Guest Blog: VA Father-Son Team Scores Big Buck
Mike: I wanted to share a memorable hunt for my Dad, and especially for me. Dad is my hero, best friend, and he is the reason I hunt in the first place. He turned 53 this year and celebrated his 30th wedding anniversary. I am blessed to have amazing parents (and for my mom to put up with us). Now onto the hunt from last November.
It was the second Saturday of muzzleloader season here in Loudoun Co, VA. We were hunting a farm we have managed for 10 years, and we are finally seeing the results. We had been hunting a big buck dubbed "Sling Shot" all season. Three days earlier I had a close encounter with heavy-racked deer we had never seen before, but I was not able to close the deal.
Around 10 a.m. Dad saw a buck, quickly realized it was a shooter and took the shot. He called me, and I headed over to help look for it. Blood was very sparse early on, and the buck ran a ways and piled into a tall, thick cornfield. We searched awhile, but the sun was warming things up and there was little sign. We were feeling pretty down.
Then, to make matters worse, we heard the combine fire up—unbelievably, the farmer began cutting the field, on this day of all days! We called a friend to help us track, and we hurriedly began looking again. Buried in a thick row of corn, my dad yells," Jumped the buck!" He bolted and crossed a road; panic set in. We followed and found that, thankfully, he appeared to still be on the property.
It was a tough decision, but we decided to back out and come back after lunch. We had been on the trail a short time when we saw a white belly in the weeds--there was Dad’s biggest buck to date! We ran to the deer and after many hugs, high fives and pictures we soaked up the moment. He ended up scoring 142 5/8, but who cares about score? It was a roller coaster ride of emotions, a hunt with my dad I will never forget.
If you take anything from this story, it is to never give up, we owe it to the animal to make every effort and then some to recover it. And we are truly blessed to share these moments in the woods with our family and friends. Most of you here on BIG DEER are like family to me.---Thanks for reading, Grant Skidmore
You should be here. You bring alot to the discussion. Hope all is well with your Dad.
thinking and understanding, all in the name of our passion! have a great weekend, shoot ya'lls bows!
Everybody have a great weekend.
thanks for your support!!
buck, good luck to you and your father in future hunts and with everything. Times are rough, but you gotta push on man. I feel ya though.
Glad to see you're sticking around. I missed the brouhaha but I know personally how easy it is to get worked up about something we all love so much. None of would keep coming back if we didn't feel so strongly about hunting and the community here that Mike helped to create.
Have a good weekend brother!