By: Greg Haak

With early bow season behind us the annual gun season is underway in Wisconsin. Even though I gun hunt every year I don’t get very excited for it because I usually don’t see too much. Opening was uneventful like usual for my property. All I saw were two deer all weekend; a nubber and a little 6 point. Luckily deer activity always seems to pick up after opening weekend and I had off the whole week from work because business was slow. When Monday morning rolled around my alarm went off at 5:45 to get out to my stand; but since I was already irritated with the gun season I decided to go back to sleep. I finally got up around 8 am, ate breakfast and watched Sports Center, debating where I was going to hunt in the evening.

Around 9 am I decided to walk through a little strip of trees behind my parents figuring I wouldn’t see anything.  As I expected nothing was up but as I got to the field trail and was walking down the hill I looked up and saw something that didn’t look familiar about 250 yards away. I quick glassed it confirming it was a buck with a doe. I wasn’t sure if he was big enough to shoot but he looked like a decent 8 point. I knew I had to sneak about 10 yards down farther to get a shot. A few minutes later I was in position but wasn’t sure were the buck went!  I sat there for a little while and finally I saw the doe getting chased by the buck 150 yards away. I got my gun up and the buck turned and I could tell he was a 10 and could see one broken point, definitely a shooter. I clicked the safety off and just as I was about to pull the trigger he took off after the doe again. I lost him. I was reluctantly scanning the bottom just as a buck would that comes in to rattling looking for a fight. Then I saw him 100 yards away in the bottom of the corn field. I got my gun on him clicked the safety off, settled the cross hairs and pulled the trigger. The buck didn’t move. He stood there as healthy as could be. I slowly loaded another shell looked through the scope. I saw the culprit; a broken sapling laid 5 feet in front of me!! I quickly moved up a little settled the cross hairs for the second time and again shot, same result as the first shot, a clean miss. I couldn’t believe it; I looked in front of me and noticed a second broken sapling. Ironically the buck ran ten yards towards me, stopped, picked up a whole ear of corn and started eating. I stood up this time ensuring no brush was between me and the buck laid my cross hairs on him for the third time and pulled the trigger. This time I drilled him and he ran 40 yards and pilled up. 

When I walked up to my buck I was pleasantly surprised. He was a typical 12 with a broken g3 and g4 on opposite sides. As soon as I got him home I got the tape out and grossed him at 151 3/8 with the broken point; if he was complete he would be around 165”. What an awesome day. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky then good.