July 24, 2012
By Reader Submission
Shane shot what we consider to be the buck of a lifetime on Sunday, November 20th at 9 a.m. on private land just outside of Dodgeville, WI. This was the second day of the Wisconsin nine-day gun deer season. It was a clear morning after a drizzly day on Saturday in which no deer were seen by any of the three members of our hunting party. Sunday morning started with a bang when I shot an 8-point buck at 8:30 am. Unfortunately I didn't hit it well and myself and the third member of our hunting party, Jerry Mulcahy, tracked for five hours and over two miles, eventually finding the buck. It was the best tracking job I've ever witnessed. Jerry was relentless and taught me a valuable lesson in perseverance.
In the meantime, Shane had three does sneak by him on his ridge shortly after 8:00 am. In this CWD area of Wisconsin, Shane could take either a doe or a buck, but Shane decided to pass on the does. His decision paid off when the 9-point buck followed the same route as the does about 8:30 am, sneaking down a ridge about 40 yards from Shane's stand. Shane knew it was a nice buck and aimed and took the shot when he had an opening. The buck ran down the ridge another 30 yards, spun and fell over. It was a perfect shot. After waiting a while to make sure the deer was dead, Shane discovered he'd shot what could be the buck of a lifetime. He got to sit and enjoy the buck another 4 hours while waiting for Jerry and I to return. When we finally got to see the buck, we couldn't believe our eyes. High fives and hugs were exchanged by all of us.
After getting back to our home town of Stoughton, WI, Shane had to get on the bus back to college at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. The first thing I did was take the buck over to Shane's Grandpa Lyle Anderson of Madison. Grandpa Anderson had hunted his whole life and had taught Shane and I everything about hunting and fishing. Grandpa Anderson had been unable to hunt the last couple of years due to poor health so this was a very proud moment for him to be able to see his grandson's great buck. We sat for over an hour exchanging deer hunting stories from years past.
After spending Thanksgiving together with the family, Grandpa Anderson passed away of a massive heart attack on Saturday November 26th at the age of 71. We are very blessed that Grandpa got to see Shane's buck as his last deer. I truly believe that Shane's buck of a lifetime was brought to him for a reason. We would not have taken any other "normal" deer for him to see. He'll forever be in our hearts. When we go to the woods, he will be with us to watch over us and guide us. -- Kevin Beale
Congrats on a great buck and story!
