5 minute read

SOUTHERN GIANT

from Big Game Illustrated- Issue 31

by Big Game Illustrated

from Big Game Illustrated- Issue 31, page 74

Article from: Big Game Illustrated- Issue 31

SURPRISE BUCK

By Austin Ronyk

Opening day of Saskatchewan archery mule deer season arrived and I was out searching for a target buck.

To my surprise, it did not take long and I found a target buck. I spotted him deer feeding around supper time. As I watched him, he slowly made his way over a hill out of sight. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a location that I was familiar with, so I started doing some digging and located the landowner. Lucklily, the landowner got back to me quickly, so I decided to head back and see if I could find him again before dark.

Conditions were excellent for archery mule deer hunting so I figured might as well not waste any time waiting around. I got back to where I spotted him, and slowly walked a couple hundred yards through a wheat field before spotting the deer again. The blustery wind was in my face, gusting regularly over 30km/h and creating the perfect opportunity for me to move in close enough for a shot, undetected.

In just a few minutes, I was able to crawl through the wheat and get within 15 yards of the buck. I was very confident in my position so from there I knew that it was just a waiting game. I waited and waited for him to present a shot. Suddenly, there as a change and I felt the thing that archery mule deer hunters dread the most. I started to feel the wind on the back of my neck so I knew it was likely going to be over in moments. As quickly as I felt it, I looked up to see he putting his nose in the air. Unexpectedly, he started walking right at me, leaving me no shot as I hoped that he would stop and turn. He did not, instead he walked right in to three yards and just stared at me before taking off! The perfect setup did not work so well after all and I could do was watch him bound away.

A few days later, the morning of September 4th, I drove by the same area and spotted him out in the field. I watched him through the spotting scope until he bedded down on the side of a hill so I decided to go after him once again. As I was walking in, trying to pinpoint exactly which bush he was bedded in and thinking that I must be starting to get close, the buck

“I sat there, eagerly waiting for him to stand, while focusing on staying calm for the shot and hoping to avoid a repeat scenario with the wind on the back of my neck.”

jumped up right in front of me and took off over the hill! I will admit that I was really starting to get down on myself, thinking, “I just blew a stalk that should’ve been relatively easy!” Despite my disappointment, I slowly walked over the hill to see if I could spot him again. Sure enough, there he was again in the middle of a thick canola fi eld! I laid down and would watch him through the binoculars until he would look away then I would slowly slide my bow ahead and inch myself down the side of the hill over thorns and cactuses with little to no cover. It was painfully slow but seemed to be eff ective. To my surprise, after three hours of doing this I got to the edge of the canola fi eld and now had 200 yards of canola to get through. Anyone who has crawled through canola knows that is not an easy task. Another two hours of painfully slow crawling and I found myself fi nally on the other side of fi eld and was able to get within 20 yards of the bedded buck once again.

I sat there, eagerly waiting for him to stand, while focusing on staying calm for the shot and hoping to avoid a repeat scenario with the wind on the back of my neck. Finally, after almost two hours of sitting, he slowly stood up. He then took a couple steps away and turned just enough for me to have a clear shot. The arrow hit him perfectly and went straight through. I watched him run about 40 yards then turn around. It was a crazy scene as we locked eyes right before he started wobbling and fell over. It was a season and a hunt that I will never forget.