Bagging the dream buck of a lifetime is part of what makes the Minnesota deer season so special
Posted by Jesse White on Wednesday, November 7, 2012 Under: Deer Hunting
When 32-year-old Chuck Johnson of Virginia, Minn. pulled the trigger on a big deer just moments after the 2012 Minnesota Firearms Deer Season opened Nov. 3 he had know idea the end result would be bagging the buck of a lifetime.
But that's exactly what the longtime hunter did Saturday morning near Tower.
Johnson, who has been hunting for more than 20 years and spends the seasons in the woods with his dad, shot a 210-pound (field dressed) 10-pointer with a large rack, just minutes after the legal shooter hours - a buck he's been watching on his trail cams and waiting to get a shot at for a couple of years.
I'll let him tell the rest of the story...
"I snuck into my stand around 7:15 a.m. opening morning, taking just a few steps at a time to not spook any deer because it was so calm. I climbed in quietly and sat down," Johnson said.
"I looked at my watch and it said 7:28, which was actually legal shooting (time) to the minute. About five minutes later I looked in my clearing to my left and saw movement.
"(I) Looked through my scope and saw a deer which looked to be pretty nice from what I could tell, then it disappeared into the woods. Seconds later it came threw my next clearing lane which is only about five feet wide. The deer was walking very fast with its head towards the ground like it was on a mission.
"It went through my next two clearing lanes so fast I couldn't tell what it was or even get a quick shot. I hit my grunt a few short times to try to slow him. By this time I had one small shooting lane left and the deer was almost directly behind me.
"I knew I had to make a shot. So I lined up my gun where I thought he would come out. He popped out about 75 yards away. In a split second I lined up the crosshairs and bang! As I watched the flame from my barrel shoot out the end I thought I saw him buckle!
"Still not knowing exactly how big the deer was I thought in my head, I hope he is a big one. A few short minutes later I climbed down and walked toward where he was. Half-way down the clearing I could smell him and a few more yards up he was laying right where he had been standing! I couldn't believe my eyes. He was a big 10 (pointer) I have had on camera for three years. The bullet hit right where I aimed through both lungs.
" It was like I won the lottery and that is why I enjoy hunting so much - because you never know what will happen and the adrenaline rush from shooting a nice buck is Like none other."
Johnson said it was the same deer he had caught on a deer camera last year on Christmas day that had a visable wolf wound on it's hind quarter.
He also has photos of it fighting with an even bigger buck.
And now he has a trophy deer at Timberland Trophy waiting to become a shoulder mount.
But that's exactly what the longtime hunter did Saturday morning near Tower.
Johnson, who has been hunting for more than 20 years and spends the seasons in the woods with his dad, shot a 210-pound (field dressed) 10-pointer with a large rack, just minutes after the legal shooter hours - a buck he's been watching on his trail cams and waiting to get a shot at for a couple of years.
I'll let him tell the rest of the story...
"I snuck into my stand around 7:15 a.m. opening morning, taking just a few steps at a time to not spook any deer because it was so calm. I climbed in quietly and sat down," Johnson said.
"I looked at my watch and it said 7:28, which was actually legal shooting (time) to the minute. About five minutes later I looked in my clearing to my left and saw movement.
"(I) Looked through my scope and saw a deer which looked to be pretty nice from what I could tell, then it disappeared into the woods. Seconds later it came threw my next clearing lane which is only about five feet wide. The deer was walking very fast with its head towards the ground like it was on a mission.
"It went through my next two clearing lanes so fast I couldn't tell what it was or even get a quick shot. I hit my grunt a few short times to try to slow him. By this time I had one small shooting lane left and the deer was almost directly behind me.
"I knew I had to make a shot. So I lined up my gun where I thought he would come out. He popped out about 75 yards away. In a split second I lined up the crosshairs and bang! As I watched the flame from my barrel shoot out the end I thought I saw him buckle!
"Still not knowing exactly how big the deer was I thought in my head, I hope he is a big one. A few short minutes later I climbed down and walked toward where he was. Half-way down the clearing I could smell him and a few more yards up he was laying right where he had been standing! I couldn't believe my eyes. He was a big 10 (pointer) I have had on camera for three years. The bullet hit right where I aimed through both lungs.
" It was like I won the lottery and that is why I enjoy hunting so much - because you never know what will happen and the adrenaline rush from shooting a nice buck is Like none other."
Johnson said it was the same deer he had caught on a deer camera last year on Christmas day that had a visable wolf wound on it's hind quarter.
He also has photos of it fighting with an even bigger buck.
And now he has a trophy deer at Timberland Trophy waiting to become a shoulder mount.
In : Deer Hunting
Tags: tower deer hunt minnesota big buck trophy whitetail
A former outdoors writer and reporter for the Mesabi Daily News in Virginia, MN, and the Daily Tribune in Hibbing, MN, Jesse has been in the newspaper business for nearly 20 years. His numerous awards over the past two decades include five first-place awards from the Associated Press; two first-place National Newspaper awards; and a first-place Minnesota Newspaper Association award. He is an avid hunter and angler and enjoys guns and archery.
