Published: October 29, 2009 11:31 pm      

Tooney Hill’s Opening Day Buck

A massive eleven point buck approached Tooney Hill’s stand site warily and stopped for just a second as something just didn’t look right. Taking one more step, the buck froze for an instant as he presented the perfect shot. With a simple click of a camera shutter, Hill’s season changed, even before it had begun. From the moment the trophy buck came into Hill’s sights via his game camera, the expert bowhunter thought of little else except harvesting the monster buck with his bow.

Tooney Hill and his cousin Rick Rigdon are hunting buddies and they were working together and had approximately eight cameras set out in various locations in East Mississippi trying to locate decent bucks. Though Tooney has harvested many deer with his bow, this buck was by far the best he had seen to date. “We had our Moultrie game cameras out and located this deer the week of July 4th,” Hill said excitedly.

“We watched him on game cameras for quite a while and then he just disappeared,” he said. “Finally about a month ago the buck reappeared and established a daily routine.”

           

View from a Distance

 

The buck’s rack appeared even bigger while still in velvet. The veteran hunter was careful not to spook the buck by leaving unnecessary scent in the area while occasionally checking his camera. Hill did keep mental notes as he “watched” the buck on camera week by week before the monster eventually shed his velvet about two weeks before opening day of archery season. “I could hardly sleep at all during the nights leading up to opening day,” said Hill.

Opening afternoon finally arrived and Hill got situated in his blind early and prepared for the buck’s arrival. “I don’t hunt in tree stands, so I bought a five by five blind to hunt on the ground to conceal my movement,” Hill said. It didn’t take long before a couple of small bucks came in and began feeding and milling around. Harvesting those bucks never crossed Hill’s mind, however, as he had set his sights on the trophy buck in the camera. After a short while those deer left and Hill turned his attention towards the candid camera buck.

About 30 minutes later Hill detected movement approaching his stand. Sure enough, it was the big boy himself. “He came out and walked to within 35 yards but I couldn’t get a good draw and shot,” said Hill. Resisting the ever present temptation to fling an arrow towards the deer before the time was right was very hard indeed, but something every veteran hunter must learn to handle. So Hill let him walk away!

A few minutes later the trophy buck walked back in and came within 15 yards of Hill’s stand. “I was shaking and breathing so hard I didn’t know if I could make the shot,” repeated the excited hunter. The buck finally turned and offered a broadside shot. “As I drew back my Matthews Monster bow, the buck turned slightly and quartered away from me,” said Hill. Hill’s aim was straight and true but the arrow struck the deer a little far back as it turned just as he released the arrow.

           

Followup

 

The excited hunter could only watch as the buck ran about 70 yards and disappeared out of sight. “There was a pretty good blood trail and I knew I had stuck him,” advised Hill. The monster buck only ran about 250 yards before expiring. With a little blood trailing experience, coupled with knowledge of the lay of the land, Hill was able to track the buck and find him in about an hour’s time.

“I probably would never have killed this buck without the help of my cousin Little Rick Rigdon,” said Hill. “I killed my first bow buck with his Browning about four years ago.” And it’s obvious to see the passion that Hill has developed for hunting deer with a bow. Since that initial bow kill, Hill has harvested nearly a dozen deer with his bow, but none approaching this behemoth.

“The effort we put forth really paid off!” Hill said. And that’s an understatement to say the least. Hill and Rigdon’s team effort and pre-hunt scouting, practicing and pre-season work while utilizing state of the art game cameras paid off big time. In the process, the Dekalb resident harvested the buck of a lifetime!



Contact Mike Giles at 601-917-3898

or e-mail him at Giles1958@bellsouth.net