After the heartrending loss of his daughter in 2004, Michael Devaney of Dallas, Georgia, traveled to Saskatchewan and shot a B&C typical. He returned to the same stand in 2005 and shot a near-record-book non-typical.
Back in September of 2005 my story "An Unbreakable Bond" appeared in Trails & Tails. It described a very special hunting relationship that developed between my 8-year-old daughter and me in the fall of 2003.
At the time, Emaleigh was fighting a courageous battle with Wilm's tumor, a very deadly type of childhood cancer. During her treatments, she was sometimes confined to a hospital bed for many days, causing her to become quiet and withdrawn. In an effort to cheer her up, her Uncle Brad and I spent many enjoyable hours watching deer hunting videos with her. Instantly, her passion was ignited. She became enthralled with watching those "heavy hitter" bucks.
Emaleigh fantasized about her first-ever white-tailed deer hunt with me, and I made plans to make that dream a reality. She looked forward to her first target practice session and the upcoming 2004 deer season. But her dream would never be realized. In January 2004, she lost her battle with the very aggressive cancer. Needless to say, it was the lowest point in my life. For a time, deer hunting was the last thing on my mind.
Shortly after her passing, however, a series of events unfolded that made available the opportunity to go on a whitetail "trip of a lifetime." Compared to the loss of my daughter, everything else seemed insignificant, and my first reaction was to turn down the offer. But with a great deal of loving encouragement from my wife, I finally agreed to go on the hunt with friends to Saskatchewan, Canada.
As I began to acquire necessary items for the trip, something odd happened. Because of our hunting connection that grew from Emaleigh's experience in the hospital, I began to use her room as my refuge. I stored most of my gear beside her bed as a symbol of our unbreakable bond. Each time I turned to close the door, I softly whispered a reminder that her absence would not hinder us from being together on this hunting adventure that I was about to embark upon. That chance trip, with Emaleigh's spirit always by my side, led to the fulfillment of a lifelong hunting dream.
A GIFT FROM HEAVEN?
On Nov. 12, 2004, the last full day of my hunt in Saskatchewan, I was sitting in the same stand for the fourth consecutive day. Just before dawn, with the temperature a frigid 9 degrees, I restlessly waited for the sun's rays to signal first shooting light. As daylight gradually transformed my bird's-eye view, I contemplated my decision, made earlier in the week, to let several good 140- to 150-class bucks pass.
At 8:45 a.m., I perked up when several does appeared and casually fed their way into the area. At 9 a.m., I heard the distinct sound of crunching snow. I perched my Browning .30-06 out the window of the box blind I was in, just in case it was him. I stared intently in the direction of the noise. Then, my eyes widened and heart raced with excitement as the elusive prize I had chased for years slowly eased into view. It was a wide-spreading typical giant!
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