It was nearly dark and I was taking the back roads home after a long day at work.

As I neared my home, I slowed my car down as a large buck crossed the gravel road directly in front of me. He was the kind of buck that every hunter would appreciate to see in front of them while in the woods.

Great. I thought, nice bucks walking all around and I’m not even in the woods this week. The good news is that I put in extra hours at work just so I could have Friday off and with the beautiful weather, I planned to be in the woods the next day.

At the dinner table my wife and I discussed the buck I saw and that it was one that a hunter could be proud to harvest. She encouraged me to get out the next day and see if my luck would hold out for me to see him two days in a row.

The morning was beautiful as promised, but I wasn’t planning on a morning hunt, instead, I decided to do some fall chores and then catch an evening hunt. I was enjoying a cup of tea and thinking over my day when my wife remarked, “Isn’t that a regal buck!”

I peered out my kitchen window and was amazed to see a large buck stroll through my front yard and follow a trail towards my neighbor’s house. The Flynns were on vacation and we were in charge of the 4-H projects (5 bunnies, 4 hens and 2 goats).

My neighbor girls take their prize winning animals seriously and so did I! Back to the buck, I watched him meander out of sight and I knew just what I had to do … feed the 4-H critters.

No, not yet, I had to try for the buck at least for a little while. My gear was stashed away in my garage and a thought came to me. He’s going to check on his scrapes.

If he starts at the end of his line of scrapes, which was the direction he was headed, I would go in the opposite direction where his scrapes ended. It was a risky plan, but it was the only play I would have on this buck and maybe some earlier scouting would pay off with a big dividend.

I had to move fast and get ahead of him and in a good position for a shot with my bow. This plan was just crazy enough to work and I was the man for the job!

As I moved up a well worn deer trail, I couldn’t see any sign of him, then I saw a young tree getting a thrashing. He was coming back the way that I was trying to set up.

I had slipped on a pair of old shoes as I was in a hurry and to my woe they were making a distinct squeaking noise … no way can this be happening … the wind was in my favor. I was ahead of him and almost to the spot that I chose to wait him out.

Without hesitation, I slipped off the shoes and went native bare foot the last 20 yards. It was now a waiting game, I could see him moving through the thicket.

Then I saw his rack clear the brush. He was a nice buck, clearly legal with lots of points. He stopped at this point and was testing the air, frozen in step, making the pounding of my heart boom in my ears.

Surely he could hear the beat … he didn’t. Instead he stepped into the clearing and gave me the chance I had hoped for and I took the shot.

I believed the shot to be true and I marked where I last saw the deer heading. I then went back down the trail and to my house. When I went in the kitchen door, my wife asked me if I ever saw him again.

I replied, “Not only did I see him I think I have taken him.” At that point I called my brother-in-law Leroy. Leroy is a hunting fanatic and one of the best trackers that I know. He sounded pretty excited when I gave him the story and he was more than happy to join me on the search.

In the meantime, the 4-H critters were hungry, so I went down and fed and watered everyone and visited the four hens, all named Shirley.

I received some nice brown eggs from the girls because I think they are sweet on me since I slip them treats like grapes and sunflower seeds for snacks. In the meantime, I heard Leroy calling my name.

He came down when he heard me reply. “Where’s the deer,” he asks. “Somewhere up in the woods, I suppose we better get on its trail”, I replied.

It didn’t take long to find the trail and the search was short as I found the buck. He ended up being around 227 pounds live weight. He was an 11 point with a 19-inch spread and 22-inch main beams, a very nice PA buck.

We took care of tagging the buck and a few photos were taken.

As I thought back on the morning, I couldn’t help but to think that I sure was a lucky fellow.

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle