March 28, 2012
By Tom Paul
After several missed opportunities, Tom Paul wasn't sure he'd get a shot at this Maryland Monster, but he was finally able to seal the deal on this Trophy Buck. Here's his story...
My hunting partner, Ryan Mazeska, and I spent many hours hunting this deer. It all started at the end of 2010 season when he showed up on a trail camera. We knew he was a good one even though one of his antlers didn't match the other, possibly due to an injury. We were hoping if he made it through the winter, we'd have a chance to 'fix his rack ' the following year.
Around 8:30 a.m. on November 8th, the deer walked right under Ryan, who tried to stop the deer with a soft bleat. The deer spooked and ran out about 20 yards. Ryan took a shot when he had a good opportunity and we were hopeful. We gave the deer a few hours then started to track him. It was looking good at first with the blood trail, but after a couple hours the trail vanished. We spent the next day walking and tracking hoping for something but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack! We were unable to recover the buck.
It was now shotgun season and I was fairly certain where the buck was living. I was in my stand for an afternoon hunt around 2:30 p.m. and around 4:45, I saw him walking, and he stopped broad side at 70 yards.
