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Evelyn Pionessa with her 10-point whitetail buck. The brute sported 26-inch main beams, a 21-inch inside spread, 5½-inch base circumferences, 9½-inch G2s and a 10¾-inch G3. |
An unforgettable hunt
It was a wintry December day, and one of the food plots showed fresh hog sign. In hopes of killing some of the hogs, my husband, Jerry, wanted me to accompany him hunting. The thought of getting dressed for the cold wasn’t thrilling, but Jerry convinced me it would be fun. His plan was for us to sit together in a double stand and harvest hogs.
As always with hunting and nature, you never have control over the circumstances.
The food plot and stand were situated between a black jack oak ridge and the outer edge of a creek swamp. We saw a couple small young bucks that left abruptly as if spooked. We were certain it wasn’t because of us. Perhaps a hog or larger deer startled them.
We heard something walking in the dry leaves. The sounds of leaves crunching and antlers hitting tree branches approached from our right.
Jerry elbowed my ribs. I thought, you’d have to be deaf not to hear those noises. Then Jerry elbowed my ribs again. The third elbow to the ribs was my signal to get ready. Just then a monster buck stepped into the opening, with gait like that of a moose.
The gun rest on the front of the stand was too low to use while seated. I immediately crouched behind my rifle, clicked off the safety, then realized my mitten would not allow for pulling the trigger. I used my teeth to remove the mitten. It seemed like an eternity before I finally could cheek my rifle and align the scope on the buck.
All the while, Jerry studied the buck through binoculars. Realizing I had removed my safety and was ready to shoot, he said, “It’s him.”
For the past three years, Jerry had been watching this buck on trail cameras. He found a shed from the deer once but had never actually seen him.
The magnificent buck started walking away from us. He turned slightly to the right, but not enough for a shot. I was worried he might just walk out of sight. Then he turned quartering away to his left. I had him in my scope, with the crosshairs behind his shoulder and ribs, about midway down his body. Brown hair filled the entire reticle; I took the shot.
The recoil knocked me backwards, so I didn’t see the buck’s reaction. All I saw was him running away. Jerry said there wasn’t any reaction: no jumping up, stumbling, leaping, nothing. He just ran away as if spooked.
I relived the shot in my mind: Did I let out a breath and squeeze, or did I jerk the trigger? I shot totally by instinct, no talking to myself, just reactions only.
Jerry said we should wait a few minutes before looking for the deer, since he did not fall immediately after the shot. I don’t know how long we waited, but about the time we were ready to get down the two small bucks reappeared. They sniffed the ground where the big buck had been standing when I shot it. It seemed like an eternity before they left so we could get our things out of the stand and back on the ground.
We walked to the location of the shot. Sure enough, there was a lot of blood on the ground. Jerry instructed me to stay put and walked out of sight. A few minutes later he reappeared, his face expressionless. My mind was reeling. Then he hugged me and whispered that I was the luckiest woman in the world. I asked a dozen questions and he eluded all of them.
Walking up to the buck all I could say was, “Oh my gosh!” His antlers seemed to be waist high on me. He was magnificent — a beautiful, symmetric 10-point rack, 26-inch beam, 21-inch inside spread, 5½-inch base circumference, 9½-inch G2, 10¾-inch G3. The shot was a perfect hit to the heart.
The excitement lasted all day: photos, phone calls, deer processor, measurements, taxidermist and more. In two months we will have the rack scored officially. It’s doubtful he’ll make Boone & Crockett, but it doesn’t matter. I’m just thrilled to have taken a buck of a lifetime and that I shared it with Jerry.
Jerry tells his friends that it takes true love to let your wife shoot the big buck you’ve been watching for years. — Evelyn Pionessa
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