Adisyn McConkey first saw this incredible palmated buck walk by her tree stand in 2021.
November 11, 2024
By Clifford Neames
“I was on my stand in 2021 and this palmated deer came by,” Adisyn McConkey said about her first encounter with the buck she now calls Moose. “He was not big enough to shoot then, but he grew into something a lot more interesting over time!”
During the 2022 season, he passed in front of her stand once more.
“Everyone in the valley had decided to let him grow, so I passed on that shot too,” Adisyn added. “He was beginning to show more of his potential then, but nowhere near the size he became over the next two years!”
By 2023, Moose was mostly nocturnal. Everyone was looking for his sheds, but only one side was found by a neighbor.
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The buck — nicknamed "Moose" — passed by her stand once again in 2022 before becoming nocturnal in 2023. “We all agreed to give him one more year, but after that the gloves would come off,” she smiled. “And I really wanted to be the one who got him!”
Adisyn thought the buck might come through the same area where she had seen him before and hunted there twice when the 2024 bow season opened. Moose was a no show on those hunts, but Adisyn’s boyfriend, Blake, moved a camera to watch the area, and got pictures of him on the night of October 26th.
More determined than ever to get him, she climbed into the ladder stand the next day just before daylight.
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“I could hear chasing in the dark as I sat there,” she remembered. “It was busy with smaller bucks after the does early in the morning, then it calmed down.”
After the locals had all agreed to let the buck grow through the 2023 season, "Moose" was given the green light for everyone in the area by the 2024 season. At 8 AM, the stillness was broken with a grunt coming from behind the stand. Adisyn peered into the thickets and spotted the palmated rack. Moose was back and only 50 yards away. Unfortunately, he turned and left right after she spotted him.
“I texted my Dad and my boyfriend,” she recalled. “And both of them said, ‘He will be back!’”
Forty minutes later she heard another grunt and Moose stepped into view. Adisyn waited until he hit an opening between the trees, then sent a broadhead into his vitals!
McConkey was determined to get a crack at the unique Wisconsin buck in archery season, and she did just that! Moose ran a few steps, paused, then took off again making it over a hill and out of sight.
“I was sure it was over, but I called my boyfriend to meet me at his grandfather’s house and the three of us made the recovery together,” she said.
The 6 1/2-year-old buck has not been scored yet, but there is no denying his name is a good fit. The measurer is going to have fun with this one!
