Hunter: Heath Hudson
Points: 8 (4L, 4R)
County: Baldwin
Season: 2015-2016
Hunt Story
I got in the stand over looking a young 2-year-old planted pine stand at daylight on opening day and sat there for 20 minutes when my buddy called and said he had an 8-pointer on the ground already. It was so old he didn't have any teeth. I said you lucky joker, you gotta be kidding me, told him congrats and quietly hung up the phone. About 10 minutes later I see this little deer come from my right and walked 10 yards from me and goes behind my stand and crosses the creek. This deer was so small I thought it was another little button buck, like the many I saw all of last year. I almost raised my binoculars to see if it was a button buck, but the deer was so close I didnt want to spook it. Turns out that it was a doe in heat. Two to three minutes go by, and I hear what sounds like a grunt out to my right, and I say to myself no there ain't no way that is a grunt this early in the season. Then I hear what sounds like a deer running. Now that caught my attention. Along with the approaching footsteps at a high rate of speed, I continue to hear a lot of low grunts, lower than I have ever heard. I didn't think anything of it because all I saw last year were young bucks chasing does. All of a sudden all I saw was rack, and I said oh this is a nice deer. Then he turned and I saw his width, and I immediately grabbed my rifle. I am a right-handed shooter, and he is 20 yards broadside directly to my right, so I placed the gun on fire and shot a double lung shot left handed without even thinking twice. Only the second deer in 13 years of hunting I have ever shot left handed. He ran 30 yards and fell in the creek. I couldnt believe how big his rack and body was. He is by far the biggest deer ever taken by me or anyone else in my family.
