Hunter hunting along a marsh

Phillip Shepherd

Information

  • Date Taken: 10/06/2019
  • Time Of Day: Evening
  • Method: Compound Bow
  • County: Calhoun County
  • Property: Private

I was having a horrible evening. I was recovering from the flu and couldn’t stop coughing. I only stayed in my tree stand so I didn’t disturb my mom who was hunting on the other side of the property. Just around dusk, a doe and a fawn come through and I was waiting for the to leave so I could leave when I heard some rustling in the corn to my left. I saw the body and thought it was just a doe. I was looking through trees so I could tell. Then he raised his head and my jaw hit the ground. He wouldn’t come out in the open and it was getting dark quick, so I grunted a couple of times. He grunted back and started pacing back and forth making a lot of racket but still wouldn’t come out. So I grunt more aggressively, which set him off. He started thrashing through some brush, tore up the ground with his antlers and squatted and peed on it. So I grabbed the branch next to me and shook it and started grunting even more aggressively. Then he stopped for like 30 seconds and it was getting real dark now, so something needed to happen quickly. I grabbed the branch again and shook it real hard which made him dart out into the opening. He stood broad side to me about 45 yards out. I was able to sneak a shot between two branches and took the shot with no light left to spare, and stuck him with a perfect lung shot.

He ran about 150 yards into the corn. He made us work way to hard to get him back out but we got him. 21.25” inside spread