"Big buck shows himself!"

Due to the earlier rain storm, the leaves were silent under my feet. Making my way to my stand, I noticed movement to my right, but over 300 yards away. Using my binocular's, I glassed through the tall grass and made out the tips of thick antlers, occasionally dropping out of sight as the deer made his way down the far treeline. I decided to pass on my stand, and slowly made my way to the corner of the property where I could possibly get a shot at the buck, if he crossed the property line. The only problem was that he was on the adjacent property, and trespassing was out of the question. I found a good spot to settle in, and to ready myself just in case the deer crossed my path. I only had an hour of daylight left, and the clouds were rolling in again. Two big does fed my way, oblivious to the predator only 50 yards away, bow in hand and ready to silently slip an arrow into the right spot. They fed slowly, but kept looking over their shoulder at something that caught their attention. Was it that buck, or just another doe....

Time seemed to drag on, and the wind had picked up. The does stepped into the treeline 30 yards away, but I didn't take a shot with the wind, and the thick brush in front of me. Patiently, I waited to see what had made the does nervous. I was using my binoculars to look deep into the woods that ran down the adjacent property, hoping to see movement, and possibly have a buck step onto the property where I could shoot. I stood up to get a glance over the thick brush, and low and behold......There HE was!

Suddenly, my heart was pounding through my chest, and I only heard the sound of blood rushing through my veins. I HAD to calm my breathing down, and ready myself for a shot if given the chance. "Don't look at the horns, don't look at the horns!", was all I could think of, but, all I could do was watch, as he marked a tree limb with his scent, and made his scrape just 80 long yards away. I was very tempted to step over into the adjacent property but I knew that was not the right thing to do....So, again I waited, for him to make his move.......He never did.
This was the biggest deer I had ever seen in person....EVER! Darkness wrapped around me as daylight dissipated, and the sun disappeared to the West. The buck vanished with the darkness, never realizing that he had been so close to death. I clicked my arrow back into it's quiver, grabbed my backpack, and made my way out and back to reality.....My mind and adrenaline raced to the "what if's" of the hunt, and dreamed of the next chance at the big boy. I thanked God for the opportunity, and for the sighting of such a massive animal. Maybe I'll get another chance.....I can only hope for the day. Always a friend, Jeff