Deer Hunting: The Hard to Pattern Buck “Drifter” at 206 Yards (Episode 262 Transcript)

This is the video transcript. To watch the video for this episode click here.

GRANT: Oh. I think Raleigh got one.

RAE: She did?

GRANT: Oh my.

RAE: Oh my what? Is it huge? Is it the George?

GRANT: It’s a double day, Rae.

RAE: Woo-hoo.

GRANT: You both. You’re both jamming.

RAE: Oh yeah.

GRANT: High fiving.

RAE: Sister sundaes for those…

GRANT: Sister sundae.

GRANT: Hey. Did I hear a shot up there?

RALEIGH: Yeah.

GRANT: Tell me about it.

RALEIGH: Oh, I think I got a…Drifter.

GRANT: Drifter? That’s huge, Raleigh.

RAE: That’s awesome, man.

RALEIGH: Thank you.

GRANT: That is so awesome.

RAE: That’s awesome. Is – is Drifter bigger than mine?

GRANT: Rae. (Laughing) Rae wants to know. Probably a little bit. Rae killed a deer that…

GRANT: Firearm season opened November 15th, in Missouri, and for my family, it’s as much about heritage and tradition as it is deer hunting.

GLEN: That’s a good deer.

GRANT: That’s a very good deer.

GLEN: Yeah. Yeah.

GRANT: You may remember that last week, my daughter Rae and I had a great hunt, and she tagged a nice buck in a food plot we call Blue Hole.

RAE: I see him.

GRANT: You see…

RAE: Looky. Right up there, looky.

GRANT: Goodness, Rae. He’s right there. He didn’t make it 50 yards. Good job, Rae.

RAE: He’s huge.

GRANT: Rae’s wasn’t the only good hunt we had opening morning. Raleigh and Adam had went to a food plot we call Boom North, which is about a half a mile, or so, from where Rae and I were hunting.

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RALEIGH: (Whispering) It’s the first day of gun season, here in Missouri. It’s really cold outside. I’ve got like five layers of clothes on. I look three times my normal size, but that’s okay, cuz I’m plenty warm. I’m up here on Boom North, and Rae’s down in Tracy’s Field with Dad. It’s about to snow this afternoon, so the deer should get up early and feed. It looks like it’ll be a good day.

GRANT: Adam and Raleigh were in a Redneck blind, and not long after daylight, they spotted the first deer in the food plot.

GRANT: Raleigh had an especially good feeling about hunting North Boom, because that’s where she tagged her first deer years ago.

GRANT: Perfect. Look. Right where I told you to aim, girl. Perfect. You made the perfect shot, Raleigh.

GRANT: I can’t believe what a good shot you made.

GRANT: They were enjoying the morning, when they got the news that Rae had tagged a good buck.

GRANT: About mid-morning, a doe entered the field that Adam and Raleigh were watching.

ADAM: (Whispering) There’s a good chance she might have something following her. Yeah. Yeah. There’s a good buck behind her.

RALEIGH: (Whispering) I see him. I see him.

ADAM: (Whispering) Yeah. He’s gonna sit down, too, I think. No, he’s walking there.

ADAM: (Whispering) Whew. I can’t tell. Will you hand me the binos? That way I can get a better look at him.

RALEIGH: (Whispering) It looks pretty big from here.

ADAM: (Whispering) Yeah, you wanna shoot that deer?

RALEIGH: (Whispering) Do you know him?

RALEIGH: (Whispering) And you aim for the shoulder, right?

ADAM: (Whispering) Yep. On the shoulder.

RALEIGH: (Whispering) Does this one aim any different? Like through, just like…

ADAM: (Whispering) He’s looking right at us. You might have to move quick. Okay?

RALEIGH: (Whispering) He looks pretty big.

ADAM: (Whispering) Yeah. He’s looking right at us, so be careful.

RALEIGH: (Whispering) He’s got like four steps more.

ADAM: (Whispering) Oh. That’s – that’s Drifter!

RALEIGH: (Whispering) Is that a good one?

ADAM: (Whispering) Oh yeah. Okay.

RALEIGH: (Whispering) Uh, he’s walking away, so I can’t get a shot.

ADAM: (Whispering) No. Just hold on. I’m ready, if you are, Raleigh.

RALEIGH: (Whispering) Okay. Here I go. No, I’ll wait until he stops.

