It was that smell again. That strange, particular smell that any other deer, like me, would pay attention to. It always seemed to start when I get close to the field. I looked around for anything out of place, even to see if others had followed me from where we had been bedded down. Nope, it looked like I was alone.

It had been cold on stand that morning. I had patiently been waiting for waiting for this certain buck to come walking out. He was not the biggest deer, but I have been hunting this deer for years. Earlier,  I thought I had seen a glimpse of antlers across the field to the edge, but no buck appeared. The area I am hunting is beautiful, with a wide open field in front of me, and behind me a creek in the woods a little ways off. It was the middle of October, and today being Halloween, I had told my buddies earlier that I was going to shoot a buck so big it would scare them. Hopefully, it will happen tonight.

I make my way slowly toward the field, one hoof in front of the other. I stop along the way to snack on some acorns. Pop! A limb breaks. I snap my head up, zoned in on this other buck walking towards me. When he finally sees me, he stops and just stares. I stare back. Last year, this very same buck and myself got into a huge fight over who should dominate the field, and I won. He starts to feed on some acorns, but keeps a close eye on me. As the nights get closer, I continue toward the field and find that other deer join me.

As the evening approaches, I use my binoculars to sweep the field edge for any sign of life. Suddenly, movement catches my eye. As I look two deer, both does, walk out  into the field. After them come two more does and a little buck. The evening chill was starting to set in, and knowing it was October, anything could happen. Hopefully, all this deer movement would foretell what was to come.

Several other deer had went ahead and walked into the field. I, on the other hand, preferred to walk around the edge. This allowed me to scope out everything and make sure it was safe. I normally do this for five to ten minutes.

The night grows close. ‘ Where is that buck? I know he is around here somewhere,’ I thought to myself. It was still a little early, but I did not want it to get too dark. ‘He’ll be out shortly’, I told myself.

The moment came. Thinking it was safe enough, I decided to step out into the field. The soybeans tasted good this year.

Finally! The buck that I had been waiting for finally showed up. He had to be at least a ten pointer. I slowly put my gun up onto the rest attached to my stand. I lower my eye  to  the scope, and find the buck. Man, he is big! The excitement and nerves started to flow through me, and my heart was beating so hard I thought it would beat out of my chest.

An alarm shoots through my nose to my brain. I jerk my head up and look around. Some of the other deer are looking also. Then, the smell hits me like a kick in the face. My internal instinct urges me to run like the wind. Do I listen?

Oh no! I see four deer, including the buck, jerk their head up. My gut tells me that I need to shoot now, but the buck is at the wrong angle.

I turn to let my nose “taste” the air. Something is definitely not right.

Yes! He’s turning. I can get a shot on him now.

I take off at a run.

I squeeze the trigger.