12/05/2020
"Curl" the story ended on 12-3-2020.. Fall of 2017 I noticed a nice looking young buck that had main beams that "curled " up on the ends. That spring we located one of his sheds and the only shed I have for his whole life.
2018 he put on some inches but not what I was hoping, hoped 2019 would be the blowup but as 2019 came he still wasn't the massive giant i had imagined.
As the 2020 velvet pictures started to roll in and he appeared to be a near perfect 8 point he was my target deer for the year. From years of pictures and seeing this deer in daylight more than any other deer I have ever known, I knew exactly where this deer would be as the end of October approached. First encounter this year left him too far away for a shot. The evening of November 3rd I got an arrow in this deer,gave him hours to expire and took up the trail. We had good blood for 100 yards and then it died off. I took the next day and searched all day,Casey and neighbors also searched as days went by and still no one could locate curl, I decided I would spend all of veterans day in the woods and still came out empty handed.
The following weekend we had a bad wind storm and it blew over one my elevated blinds, as I was setting my blind back up I noticed a buck from about 100 yards away watching me and just from the posture and body size I was pretty confident it was curl, I couldn't believe it!! I started running around and pulling camera cards until finally there were some pictures of him, HE WAS ALIVE!! It had been two weeks since I hit him but he was finally home. The hunt for Curl was back on!! I had him at probably 100 yards on November 26th and then on November 27th I had the giant "split brow" give me an unpassable shot. My buck tag was now filled but my cousin and good friend Casey Gilligan still had a tag.
Finally on the morning of December 3rd Curl made the mistake of following two does into shooting range and Casey was able to seal the deal.