Rack Magazine

Trip Wire

Trip Wire

By Ed Waite

If the llama’s looking, you’d better have more than a hammer in hand.

After three years of playing cat and mouse with a warhorse of a buck, ’twas Gary Hornbeck who wore the Cheshire grin in 2012.

Had it not been for an old wire fence, however, the normally surefooted whitetail might have won the day. At the very least, the deer hunter from Piqua, Ohio, would not have had a clear shot at the animal’s heart.

Gary first saw the fabulous deer in 2010.

“I have a full time job as a bus driver for the local school district, which means I am in my bus during prime deer hunting times — dawn and dusk — in the late fall,” he said. “It’s no wonder that my very first sighting of this buck was while I was behind the wheel.”

Spotting incredible bucks from a vehicle in Shelby County, Ohio, isn’t uncommon, especially when the crops are out of the fields. Seeing one on the ground you hunt is a whole ’nother matter, and this one was on his generous neighbor’s place.

Gary was enthralled.

“The buck’s first daylight appearance was during the muzzleloader season,” Gary said. “I was taking a student group on a field trip when my wife called to inform me that a huge buck was standing out in the pasture with the cattle.”

And that was the last time anyone saw it until the following year, on Veterans Day.

“A doe must’ve been coming into estrus, and several bucks were vying for her favor,” Gary said. “Apparently, the most dominant one was continually running the smaller bucks out of the woods, one after the other, though they all kept circling back in there.

“I never saw the buck doing the chasing,” he added. “I just assumed it was the biggest, baddest one in the neighborhood.”

End result: The whitetail rodeo ruined the fence in that corner of Gary’s pasture. To make sure his cattle didn’t escape, he grabbed a hammer and followed the fence line to make repairs before his afternoon bus route.

“I was walking along the fence when I heard something and looked around to see this monster standing with a doe, maybe 15 to 20 yards away, staring at me.

“All I had was a claw hammer,” he said. “I actually wondered if I could throw the hammer and maybe hit the deer in the head.”

That was the only time Gary encountered the buck in the daytime during the 2011 hunting season, though he saw it thrice in the glow of headlights while driving his bus. On those occasions, he surmised, it was heading back into its bedding area.

A few months later, Gary deduced that the buck must be spending its summertime days in a thicket behind his alfalfa field.

“We saw the deer feeding in the alfalfa many times during the late summer and early fall of 2012, while it was still in velvet. Then, once again, as the days grew shorter, the sightings became less frequent until the buck was totally nocturnal,” he said.

Early during the season, Gary happened upon the buck quite unexpectedly while walking to his stand.

“Between my pasture and the woods is a wedge-shaped piece of land that is about 15 yards at its widest.

There is a woven wire fence along one side and an electric one on the other.

Trip Wire“This pie slice has been allowed to grow wild with trees and honeysuckle since the farm was split up years ago,” he said. “This buck and other deer liked to bed down there because they can see and smell anything that might approach.”

The same doesn’t apply to those approaching.

“I was carrying my unloaded crossbow while walking across the pasture to my stand,” Gary said. “Suddenly, the buck stood about 20 yards from me. The weeds were tall enough that all I could see were its neck and head, but those were enough to get my adrenaline flowing pretty good.

“It stared at me for close to five minutes, and I was unable to move. It was almost like it was comfortable with my presence.

“Eventually, the deer began heading toward the timber,” he continued. “By the time I loaded a bolt, it was almost 45 yards away, moving quickly and entering the woods.

“I didn’t take the low-percentage shot. Not only was I afraid of just wounding it, but I was also worried about driving the deer off my acreage,” he said.

Having seen the deer for three years, Gary was sure the buck had dropped some weight, probably due to the rut. Or perhaps it had reached its prime the previous year. The rack seemed somewhat smaller as well, though it was still impressive.

The next time hunter met hunted, there was no time to ponder such things.

“My neighbor keeps a small flock of sheep in his pasture. Also, as a safeguard against coyotes, there’s a llama that watches over his flock,” Gary said. “I’d noticed long ago that the llama is wary of deer in the woods, especially bucks.

“That’s why I pay attention to the llama whenever I’m en route to or from my stand. Several times, it has alerted me to the presence of nearby deer.

“I was walking to my stand on the evening of Dec. 2, when I noticed the llama was very alert and watching the woods intently,” he continued. “It caused me to become more aware of what might be in front of me, and I gripped my shotgun a little tighter.”

While crossing the pasture, Gary saw half a dozen deer in the thicket. When he stopped to watch them, several scattered with their white flags waving.

“Two or three minutes later, I noticed a couple more does staring back and forth from me to the woods. I couldn’t make out anything in the darker shadows of the woods, but the does — just like the llama — obviously knew something was in there,” he said.

“When the two remaining does finally left, I resumed the trek to my stand. I was about 35 feet from where I cross the fence when I heard a branch snap, looked over and saw this buck.

“When I raised my gun, it whirled toward the woods. The maneuver caused it to trip over the old woven fence,” Gary continued. “I was able to shoot before it regained its feet, and my slug tore through its heart.

“It happened so fast, I didn‘t have time to do anything but raise my gun and shoot,” he said.

The buck had been standing in the exact same spot where Gary contemplated throwing his hammer at it the previous year.

“I was shaking when I called and asked my daughter to hook the trailer to the tractor and drive it into the pasture,” he said. “The drag was only a few feet.

“I probably passed that buck many times without ever knowing it. It had me patterned so well, I doubt I’d ever have seen it from my stand,” he continued. “I’m certain it knew where I went each time.”

Hunter: Gary Hornbeck
BTR Score: 193 5/8
Shotgun
Semi-Irregular

– Photos Courtesy Gary Hornbeck

This article was published in the July 2014 edition of Rack Magazine. Subscribe today to have Rack Magazine delivered to your home.

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