The Pay Off - Nebraska
Cody & his dad with the Freak
Cody and Split.
Hunter: Cody Butler
Cameraman: Mr. Butler
Well this story starts way back in the summer months of 2008 while I was starting to scout and film deer, watching them grow giant velvet antlers. The month was July and I had just gotten off work at the Taxidermy Shop here in town. I was headed down to what we call our south timber to see what kind of bucks were in the area. Just to the west of the trees was a soy bean field so I had a good feeling that the deer would be coming out to feed on the green leaves of the beans. I got down there around 5 p.m. and set up, sitting in the middle of the bean field. Some does soon started to come out into the field. About a half an hour after the does had entered the field four giants stepped out. I noticed right away that two of them would be on my hit list for the year. All four of them came out about 400 yards down the field, and from my angle, it was hard to get the video camera on them. So instead I just looked at them through the spotting scope.
The next day I got my Stealthcams ready and took one of them down to where I had seen the deer come out. Five days later I went down to check on the Stealthcam. I was amazed. In five days I had 854 pictures. You could say I was pretty much going nuts and couldn’t wait to take the card home and see what the pictures were.
When I got home I put the card into my computer. The first picture was one of the giants I had seen just a few days prior. The first thing I noticed about him was that he was a very tall main frame 5 x 5. After looking closer I noticed that his G2 on the left antler was split. From that day on he had earned the name Split. I kept going through the pictures and I was amazed that all four of the bucks were on there. In fact there were multiple pictures of all of them. The other of the two bigger ones earned the name Freak, or the drop tine buck. We had seen him the last two seasons and knew he would be a great deer this year. The funny thing was he didn’t used to have a drop tine. The first year that my dad and I saw this deer he was a main frame 5 x 5. At this time he was a three and a half year old with great potential. At some point in that year the buck had injured one of his legs. As a result the next year his left antler grew a bit funny and added a drop tine. At four and a half he was a great deer, but still needed one more year. The other two deer I named Player (or wide five) and Blades. The wide fives nick name was Player because I have different pictures of him licking does. Blades got his name because of his blade like brow tines. We estimated Player to be a 3-1/2 - 4 year old deer. Even though he was a beautiful ten point he still needs another year to be a true giant. We knew Blades was 3-1/2 and for sure needed another year or two. My heart was set on shooting Freak or Split. Even though I had pictures of other giant whitetails on my farm, these two studs stood out in my mind.
Well September 15 rolled around which is the opening day of the Nebraska bow season. Scott Enloe and Scott Carpenter were here, and Scott’s son Hunter had just harvested a nice Kansas buck with his TC. It was now my turn to try to get me a deer on film with my Hoyt, and we hunted that evening. Some does came out early, but no sign of any of the bucks that I had on camera. We were just starting to think about getting down when I looked up and saw a good 8- point coming down the field, and I told Scott to get ready. I drew my Hoyt and let the Beman fly. The arrow hit its mark and I knew we had a nice 130 to 140 inch deer down. We went back to the truck and looked at the footage. We noticed I hit the deer a little bit far back but still good for liver and maybe lungs. Still to this day, I don’t know how, but we never found that buck. Being the hunter I am, stuff like this kills me and bugs me for a long time, but this was just the start of a hard year.
My dad and I started to hunt hard after the two Scott’s and Hunter headed back home. We hunted every day and still had no luck getting one of these giant bucks. The weather was bad, it was raining hard all the time, and we couldn’t get the crops out. This made the hunting very hard because the deer were staying in the corn fields and not in the trees, or under our stands for that matter, but we never gave up. Finally I shot a smaller 8- point and was tickled to death and happy to have something on the ground. We still kept hunting hard, and we knew rifle season was just around the corner.
Finally the weather started to shape up and the crops were out. It was now November and only a few days left until rifle season. Now I’m a diehard bow hunter but after the hard year I was ready to reach out and touch one with the gun. November 15 finally came and we were ready to rock and roll. Scott Carpenter was back and he would film me. My dad would go to the other side of the river. That morning we didn’t get a deer but little did my dad know that that night would be one of the greatest evenings of his life. Here’s his story in his own words.
"November 14, the night before the 2008 Nebraska rifle season, Cody, Scott, and I sat around the kitchen table and discussed the next morning’s plan. Only one camera and two hunters made it difficult to decide which hunting area would be the best chance to take a monster buck and get it on film. We finally decided to send Cody and Scott to the grass patch on the lease. We had seen several large bucks in this area and were confident it would be our best chance.
