Sports Locker • January/February 2025 • HUNTING & FISHING

This year’s deer season started out a bit slower than typical for the Bax family. While it was nice to have the early antlerless season, the 80-degree temperatures clinging to October were not ideal. Not to be deterred, we spent time scouting, hunting and camping in the Irish Wilderness. While we saw lots of scrapes and rubs, the deer were elusive that weekend. The 16,000 plus acres of the Irish Wilderness makes it Missouri’s largest wilderness area, offering a lot of space for the deer to hide. The mosquitos and gnats, however, made their presence abundantly clear! Those pesky insects and the very warm temperatures assisted in helping our tags remain unnotched during the first round of rifle season.

Fast forward to opening day of the November season, and thankfully the temperatures were a bit cooler. However, we knew that hunting on our property could be a bit challenging as our land had been impacted by the May tornados. A logger was on the property and the commotion was bound to affect the deer movement through our land. That, coupled with what seemed like a lower deer population in comparison to previous years, left us a bit unsure of just how full our freezers would be by the close of season.

Opening morning I was overlooking a field while my son was in a stand at the furthest corner. Eight does chanced crossing in front of me and I took a shot at the lead doe. My shot caused the other does to scatter providing Cole with a shooting opportunity. We made a successful team that morning!

The second weekend of the season brought temperatures cold enough that my boots stuck to the metal stand! Just before daylight two does roamed mid-way across the field, but inconveniently disappeared just before the legal shooting time. My stomach began to rumble, and my thoughts drifted to the steaming cup of coffee waiting back at the house. As a beautiful bald eagle flew across the field, I noticed movement to my right and out trotted a dandy 9-point buck with a doe trailing behind. As he worked his way across the field, I took aim, and my breath immediately fogged up the scope. I shot and MISSED! The buck whipped his big rack around to see what was amiss and I used that bit of time to wipe my scope and take a better aim. I fired, he kicked high with his hind legs, and promptly raced into the woods. That’s when I made my SECOND rookie mistake of the morning. My racing adrenaline (which sounds so much better than my lack of patience) got the best of me and I climbed out of my stand and progressed slowly across the field. I didn’t make it far. He was laying just inside the tree line, spotted me and was off! I backed away and reluctantly trudged to the house for that cup of coffee. An hour later we went back out to follow the blood trail. He’d made his way to the edge of the creek and was down again. Unfortunately, I had to shoot him once more, but this buck was finally mine!

I’ve been hunting for a long time and continue to learn good lessons each season. That’s part of what keeps things interesting! This season was extra special as I got to share the experience for the first time with my grandson, Bowen. He was quite proud of his Mimi and her “big buck.” I look forward to many years of hunting with him in the future!