Kentucky deer hunter Jeremy Smith would rather have one weekend in November than go out every day in October. The choice, for him, is simple: Hunt when the animals are lying down, or hunt when they’re afoot.
He went into the 2018 season with a particular buck in mind, but he’s a bird-in-the-hand-type guy. In early November, a 170-something Typical was enough to make him slide his finger into the trigger guard.
Jeremy wound up shooting over the buck’s back, a temporary blow to his confidence, but the miss revealed his rifle had lost its zero. And that was good to know.
The buck he really wanted had shown up on his trail cameras in 2016 and 2017. Because it had parallel points on its main beams that resembled an alligator’s tail, he nicknamed it Gator.
Last season, he and his lease-mates began collecting trail cam images of the new-and-improved Gator in June. Although the deer had a couple more months to develop, its potential was unmistakable. And it had the same namesake double row of points.
“By the time he shed velvet in mid-September, it was clear he was a legitimate 200-incher,” Jeremy told Dale Weddle, who’s writing the story for Rack magazine. After its antlers hardened, the deer became completely nocturnal.
Convinced that hunting the night-walking whitetail in October would be a waste of time, Jeremy waited until November to get serious. If the buck were going to let down its guard, there was no better time than the approaching rut.
Two days into the state’s gun season, Jeremy couldn’t resist shooting at a (smaller) 170-class buck. He was sitting in a fiberglass blind beside a mostly cut bean field.
“I missed the deer twice with my .300 Win Mag,” he said. “I later found out the gun was shooting 8 inches high.”
Frustration gave way to elation a few days later, however, when he hit a much bigger target. Gator chomped the dust.
The 21-pointer’s BTR score is 200 3/8 inches.
— Read Recent Blog! The Man Has Priorities: Trading a bed and bandages for a deer blind and camo last season was a no-brainer for Eric Chicoine.