Oklahoma Hunter Shoots Target Buck That's Locked Up with Another Giant

Breaking News Buck

In November 2021, I was driving to town and saw a large buck chasing does on a piece of land near where I have permission to hunt. At that same time, I saw a big 8-point buck competing for the same does. I decided to move cameras and my tree stand around to this area. I bowhunted hard for three days, but nothing!

On the fourth day of trying to arrow this deer I named “Tree Trunk,” I finally got trail camera pictures of him and Big 8 (the other buck). They were on the camera just one minute apart, so I knew they were competing for the same does. 

The Hunt

On Nov. 19 we had very high winds in our area. So, I took to the ground to continue hunting him, since the wind was blowing 45 mph. I was still-hunting in heavy timber when I spotted him in his bed. I was about 85 yards from my tree stand, and if I would have taken another step, he would’ve busted me. He was looking in my direction when I saw him, so I just backed out.

I was nervous about my chances at Tree Trunk since the next day was the gun season opener.

On Nov. 20, bright and early, I grabbed my gun instead of my bow. That morning I was just sitting and waiting for some action when I looked over my left shoulder into a wheat stubble field. About 250 yards away, I saw a large buck acting very strange. I couldn’t see very good in the wheat stubble since it was about 16 inches tall. 

I finally turned in the tree stand to look with my binoculars and realized it was Big 8, and he was locked up with another deer. He was dragging the other deer across the stubble field! 

I wasn’t sure how to handle the situation. I got my phone out and texted our game ranger. I asked him how it works if you shoot a deer that is locked with a dead deer. He told me to take a picture, and he would get me a carcass tag for the dead one and I’d tag the deer I shot. 

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The Kill(s)

So, I sat in my tree stand thinking, "Do I wait on Tree Trunk to show up, or shoot Big 8 locked up out there in the wheat field?" I decided to shoot Big 8. However, when I went out to recover him, I got the surprise of my life.  

Tree Trunk had been in the battle. I was shocked at what I discovered. Sometime after 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 19 and 7:00 a.m. on Nov. 20, there had been a battle between Big 8 and Tree Trunk. Tree Trunk lost, and I finally could put my hands on him.  

Tree Trunk and Big 8 together, the hunt of a lifetime!