IN THE COVER AT LAST
"It seemed to take forever," L.J. remembered. "We had a couple of hours of daylight left, and we knew that getting to or not getting to those cedars would likely make or break this hunt. When we finally got there, we quickly discovered that it was a very good setup -- a larger cedar behind a smaller one, with a space inside where we could tuck right in.

"As luck would have it, Spook had a pair of brush cutters in his pack, and he began trimming some branches so he could see ahead while shooting to either side. It wasn't long before he saw a doe about 100 yards away, then another one. 'He has to be around here somewhere,' he whispered. 'He's got to be keeping an eye on these does.'"

The tension mounted. Spook could see through the front cedar and could likely draw his bow undetected, but L.J.'s view was limited to the two sides. To kill this monster buck on film, both men would have to make the right decision at the last second and time their movements with pinpoint precision. A wrong move might alarm the buck and result in poor footage.

"Just as we were contemplating where the buck was most likely hiding out," L.J. continued, "Spook saw a small 8-pointer chasing a doe about 85 yards away. Now what? Should we grunt? Should we bleat? Should we try to get closer? Should we sit tight and do nothing? Spook decided we were in the best spot we could be and that time was still on our side. So instead of forcing the issue, we decided to let the hunt come to us. 'If we don't get a shot, at least we'll have a good chance to see where the buck is hanging out,' he whispered."

THE ACTION PICKS UP
The rest of the account comes from Spook's perspective.

"Now we were both glassing every inch of every blade of grass and every twig around us," Spook said. "Just as I lowered my binocular, I could make out a decent buck licking himself out in the CRP field. Before long, a doe took off and the buck followed. They ran right by us. L.J. and I both wondered, 'If the big buck is still around, why is he letting a 140-class buck run off with the doe? Maybe our big buck had a hot doe of his own. . . .'

"Next thing I knew, another doe stepped out of the same thicket that I thought I had seen the big buck enter. That's when I finally saw him again! But instead of following her, he turned in the opposite direction. She headed right for us and got within six yards. Eventually she passed directly downwind. I remember holding my breath, praying she wouldn't blow. Thankfully she just bolted and disappeared behind a large cedar.

"I then turned my attention to the big buck and could tell that he was working a scrape and drooling over a licking branch. When he finished that task, I watched him look around. I could tell he realized the doe was missing. He seemed to panic and turned in our direction. In spite of the wind, I could hear him grunting every step of the way. L.J. could hear him grunting, too, but he couldn't see the buck, so I had to give him a play-by-play account of what was going on.

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