We awoke opening morning to great weather—no wind, no frost on the ground, and a perfect day ahead of us. The only down side was we were hunting with a full moon so we weren’t sure how well the deer were going to move in the morning. Ten minutes after I got in my Ameristep blind, I heard deer splashing in the river just below me. I could see six deer making their way from the food plot I was on, to their bedding area across the river from me. It was 45 minutes before shooting light. I thought this was really going to be a great day, seeing deer this early, but as it turned out, they were the only deer I would saw that morning. Little did I know, the evening hunt would soon change my morning disappointment.
I arrived at the Ameristep blind around 3:30 p.m. It was a beautiful afternoon and I was really enjoying watching all the birds and squirrels running around. Just watching nature is very relaxing to me. An hour went by and I began to see some does slowly making their way out of the bedding area and down to the river to get a drink. This went on for about a half hour. Then all of a sudden, I heard some running and crashing around in the timber. I looked to my right just in time to see a 140 inch 10-point chasing does. I reached for my rifle, got set up, and was just seconds from pulling the trigger when I caught movement to my left. I swung around and my heart started pumping. Freak, one of the deer Cody and I had been chasing all bow season was 100-yards away, and closing. I hurried and got set up on this monster whitetail, waited for him to step into my shooting lane and squeezed the trigger. The buck dropped right in his tracks. I was so excited I could hardly think straight, but at the same time I wished that somebody could have been there to film it."
I was beyond happy for my dad that night. Scott and I had heard that shot, and I was on the phone right away seeing what happened. When my dad answered the phone I couldn’t believe how excited he was. Well Scott and I got to the deer first because he shot it on our side of the river. When we saw that big boy lying on the ground we ran to it like kids in a candy store. Both of us were very happy for my dad.
Now it’s on to my story. Opening day was finally here for the Nebraska gun season. Scott Carpenter and I were locked and loaded and ready to put the smack down on a giant whitetail. The first morning was cold. We saw a lot of deer including a couple nice bucks. They just weren’t quite what I was looking for. Scott and I hunted hard all day and even had an encounter with a beautiful eight point that is at least 23 inches wide. I rattled him in, it was pretty cool, but the buck never gave me a shot. Day one was now over and seeing my dad shoot Freak had gotten me pumped up to shoot a giant for myself. I hunted hard for the next four days—still not getting the buck I wanted.
It was day five and I was beginning to wonder if just maybe this wasn’t my year. It was a nice night, the sun was shining, and I had a good feeling about this hunt. My dad was with me filming, and I have to hand it to him, even though he is new at running the camera, he never turns me down. Well we sat there for awhile and saw a few does and some smaller bucks. Then all of a sudden, my dad looks to the left and sees a deer coming out of the trees. I was looking at a different deer, so I really didn’t think much of it, but I thought I might as well look and see what it was. When I pulled up my binoculars and looked, my heart about flew out of my chest. I saw a split G2 on the deer’s left side and knew right away that it was Split. The deer I had been after all year was 80-yards and closing. It didn’t take me anytime at all to reach around for my gun and get that deer in my cross hairs. I flipped the safety off, or so I thought, and pulled the trigger. THE GUN DIDN’T GO OFF! Frantic and wondering what the heck was going on, I looked my gun over and the safety hadn't gone all the way forward—Split was gone! I thought to myself, wow this just isn’t my year. There was only one thing I could do and that was pray. I’m happy to say that God answered that prayer right away. About 2 minutes later after two small bucks came out chasing a doe, Split stepped out a second time and he came out at the same spot he had come out before. This was my chance and I wasn’t going to give it up. I asked my dad if he was on him. He said “yes” and I let the old 300 bark. The first shot hit the buck right on the money. He then ran 50-yards from me and I let him have another one. I wasn’t going to let him get away. Split dropped in his tracks and the big 160 inch deer was finally mine.
The hard year had finally paid off. There wasn’t another kid on the face of this earth that was happier than I was at that moment. To be able to harvest a buck like that, have my dad with me, and have both my dad and my deer in the same trail camera pictures, was way beyond cool. My buddy Nick that runs the Taxidermy Shop was on his way to help load the giant up. My mom also came along to congratulate me. I’ve got to say right now there is no alcohol or drug on this planet that can give you the high that family, friends, and hunting gives you. I want to thank Joe, Ralph, and Vicki for this amazing opportunity. This is my dream and I’m finally living it. Best of all I want to thank the Big Guy upstairs for a great family, great friends, and great life.
The father and son team did it again. We both got great deer and couldn’t be happier. Thanks again to everybody that has helped us along the way and HAPPY HUNTING!