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GRANT: (Whispering) He’s coming our way, he’s coming our way. He’s coming our way.

ADAM: I’m on him.

GRANT: My daughter, Rae, tags her first buck this week and Adam and I get up close with a mature buck we call the Trashman.

ADAM: I’m on him.

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GRANT: Last week, we celebrated our third anniversary. For three years, every Monday morning, we brought you a new episode year round. We’ve never missed a Monday morning of releasing a brand new episode of GrowingDeer.tv. Here in those three years I’ve been amazed at how much the viewership of GrowingDeer.tv has increased. I’m looking forward to more great weeks this hunting season and more great years of bringing you GrowingDeer.tv.

GRANT: Wednesday morning the temperatures were predicted to be in the 20’s. I knew it would be very cold; likely a heavy frost, so Adam and I predicted a Redneck Blind overlooking a south facing slope of a bedding area, thinking mature bucks might be in there trying to pick up a doe that was seeking that radiant sunshine to warm up. Just as dawn was breaking and we’re opening up the windows in the Redneck Blind, I thought I saw the silhouette of a deer about a hundred yards out in front of us.

ADAM: (Inaudible)

ADAM: (Whispering) Yeah, see him, see him, see him. Just to the right. You on him? Dang it.

GRANT: We had a shooter buck, big body, big rack. We couldn’t identify which one, 100 yards in front of us. We’re overlooking the sanctuary bedding area. We’re just sitting tight to see if he pops back out. He’s got a doe with her. She should be right in here somewhere.

GRANT: As Adam gets the camera rolling, I grab the Nikons and sure enough, go through that sequence of deer, buck, mature buck. And during this time we figure out it is the Trashman pushing a doe through the bedding area.

GRANT: (Whispering) I’m on him now.

GRANT: (Whispering) Ready?

ADAM: Yeah.

GRANT: (Whispering) I’m on him now. Nope. He stepped in the brush.

GRANT: I can see from here up, but there’s not an ethical shot to be had.

GRANT: (Whispering) Ready?

ADAM: Yeah.

GRANT: (Whispering) Yeah, turn around. Stop right there. Stop, stop, stop. Be ready. Be ready. Oh, he’s wide open, but he’s real (inaudible).

ADAM: I’m ready.

GRANT: He’s behind brush for me. I’ve lost him. I’ve lost him.

GRANT: Knowing the lay of the land, I was very confident the Trashman would bring that doe right back up in that section of the bedding area.

ADAM: He’s down there by the pond.

GRANT: No, the pond’s over here. He’s down there.

ADAM: Yeah. He’s down behind all that.

GRANT: Yeah. He’ll come back up. We never had a good shot. We don’t want to wound that deer.

GRANT: (Whispering) Got a yearling buck down here right where the Trashman was this morning. We think the Trashman’s got that hot doe bedded right in there and that yearling buck hopefully’s going to pump him up. Give us an opportunity.

GRANT: A while later, Adam says, “Buck.” I looked up and sure enough, the Trashman is bringing that doe straight towards the blind.

ADAM: (Whispering) He’s back, he’s back, he’s back. He’s coming our way. He’s coming our way. He’s coming our way.

GRANT: (Whispering) Tell me if you’re on him.

ADAM: (Whispering) I’m on him.

GRANT: (Whispering) Okay. I’m on him too. I just gotta get a shot. Stay there, stay there. Man. Be ready, be ready right there. Be ready. Be ready.

ADAM: (Whispering) I’m ready.

Grant: (Whispering) Oh, stand there. I’m still on him.

ADAM: (Whispering) I’m on him, too.

GRANT: (Whispering) I’m gonna take him in the chest if he stops.

GRANT: I’ve got the gun up and I’m on him, but he’s moving way too fast through a lot of stick ups and brush to risk a shot. (Whispering) I’m on him.

ADAM: (Whispering) Okay.

GRANT: (Whispering) I’m just waiting for him to stop. I’m on him.

GRANT: This time I know which buck it is. I’ve got my gun up and I don’t think there’s any chance he’s getting away this time. (Whispering) I can see him, but I got no shot. I’ve lost him. I’ve lost him. Right here. Right here, right here, right here. (Whispering) Well, that’s encounter number two today with the buck we call the Trashman, one of the biggest bucks on the property. He was coming dead at us and for about ten feet, he was out of brush. I had it right on his neck, but that’s a tough shot when they’re moving. And I opted to pass. Hopefully, we’ll get one more chance. That’s one thing about when bucks are chasing does, you just, you gotta take that split second opportunity.

GRANT: Some time later, we actually catch the Trashman 300 yards away on the far ridge.

ADAM: (Whispering) It sure looks like him. Yeah, that’s our buck. That’s the Trashman.