ADAM: (Whispering) Okay. You want me to stop him?

RALEIGH: (Whispering) Um, no. If you can get him turned. You better hurry, though. Can you get him turned? Come on, turn back around.

ADAM: (Whispering) He’ll turn and follow that doe, I think. There’s a grapevine. Just hold on. Okay. Okay.

ADAM: Got him, Raleigh.

RALEIGH: Whew.

ADAM: Whew. Nice shot.

RALEIGH: Thank you.

RALEIGH: I was like, he’s gonna get out of there. I’m not gonna get a shot.

ADAM: Oh my gosh. Yeah.

RALEIGH: And he’s like starts walking. I’m like, “No. Stop. Come back.”

ADAM: Got just a little – bat, bat – BAT.

RALEIGH: I was so shaky, I was like, “Okay.” Keeps coming. Like you just see this much of his back, so I’m like come on a little bit further, a little bit further, and he got there. Then, he started walking real fast. I had like one chance for a shot, but I wasn’t quite ready yet, and he started to turn away. I’m like, “Oh great. He’s gonna get out of here. I’m not gonna get a shot.” Oh man. So Adam tried to turn around, and he wasn’t listening, so finally, we just kind of yelled at him, and he stopped, and I took the shot and dropped him at 206 yards. And I’m really excited to see what he looks like.

ADAM: You know what? I forgot all about Drifter. Like – like I was like looking at him. I’m like, “Butterbean and Herman. Those are the two bucks that are gonna be here.” And then, he stepped out. I’m like, “Who is that?” (Laughter) I didn’t know who he was, and then, he looked. I was like, “I’ve seen this deer. Where do I know this deer from?” And I was like, “Oh yeah. Drifter.”

GRANT: This was a mature buck we called Drifter and he got that name, because it was extremely random where we would get Reconyx pictures of him. He was difficult to pattern.

ADAM: Call your dad?

RALEIGH: Sure. Wait. Can I call him, even though he’s hunting?

ADAM: I think he’ll forgive you.

RALEIGH: Okay.

RALEIGH: Drifter.

GRANT: Drifter? That’s huge, Raleigh.

RAE: That’s awesome, man.

RALEIGH: Thank you.

RAE: Is it bigger than mine?

GRANT: Was it out in the field?

RALEIGH: Yeah. Yep. It was 206 yards.

GRANT: And you put it right on it?

RALEIGH: Yep and I dropped it.

GRANT: You dropped it?

RAE: Wooo!

RALEIGH: Yep.

GRANT: You’re the girl.

RALEIGH: Thank you.

GRANT: That is so awesome.

RALEIGH: (Inaudible) …back of his skull. Is that from fighting?

ADAM: Yep.

RALEIGH: Yeah. This is the field where I shot my first deer. Definitely a step up from the last time I killed something here. So, that’s really exciting. This is a really nice one.

GRANT: Holy mackerel. You put the five slam to jam on him. Look at that thing. That is huge.

RALEIGH: Thank you.

GRANT: That is big. Are you cold?

GRANT: I’m extremely proud that Raleigh had the discipline to not just fire off a hasty shot and wait for the buck to present a really good opportunity.

GRANT: Raleigh and Rae. Rae’s got a good one, too.

GRANT: The combination of Raleigh being very stable on the DeadShot FieldPod, and the Deer Season XP ammo, made this long shot look extremely easy.

GRANT: Raleigh and Rae have had great deer seasons, so far. And in Missouri, archers have another buck tag becoming available after gun season. I really look forward to sharing more hunts with Raleigh during the late season this year.

GRANT: Go. Keep going.

GRANT: As we celebrated the morning by sharing hugs and high fives and taking lots of pictures, it dawned on me that all the hours of habitat work, prescribed fire, planning food plots, running trail cameras. Well, it’s really all about sharing great hunts with your family and enjoying Creation.

GRANT: The morning was going so well, I didn’t think it could get any better. And then, Adam got a text from one of our Pro Staffers, Seth Harker, telling us about his opening day adventure, and we’ll share those adventures with you next week. I hope you have an opportunity to go hunting with a close friend, or family member, this week. But more importantly, get outside and enjoy Creation, but slow down and listen to what the Creator is saying to you. Thanks for watching GrowingDeer.tv.

RAE: I don’t work for free, mom.