Purserverence Buck
by Brock Decker

5/04 Amboy, IL

My name is Brock Decker, I live in rural Amboy, Illinois. For the past two years now I have been hunting for about 3 years now and just last year was introduced to Bow Hunting. My father never bow hunted but was an avid shotgun hunter and really nothing else. I decided being young and liking the outdoors as much as i do i would give it a shot literally.

Last year the season of 2002 a had allot of opportunities to take allot of nice doe and some very exceptional bucks but always something happened. Well this year turned for the better.

November 9, 2003 the rut was hitting pretty good in Illinois and i was depressed cause of pass misses but man would that change. My mother always told me to listen to my father but i didn't think it was to this extent. My father was getting ready for football to start he asked me if i wanted to go hunting but i simply replied, yes. He said i don't know son I think today is the day. I said for what, he replied i think today is the day you get your first deer.

I still not to upbeat got my stuff loaded into the Jeep and he drove me down and on the way down my father also told me to hunt my stand but i told him the wind wasn't right he said give it a shot I told him that i might. I got out there at about 1:30 pm. I sat down in the ground blind that i had set up the previous week but then my dads words started to sound good in my head as the blind was on the ground and pretty uncomfortable, since the circulation in my legs was gone. So I took my time getting in to my stand it was now about 2:15 pm. As i was getting ready to pull my bow up i heard a noise thankfully it was just a squirrel! I got my bow, a PSE Lightning Flite 2, up to me then I proceeded to knock an arrow and check my shots, since the last time I was in this stand was in the early season. Then I settled down for the wait but that wasn't that long!

I was in my stand for no longer then 15 minutes and in came this monster 10 point from what I seen. I thought for sure he was gonna take the other path and I would never see this monster again! But as luck has it, he came my way. He circled my stand and went right around me to my one opening on the right side of my stand. As I drew back my bow he got to the spot where it was last call if he moved another inch i couldn't take my shot. So I did what i seen on tv. I gave it a mouth grunt that stopped him right there, he was quartering away at 20 yards. As my gut dropped i released the arrow! Then i watch as my arrow penetrated for a perfect double lung shot! As i watched him run the shot that i had taken just kept running through my head over and over like a broken record. Then i heard the buck crash down in the woods.

As i sat there blank in thought i came back to my senses and called my dad, since we had went through this problem last year of me missing an eight point that i was positive that i hit right in the heart but soon found out that i didn't even graze the deer, he asked me a few question like where the arrow hit and if it stuck in him and if i made a good shot. I told him the answer and he said he would be down to get me and hopefully the deer, too.

When he and my mom got down there we started tracking the buck. We got to a good trail of blood and i happened to look up and see the antlers over a small brush pile. My parents were both in complete awe and me i was almost crying in happiness. so my dad and i proceeded to drag this goliath deer out of the woods, that i would never look at the same, and into the back of the Jeep. We took so many pictures and for Christmas i am getting this monster 11 point buck mounted. He Field Dressed, on the scale, 210 and will score right up there around 150 to 160 like i said this is a giant buck, I am not exaggerating! The taxidermist that i took my buck to, doesn't score them so when i get him back i will reply with the score and a picture. After this buck was taken out of those woods I soon learned and scouted another buck that is bigger then this 11 point. Next year maybe i will have another tail to tell you about another buck that may be in the record books but until then i am happy with what i have and will not judge any buck to this one simply because of antler size but it will always be in my mind.

Brock J. Decker
16 years of age