The tail of the swamp monster
Fall of 2012 I tagged my last buck, in 2015 I shot and lost the biggest buck of my life (I’m sure some of you have read that story). As a rule of thumb I won’t shoot a whitetail unless it makes me go “Wow!” so I don’t shoot a lot of deer, I usually shoot a moose or elk for my freezer and let my son shoot the deer.
Fast forward to the fall of 2016, after a few hard winters the deer population seems to finally be bouncing back and I start to see some mature bucks cruising during the rut. One of the bucks I see is a wide, light colored racked buck always feeding in the same field and always at night right next to the road. I have a couple stands set up in that bush on a cutline that parallels the field about 100yds in. I’d always see deer there but never would see the light colored giant that I would sometimes see next to the road at night.
The following fall, 2017 I was heading out to a spot about 30km from my cabin. The field I would see that deer in was on the way, it was early, about 15-20min before legal light, but it was one of those mornings where the daylight came early. After passing that field I turned south and started to drive, that’s when I noticed 2 deer about 100yds off the road. I pulled up my bino’s and see a nice buck, easily mid 160’s and I was like “wow, he’s a nice buck”, that’s when he lifted his head, the rack he was sporting this year was incredible! It dwarfed the other buck, this giant I guessed to be in the 240” class deer!!! He wasn’t too worried, but wasn’t going to stick around because daylight was soon approaching and the two of them made their way to the swamp bush. I had to make a plan, I had my stands set up across the road. I drove about 1/2 mile up the road, threw my trail cam in my pack and headed into the swamp. After about an hour and a half I found it, I found the place he called Home. He had scrapes the size of volkswagons!
I found a tree to put the camera, but to avoid having it triggered by moving branches I had to break quite a few to get a clear path. With the camera set I figured since I was there that I would pull up a seat under a big old spruce tree and see if he would come by. After about 45-60min I figured I would get up and head further in to see the rest of his range. As soon as I stood up he jumped, the bugger snuck right up behind me, no more than 20ft away! I’m sure he heard me breaking branches and snuck in to see who was in his house. DAAAAAM, I blew it big time.
It was about a week later my son and I were driving about a mile or so south of where I went in the woods after that buck, and as we passed a drainage ditch I see a doe about 600yds down go flying across the ditch, and not 2 seconds later ZOOM, there he was, hot on the doe’s tail so I tell my son “that’s him!”. It only takes literally about two seconds for the deer to pop out of the willows, jump the ditch, then disappear into the willows on the other side. About 30 seconds later, zoom zoom they go flying back so I say there he goes again! Caught up in seeing the colossal buck it took my son to say “well your not going to kill him sitting here!” Duh!!!
Off I go, down the frozen drainage ditch about 300yds, there was a little outcrop sticking half way across the ditch, I had my ghillie suit on so I blended into the swamp grass perfectly. I set up myself so I was looking down the drainage ditch through my scope I’ll be ready when they come across next time! After about 20min I notice movement about 60yds up on my left, it was the doe! She was on the bank of the ditch and heading my way! Being that I was down in the ditch I didn’t have a very good vantage point from where I was but I had to make it work. All of a sudden she comes to a halt and is looking beyond me towards the road, then she spun and took off back the way she came and that’s when I finally notice him behind her in the willows. It all happened so fast I had no time for a shot.
I guess what happened was she heard a vehicle slowly creeping down the road, it was my neighbor! He saw my truck parked on the road and didn’t want to mess up my hunt. Turns out it would have been better if he flew by. That was it, the last time I saw him in the 2017 season.
2018 brought me bad luck, April I ended up breaking my leg at my knee, tore my acl and mcl off, I made a real mess of it (still have a hard time walking). I did most of my hunting in my truck or my side by side and never did see the swamp monster. I heard of a couple sightings but I always hear people talking about seeing big deer, I don’t put too much faith in it however.
2019 season, my buddy Helgie asks me if I’ve seen the swamp monster, I had told him about my encounters back in 2017 and he was wondering how it was going. I told him “Nope, I think the wolves might have got him, I haven’t seen him in two years”.
At the time I was guiding for moose, one morning as we’re heading out before legal light I was driving past the field where I first saw the buck when my client says “wow, that looks like a huge whitetail” but he was running off into the darkness towards the bush and I never got a look at him. Was it him? Was it the swamp monster? To say I got a little adrenaline rush at that time would be quite accurate.
The stars aligned two weeks later,
My moose hunters both tagged out, one on November 2nd, the other on the third, then on Remembrance Day my son shot his first bull moose. November 14th my first whitetail hunter arrived. After 5 days of Hunting he connects on a beautiful whitetail with a 9” drop tine. My second hunter was supposed to arrive on the 20th but forgot his passport on his way to the airport and missed his flight, that gave me the day to hunt for myself.... finally!
I figured I’d get myself situated to where the deer filter in to the swamp from the fields, right where that buck was headed when my moose hunter saw him. Sitting there, glassing the field, daylight arriving, no deer, none I could see but there are rolls in the field so I figured I still have a chance. Then like whitetail do, all of a sudden there’s 2 deer in the middle of the field heading my way. I could see it was a buck and a doe but the body size didn’t appear to be that much different so I’m thinking it’s just an average buck. I pick up my binos and instantly know it’s a shooter! Down go the binos, up comes the gun. By now I’m not looking at antlers, I’m on the buck. They are somewhere around 200yds, I’m standing freehand, I take a shot.... I think I missed, but I’m still not sure. They start running, I shoot again.... missed!!! Then the doe stops, I can almost hear the buck saying c’mon bitch let’s go! But he ain’t leaving her. He keeps head for the bush but walking. I don’t think he was sure where I was but I had a quartering shot so I took it and boom, down he went!!!
At this point I’m thinking “man, that’s a good buck, I bet he’ll go 170’s. Then when I got up to him I’m thinking “he’s got a ton of mass, he’ll probably go in the 180’s!” By the time I had him loaded in the tub sled I’m thinking wholly smokes he’s tall, I bet he makes the 190’s!! Once I got back to the cabin and pull out the tape I had him just over the 200” Mark.
It’s been a seven year wait to have the opportunity to put my tag on a whitetail, but it was worth every year! The swamp monster looks good in pictures but they truly don’t show the mass this thing has. Although he was in his prime two years ago, with beams full of 10 and 12 inch points, racking up the inches in time length, I prefer the incredible mass and character he put on while going down hill. A true swamp monster!
PS, one of my “misses” was actually a graze, I assume it was the running shot because I managed to zip the front of his neck just enough to split the skin about 3” but never touched the muscle!
Rifle: Gunwerks ClymR
Caliber: 7mm rem mag
Bullet: 168gr Berger VLD Hunter
Shot distance: 200yds.... maybe?
A special note, I killed this buck about 300yds from where I first saw him 3 years ago!!!
