My Good Luck Charm - Illinois
Freddy and his biggest buck yet.
Hunter: Freddy Lagos
Cameraman: Jody Davis
Let me start by thanking my good friends Ted and Tina Sprague and our guide Dan down at Eagle Lakes Outfitters. Oh yeah, and my good luck charm and buddy, Jody Davis, even though he is a Cubs fan. November 14, 2008 is a day that will live on in my mind forever. Not only for the reason of the story, but it is by far my best day of deer hunting in 20 years of sitting in a deer stand.
The morning started out cold and crisp. It had gotten down into the low 20’s that night and a heavy frost covered the Evolved Harvest turnip patch we were sitting on that morning. No sooner had we gotten up in the stand and got our camera gear setup, we heard the crunching leaves of an approaching deer. Through the darkness we could barely make out a silhouette of the deer’s body, but could see enough to know that it was a small bodied animal, probably a doe or young buck. After darkness gave way to light, we made a positive ID that it was indeed a young doe, or a “tasty”, as we like to say at the office. My mind was already made up, my Hoyt was in my hand, and I was ready to fill the freezer. Suddenly her head went up, she looked into the food plot, and turned, then bolted like a bat out of…well you know where.
I turned to see what all the commotion was about. All I could say was HOLY @#$$$#@! There at the end of the turnip patch stood 3 awesome bucks. A small 8 pointer, a really decent 10, and a BOMBER 8 point. The big 8 had to be pushing the 150 mark if not better. He had 12 inch G 2’s and G 3’s, and his brow tines were at least 8 inches and curved back to the inside so that they almost touched. I still dream about that buck!
I immediately picked up my True Talker grunt call and got to work. The big 8 was posturing and acting aggressively towards the smaller bucks. By this time several does had showed up to the party and the big guy wasn’t letting the smaller bucks have any fun. I started grunting and got the attention of the smaller 8 point while the big 8 and the 10 were pushing each other around. One last grunt had the smaller buck on his way, ears pinned back and hair standing on end, you would of thought he ruled the roost by the way he was acting, but that was not the case. It’s funny because I distinctly remember thinking to my self, “Oh my God, is this really happening? I’ve seen this so many times on TV but its actually happening right here in front of my eyes.” It was awesome! After further studying the buck, we decided that he was a bit too small to shoot, but boy did he put on a show. Walking to within 20 yards of the stand and turning quartering away for a perfect shot, if only it had been one of the other bucks.
That afternoon I decided to sit the same stand we had for the morning hunt. Knowing there were some good bucks around and that the wind was still in our favor. On our way in that afternoon I took the time to scent drag the entire turnip patch. With hot does being in the area I knew that this had the potential to increase my odds, and it did! About four o’clock I looked up at the end of the turnip patch and who was standing there? The 10 pointer from the morning that was fighting with the big 8, he stood there nose up in the wind, scent checking the turnip patch for hot does. After a couple of minutes, I could see that he was getting a whiff of the scent drag. He put his nose to the ground, sniffed a few more times, and was on his way. Once again I could not believe what was taking place before my eyes.
The buck put his nose on the ground and followed the scent drag as if we had a production meeting and read the script to him. He walked past the stand facing me, but never presented an ethical shot, but as he passed us, that was about to change. As he walked passed the stand, the shot angle began to change from a head on, to a hard quartering away shot. My Katera came to full draw, I followed him with my TruGlo Range Rover, and at 32 yards I released. I remember watching my arrow pass through my sight window and pounding the buck in his chest, right on the crease of the leg, luckily the shot was perfect. The buck went forty yards and crashed. I went crazy! But for all of you out there that know me, believe it or not, I did not cry. Honest, I didn’t cry, and I’ve got the video to prove it.
After calling my wife and daughters to tell them that daddy just shot his biggest ever, we got down to recover my buck. Like I said, the buck only went about forty yards and went down in sight so the tracking job wasn’t too long. Before I knew it I had my hands on my biggest buck ever. I had been waiting for this day since I was a little boy, and finally it had arrived. Other than my wedding day and the births of my children, it was the best day of my life. What was really special about this hunt was I got to share it with my buddy J.D. I call him my good luck charm because he was with me in Manitoba when I shot my very first buck ever, and now he was there for my biggest buck ever. Needless to say, the next time I’m in the deer woods, I know without a doubt who I want behind the camera, my good luck charm, Jody Davis!
Again I would like to thank my friends down at Eagle Lakes Outfitters, Ted and Tina Sprague and our awesome guide Dan. Jody Davis for giving up hunting time to film for me, my wife and daughters for their unwavering love and support of my passion for the outdoors, and of course the good Lord up above. Without him none of it would have been possible. For an awesome Pike county hunt contact Eagle Lakes Outfitters. Believe me when I say that Pike County is NOT a bunch of hype, it’s the real deal when it comes to deer hunting.