For me lately, each year, the rut brings two big bucks back into my hunting area. I’m talking about the ‘Alley Buck’ and the ‘Curved Horn’ buck.
Since 2011 the ‘Alley Buck’ has been part of my ‘Game Camera life.’ By moving game cameras locations around I’ve verified a travel route for him as well as located some of the places he uses every year. Truthfully, I have never actually seen him in person. However, I have some sheds and 3 years ago my neighbor found a matched set of big antlers on the opposite side of the fence from a treestand I call the Point. He mounted those distinctive, heavy shed antlers.
The first time I saw Curved Horn was in game camera pictures that Collin Cottrell showed me when he hunted here. Nearer to the end of the season I saw him with a young doe and pictured him up. The last time I saw Curved Horn was … well … this morning!
Before daylight, I snuck out to my nearby food plot blind and waited. Soon two buck shaped shadows walked by my blind from the right. They locked horns and got into quite a skirmish. A third buck shadow came up from the right. All three were mature bucks. The daylight situation was still too dim to see the details of their antlers, even with my binoculars.
And then from the left, a 4th buck, that was longer and taller than the other bucks was approaching. I got my binoculars on this buck. As he walked closer his big rack caught enough light and I saw their shape … no doubt, this was Curved Horn.
The 4 bucks moved around in the semi dark and then disappeared from view. Curved Horn was in the area. The hunt I was looking for is on.
Below are 2 pictures of Curved Horn and a doe that I took in 2013.
