Buck of a Lifetime on Imperial Clover

By Kevin Brown

My heart pounded in my chest and my knees were shaking. I had watched the big 8-pointer for almost 30 minutes, and I was a total wreck. He was feeding within 25 yards of me and moving slowly but steadily closer. As he cleared the overhanging branches blocking his vitals, I began to draw. I was such a basket case I could not get my bow to full draw. I had waited for almost half an hour for a shot opportunity, and now I could not draw my bow!

Last winter I purchased a 30-acre parcel of land in southeast Michigan and began building a house at the west end of the property. The property consists of approximately 24 acres of hardwoods surrounded by agricultural fields. The woods narrow at the east end and there is a small strip of open ground along the north edge of the woodlot adjoining one of the agricultural fields. I felt it would be the perfect spot for a food plot. The soil was rich and moist with a pH near 7.0, so I decided to plant a plot of Imperial Whitetail Clover in the spring. The plot grew nicely, and although it struggled early with native grasses and weeds, the Imperial Clover flourished. I hung a tree stand at the east edge of the clover. It was a perfect setup for a southwest wind.

I stayed out of the area until conditions to hunt the stand were perfect. As I approached the stand to hunt it for the first time, I noticed several rubs. The location and position of the rubs appeared to indicate a nice buck was entering the food plot to feed in the evening. That first night I saw only a doe and her fawn. They fed on the clover and eventually passed through one of my shooting lanes at 25 yards.

I was eager to hunt the stand again but made a commitment to wait until the conditions were again just right. The next time I hunted the stand was the last week of October. The pre-rut was in full swing and there were now some very nice rubs showing up on trees within 30 yards of my stand. About an hour before dark, a doe and a fawn, possibly the same ones I had seen on my previous sit in this stand, popped out of the woods behind me. I was watching the doe and fawn feed when a giant buck entered the field. He came out of a tree line that joined the woods at the east end of the property. The buck moved steadily toward the two feeding deer grunting with every step.

The buck was enormous – legitimate 170-class buck. He was obviously scent- checking the doe. Once he realized the doe was not ready to breed, he turned and disappeared into the corner where the tree line joined the woodlot. Despite my efforts to call him within bow range, he vanished as quickly as he had appeared.

Work and other commitments prevented me from being able to hunt for the next few days. The next time I was able to hunt it was pouring down rain and the wind was gusting with speeds up to 30 mph. I took advantage of the conditions and hung a stand in the corner where I had seen the big buck disappear several days before.

It was Nov. 11 before I had the opportunity to climb into that stand. The morning dawned cold and clear. I had laid a scent trail using doe-in-estrous urine on the way in to my stand. About an hour after daybreak I saw the first deer, a button buck. He fed beneath my stand for about 20 minutes. Then I heard another deer approaching. It was a 1 1/2-year-old 8-point and he was following the scent trail right to my stand.

I watched the two deer milling around for quite some time before I noticed three does cutting across the bean field. They were followed by three bucks, one of which appeared to be a shooter. It was not the monster I had seen earlier in the season but it appeared to be a good buck. The young 8-point and the button buck must have also noticed the deer because they both headed after them. There were now eight deer in the field about 100 yards north of my Imperial Clover plot. A second button buck passed under my stand and joined them. I watched the nine deer for about 40 minutes. The biggest buck seemed to be tending one of the does. Any time one of the smaller bucks got too close, he would run them off. Eventually, all nine deer bedded in a hedgerow dividing the large field.

The deer remained bedded until the last hour of daylight. While most of the deer became active – feeding, chasing and sparring – the bigger buck kept the doe in the hedgerow until it was too dark for me to see.

The wind changed overnight, and even though I wanted to hunt my clover plot stand, which was within a couple hundred yards of where I had observed all the deer activity the previous day, I couldn’t risk it. I hunted another nearby stand the next morning but didn’t see a deer. Throughout the day the wind gradually changed direction again and by late afternoon it was blowing out of the southwest. There was no doubt about where I was headed that evening.

It was Nov. 12, and based on what I had observed the previous day, the rut was in full swing. Two hours before dark I climbed into my stand overlooking the Imperial Whitetail Clover food plot. With about an hour of shooting light left, I saw a deer emerge from the hedgerow where I had seen all the deer bed the previous day. The deer slowly worked his way down the hedgerow toward my food plot and my stand. It was the 8-point I had seen the day before. He was now all alone and looking to feed before going in search of another hot doe. The buck fed on the clover, slowly heading in my direction.

I had been watching the buck for so long I was now a total mess. The 8-point stepped into my shooting lane totally oblivious to my presence 20 feet above him only 18 yards away. I tried to draw my bow but could not. I could feel myself starting to panic. I had waited for 30 minutes for an opportunity to shoot and now that opportunity was slipping away.

I took a deep breath and again drew my bow. This time I reached my anchor point and slowly settled my 20-yard pin tight behind the buck’s front shoulder. I squeezed the trigger on my release and sent an arrow through the buck’s chest. He kicked and spun and I heard him collapse only a short distance away. I sat down and tried to regain my composure.