JOE BEUCHERT
21 Point Monster Charles County Buck

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FRANKEN-BUCK
Written by Paul V. Facchina, Jr.
Edited by Joe Beuchert

I waited several weeks for a northwesterly wind and this morning it was finally here.  I set this stand in this location for this wind and this wind alone.  I knew this was a special spot, but I knew the conditions had to be perfect in order for me to have success.  I also knew we had a few nice bucks on this farm.  Earlier in the season I got a glimpse of a monster buck whose spread was unbelievable.  A week prior to this days hunt, my friend Matt had seen and taken a shot at a huge deer that he could only describe as “crazy with antlers going everywhere” and I had lost a huge 150” monster buck.  We also had several sightings of a huge and perfect 160” 10 pointer.  So I knew an exceptional opportunity could be presented at anytime.

I reached my stand about 30 minutes before the glimmer of first light and I knew something good was going to happen this morning.  As I sat there in the dark listing to the wind and the marsh grass dance I reflected on my 135” 9 point success two weeks earlier and my tragic 150” loss just a week before. 

Joe's 9pt

Two weeks before this day I scored a wonderful 135” 9-pointer on a different farm, but I was pursuing a much larger beast that to this day has remained elusive.  One week prior I had shot a great 150 +” monster on this same farm.  I felt good about the shot, but I left the buck overnight.  The next morning, me and some of my friends tracked the blood trail and to our surprise the monster deer jumped up and ran across the marsh never to be seen again.  This tragedy, however, turned out to be a blessing.

 

As the sun began to crest the horizon and the woods began to awaken my morning was about to become exciting.  Just as there was enough shooting light, 34 yards away out of the tall marsh grass came the most unusual looking deer I have ever seen in my life.  Could this be the deer whose shed we found a year prior?  Is this the same deer my friend Matt had seen and missed just a week before?  As he stepped out of the tall marsh grass, he turned a quartered away from me.  Based on his posture, I knew I had to shoot quickly.  Though the deer was not running, he appeared to have a purpose in his movement and direction.  I took one quick moment to gaze at its odd uncountable antlers and regained focus.  Within seconds, I drew and shot.  The deer jumped, turned and ran back into the marsh grass.  I watched the deer run about 50 yards, stop and lay down.  As I mentally marked the area in the tall marsh grass that the deer laid down I could not help but replay the shot in my head.  Was it a good shot?  He was quartered away and I aimed back on the rib cage hoping for double lung penetration. 

I decided it was smart to give the deer 50 minutes to demise.  It was agonizing and it felt like 50 days.  All I could do is wait, think and question every split second from the time I saw the deer to the time I lostsight of the deer.  When I finally decided to come down, I felt confident I had an idea where the deer was laying.  I discovered that things look entirely different up in your tree stand then they do when your on the ground.  I walked out in the marsh grass and I quickly realized I was not where I wanted to be.  I wisely tied a ribbon at my location and went back up in my stand.  To my surprise I was within about 30 yards of where I last saw the deer go down. 

I grabbed my bow and went back into the tall grass.  As I slowly crept through the tall grass my senses were on high alert.  “I know I’m close”, I kept telling myself.  Before I knew it and 10 yards in front of me I can see this huge buck looking at me.  “Holy #@%&!” it’s still alive I softly said out load to myself.  Here I am, in the tall marsh grass, with mud up to my knees and I’m looking eye to eye with this huge deer and its got antlers are going everywhere!  I have my bow, but I don’t have an arrow knocked.  My knees begin to shake and I can feel my heart beating out of my chest.  I don’t want to make any sudden moves, but I know if the deer bolts, I will never see him again.  I will not loose 2 big deer this year, I confidently encouraged myself.  So, I slowly knock an arrow and as I am readying my bow for the shot, I am mesmerized by this bucks antlers.  I draw my bow and realize the tall marsh grass has obstructed any shot to the deer’s vitals.  “Now what?” I thought to myself.  Just then the deer raised its head higher to get a better look at me.  “That’s my shot!” I thought to myself.  The base of the neck is the only kill shot I have presented to me.  Without hesitation I let the arrow fly and “SMACK.”  The deer’s head dropped right where he lay. 



After regaining my composure, I finally put my hands to the monster beast.  To my surprise, it was the most unusual, the oddest and the ugliest buck I have ever seen in my life.  It was “Franken-Buck!”