GRANT: It was an extremely exciting and suspenseful morning and my hopes are still high knowing the Trashman’s got a receptive doe right in that area. Oftentimes, bucks will stay with a receptive doe 24 to 36 hours. We know we’re in the right place and we’re gonna be right back there this afternoon.

GRANT: (Whispering) Oh, look at that shot right there – right in the shoulder, da-pow! Clean as a whistle. (Speaking) That afternoon as the moments are passing, getting closer to dark, I hear something behind the blind. We get camera and gun pointed that way and right at dark, a buck comes out the same trail. It ends up being a younger buck, but we keep focused that way knowing a receptive doe just went up there a few hours earlier. With all that action, Adam and I return to the same Redneck Blind the next morning.

GRANT: We observed several deer moving in the distance, but really only one buck of interest and it’s a three year-old buck we call the Jackknife. The Jackknife has a lot of the same antler traits as the Trashman. Narrow, tall tines, good looking deer. He’s three years old so he’s got a pass.

GRANT: Sticking to the same Redneck Blind because of all the encounters we’ve had. The next morning, mid-morning, the Trashman appears in a food plot about 400 yards away.

GRANT: There he is. Oh yeah. Look at the sun on him. Belly hanging down. Huge front shoulders. See how much bigger the front shoulders are than his butt. Walking slow.

GRANT: There’s one corner of that field that’s right at 400 yards away. And I was prepared to take that shot should the Trashman get there, broadside and not moving. But as mature bucks do, the Trashman came down into the corner following some does, got behind some large cedar trees, never to be seen again. While the Trashman’s down in that corner, Jackknife, a three year-old buck, is up in the cover on the far side watching the action. You know, when you have a dominant buck in an area, he will often displace or discourage other bucks from using that same area. Jackknife was wise. He stayed up into the cover not getting into Trashman’s way, knowing that his day’s coming in the future.

GRANT: Friday afternoons, Rae, my youngest daughter gets out of school early and there’s a perfect opportunity to get her back in a deer blind. Rae had put some self-imposed standards on herself to try to harvest a more mature deer. You know, at 10 years old, I want children to enjoy hunting. I want them to have some success and punch a tag and feel part of the team, so I encouraged her to maybe not be so picky, but I would leave the choice up to her should we have an opportunity.

GRANT: So, before daylight, Rae and I were in our little homemade blind, just knowing that today was the day Rae was going to have an encounter.

GRANT: Rather than Rae having to pick the gun off the ground and getting it settled on her knee and move, which the buck would have certainly busted us and ran out of the field, Rae simply had to just swivel it around just a little bit and get it lined up.

GRANT: (Whispering) What about the safety? Switch the safety.

RAE: (Whispering) What?

GRANT: (Whispering) Go ahead. (Shot) You got it. You got it. You got it. Good shot. Were you right on there?

RAE: Hmm. Hmm.

GRANT: You got it girl.

RAE: I was right on the part where it’s like right here.

GRANT: Perfect. Perfect. Talk to me about it.

RAE: Well, the buck came out really fast from here. We’ve had another buck like that come out. Um, once I got my cross hairs on it, I, um, waited for it to settle down and I shot it.

GRANT: There you go.

RAE: Right there. This is weird. He has three points on this one and one point on this one.

GRANT: Wow! You did a perfect shot. Saw the deer first. Patient. Waited for him to get turned right. Made the shot and trailed your own deer. Way bigger than my first deer. You wanted to kill a buck this year. I wanted some fresh tenderloins and you made it happen, didn’t you?

RAE: Yeah.

GRANT: Tell me about the hunt.

RAE: Umm, well, in the morning, my toes were pretty cold and, um, we had been waiting and then finally, this guy came out and, um, I took the shot and here he is. Hmm. Hmm.

GRANT: Had your gun real steady because of that rest, didn’t you?

RAE: Hmm. Hmm.

GRANT: And I think we’ll keep the whole hide. Okay?

RAE: Hmm. Hmm.

GRANT: Skin the hide all the way up to here.

RAE: Hmm. Hmm.

GRANT: Make a little plate for his antlers.

RAE: Hmm. Hmm.

GRANT: And take the whole hide off.

RAE: Okay. And this is my first buck, so, um, all total, I have three deer. The fur is really deep. It’s like this. And I’m hoping that we can get it so that we can have a winter blanket.

TRACY: That’s just too far down. You just hoof-hoof.

RAE: Uno, dos, tres.

GRANT: Tracy and Raleigh came and Tracy took some pictures at the recovery site and we all took turns moving that buck about 80 yards straight up the hill. Family is pulling together, literally pulling together, sharing the workload, sharing the laughs, talking about success well that’s how families bond. Going through those times and sharing those experiences, that’s what pulls families together and keeps them together. I hope you and your family get plenty of venison in the freezer this year and along the way, take a moment and look at Creation and most importantly, remember to thank The Creator. Thanks for watching GrowingDeer.tv.