buck. Stealth was the key as this doe dashed from the thicket 12 yards in front of me. Her speed of departure spooked the big buck, but because he had not seen my movements, he stood at attention darting his attention from the doe to me; this gave me the time to ensure his entry into the WMA quality buck hit list. Because the buck was on the other side of the thicket, it took about 4 minutes to determine what was tines and what was sticks. Finally, soft light reflected off his antlers, as he looked back at the doe, I could clearly see nice character in two split beams and an inside spread well outside 15 inches. Calm, tense serenity ended as the decision was made his rack exceeded standards, and the pursuit for a quality buck on public land ended with a lifelong memory, championed with the success of a plan to overcome the odds with persistence, belief and confidence. These qualities instilled in a "gene pool of outdoor passion and performance" as a son of a lone, nomadic hunter, Buck Ashe.
