In July 2023, I noticed a buck on my WiseEye that I had never seen before, I was a bit surprised at how tall his rack truly was. My heart was set on taking him down.
Fast-forward to late October 2023, I’m out to bow hunt him. I sat in a ground blind 25 yards from an All Season Feeder, with my WiseEye watching. I’d had this buck on camera for months, even the day before I arrived. The only issue was the dry weather; my HuntControl data showed he preferred a more humid environment.
I hunted HARD for 6 days. According to HuntControl, the highest chance of his activity was that Thursday at 5:00 PM. I slipped out to the blind at 3:45 and watched countless deer make their rounds between me and the sendero behind the feeder. At 4:58, all the deer around me picked their heads up and looked over. All I saw was my target buck stick his head out of the mesquite trees and head straight to me. My heart sank to the bottom of my feet. I had buck fever like I’d never felt before. He waltzed in to about 19 yards, and I was just about to draw when, all of a sudden, a group of dove hunters about 300 yards on another property cranked up their ATV to pick up birds. All the deer in front of me, including Pimp, my target buck, picked their heads up, looked over the blind, and bolted. I tried to get him to stop, but it didn’t work. Bummed, I had to pack up the next morning and head home.
I hadn’t received a picture of my buck for over 2 months. Suddenly, I got a notification from HuntControl the week of Christmas that there was a deer in his most visited sendero. I checked my picture, and sure enough, it was him. I thought someone else had surely tagged him. I had to get back out there. I received pictures of him every day, morning and evening, like clockwork. On New Year’s Day, we arrived at New Ranch Outfitters with one goal in mind; to take the buck that had haunted my dreams for the past 6 months.
I read his data on HuntControl, and he preferred humid conditions. Perfect for the misty rainy conditions at the time. I knew it was now or never. I walked to the blind, about 120 yards from where I sat in October, with my 30-06. I watched 5 or 6 little bucks meander around the feeder. After a while, they cleared out. Then, I saw a deer standing by itself. I pulled up my binos, and my heart sank, just like it did back in October. Buck fever started all over again. I raised my rifle and took the 130-yard shot. My WiseEye captured him running after he was hit. He didn’t make it 60 yards from the spot I shot him. I have now completed the story of “Pimp,” the buck I spent so much time and effort trying to kill, all thanks to my WiseEye DataCam.