HE SAID:

Editor's note: It's not like I control Lydia's spending or anything. She made me sound like such a tyrant. The big thing I do that she never did before - balance the checkbook! That's it! I swear!

So, on to the story of my success!



I hunt on my uncle's ranch near Hye, which is between Johnson City and Fredericksburg. My Dad came in this year and was in the stand with me when I took this deer - the biggest one I've ever seen alive!



My uncle had seen him within 50 yards of my feeder when we started the corn feeders in September. He had my cousin, Chandler, call me right away to let me know. I could tell right away that she wasn't kidding... So, that explains why I didn't sleep well for two months. The buck didn't show up until Sunday morning of Opening Weekend - and pretty late even then. I was getting disappointed that I wasn't going to see him and I needed to start shooting some deer so that I could get enough meat, but I really didn't want to scare him off if he was around.

So, it wasn't almost time to get out of the stand Sunday morning. I was just about to tell Dad to go on back, and that I was going to sit a little longer...

When he walked out, my Dad and I saw him at the same time. We said in unison, "OH CRAP, THAT'S HIM!" He walked right by his big cedar tree rub at 120 yards, next to my feeder. Then, he saw a doe directly between us at 45 yards and headed our way. The grass in the Hill Country is so tall from all the rain this year, I had to wait until he was about 55 yards out and turned broadside. I made a perfect shot. Everything was over in probably 5 minutes from the time I saw him. (And, the doe made the mistake of freezing, so she was soon on her short road to the cooler, too!)

I've never seen a buck like this except on TV shows. The way this deer acted, though, was like a completely different animal from any deer I've ever seen before. I'd read the phrase before in Outdoor Life or Field & Stream, but I never understood it until this year - "bull of the woods." In other words, he was the man. He's a 1-in-100,000 deer for a low-fenced ranch in the Hill Country. And he's at the taxidermist. So, in about 9 months to a year, Lydia and I will have to figure out exactly where he will be displayed! By that time, though, we should have a house, so maybe we'll find somewhere unobtrusive to my dear wife's sensibilities.

So, that's the best story of my hunting life. And for all of you who rely on the wonderful sausage I make every year, I now have enough venison for this year's New Year's sausage-making-fest!