Hunter: Bob Caton
Points: 10 (5L, 5R)
County: Monroe
Season: 2016-2017
Hunt Story
I arrived in the 'loading dock' stand at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 16. This stand faces a small foot plot which is surrounded on all sides by a mix of hardwoods and pines. The loading dock is not hunted all that often because it is in the far corner of my hunting club's property. Our food plots have not greened up because of the extreme drought, however, I was optimistic this area had a lot of activity because not many people spend time there. It was a beautiful morning to hunt, lots of activity with the squirrels and chipmunks in the hardwoods behind me. At 7:30 a.m. I heard a deer in the woods directly behind my stand. He was walking through the hardwoods looking for acorns, not chasing does or exhibiting other rut tendencies. Initially, I could not see his rack—the foliage and trees were thick. However, I did catch a glimpse of his body and immediately knew he was a big deer. I stood up in my ladder stand, turned around, hoping to catch a better view. Within 45 seconds, I saw his rack. It was thick and had 5 points on the near side. I quickly raised my Remington 30.06 and drew a bead. He continued to walk perpendicular to my stand, but he remained in the thick stuff so I worried I would not get a shot. The buck continued his stroll and, luckily, he got himself in an spot between two trees. I knew it was now or never. Shot fired. He stammered, walked 10 yards and fell against a tree. I waited 15 to 20 minutes, climbed down to have a look. I was very excited to bag this 10 pointer who weighed in at 180 pounds. Interesting, as I was dragging him out, another 8-pointer showed up. He had full sight of me, my truck and this downed buck. The 8-pointer hung out for 30 seconds, then boogied out of the area. You never know when one will show up.
