A lot of history with this buck. First showed up on my cuddeback about a week before bow season. He has distinct g2's on both sides that have some curves in them, so we dubbed him squiggles. However he liked to get his picture taken and always made a grand entrance so we changed it to Mr. Squiggles!! Probably have well over 100 pics of him from start to finish. Several of the pics we had of him made him look small and young. So we decided he needed another year, or at least another year to pass on those genes. I figured him to be somewhere around 123-127 but I was really hoping he'd make P&Y. Squiggles liked to bed on the neighbors property which was about a 100 acre thicket, and feed and cruise on our side. Here in Alabama if we are lucky enough to get a rut its usually late January with our season ending on Jan, 31st(one of the few states in the union that doesnt get the full benefit of the rut
). Anyhow he stopped showing up on our cameras pretty much the whole month of December, and after hearing several shots in that thicket we figured he was dead. Around Jan 8th i found a big scrape and several huge rubs about 40 yards from one of my lock-ons. I cleaned it out and freshened it with code blue and hung a camera on the scrape. I checked it a few days later and found a 4pt checking the scrape!!! I knew he wasnt the one making those rubs so I left my camera on the scrape and a week later Squiggs showed up with another big 7pt. I had the 7pt crossing the creek 2 days in a row at 9:00 am. I told one of my buddies who bow hunts this club with me to go hunt my stand. I couldnt hunt the next morning and he was off for 2 weeks and he was having a slow season. He didnt wanna hunt my stand, he thought id get mad but I reassured him everything was cool. Anyhow greg smoked that 7pt the next morning at 9:17!! On jan, 18th I had a chance to slip away for an evening hunt. I went to the same stand greg shot his buck. About 20 min before dark Squiggles came out of the thicket, crossed the creek and I shot right over his back @ 27 yards!!! I was sick to my stomach!! I had the worst case of buck fever I have had since I was a kid!! Even though I missed I LOVED IT!! that rush is intense!! The next morning I changed my mind and didnt go to that stand, Figured I'd let him settle down, checked the camera around midday and he was there @ 7:30 that morning!!! Again Im sick!!! last saturday morning I heard a shot in the thicket and watched 2 guys high fiving and celebrating and then load up a buck on their 4-wheeler and drive off. So now I'm convinced squiggs is dead. Once again I put the cameras back out and checked them yesterday afternoon and guess what....No squiggs. I am certain he's dead. Today was our last day. So I decided what the hell maybe another buck has had time to move in that area im going back there. Called my dad who was off and we were gonna go. I woke up late called my dad he didnt answer I started texting like crazy hoping like hell I didnt blow our last day hunt. Grab my gear throw it in the truck and haul ass to the property. I got there as the sun was coming up pinned out(only one there today!) threw my scent blocker fleece on grabbed my back pack and went to get my bow out of the case.......And then I remembered..... I was in such a hurry grabbing boots off the dryer and keys, cell phone, snacks, and gatorade that I left my FREAKING bow sitting in the kitchen by the back door!!! Sick doesnt even describe how I was feeling!! Luckily a few weeks ago I put my rifle in the case under my back seat, I was down but not out. I decided then I didnt want to hunt my lock-on in the back with a rifle because its so thick. I had planned on hunting a food plot with my bow this afternoon so I decided to go in that area. I climbed a ladder stand over looking a sage pocket and about 350 yards to my left was the food plot i was gonna hunt. Right in front of me was another food plot as well. I saw a half rack and spike early and then watched 2 big bobcats chase the half rack away. I thought about shooting those cats but never really had a clear shot. Anyhow at 8:10 my wife called with one of those pointless phone calls that wives so very much love and as I was talking I looked up and all I saw was horns!!! I told her as nicely as I could
That I had to go. keep in mind im about a mile away from where I got the last pics of squiggs and plus I assumed he was dead. I had about 10 seconds to shoot before he crossed the sage and after a 1 sec look at this rack I knew he was a shooter. I got my gun onto the rail just as he stepped into the lane, put the crosshairs on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger. He mule kicked and ran off back in the swamp. I knew he was hit so I got down shortly after and went to looking for blood. after 30 min of looking I hadnt found one single sign that I hit the deer!! I knew my rifle was on and with a steady rest there was no way I missed at 80 yards. So I pressed on. An hour and a a half later I still havent found anything. I was really getting pissed!! Here it is the last day and I just missed a great buck. I made it back to the truck and decided I would return with help. I was too embarassed to even tell anyone especially my friends bacsause I didnt wanna hear this or think about this **** for 9 more months. Im hard headed, no doubt. I sat there in the truck replaying that shot over and over again and I knew I hit the deer. So I got out of the truck and went back to where he was standing when I shot to see if there was any way I might of hit a limb or branch. I took a few steps to the left, and started immediately telling myself the deer didnt run this way. I was positive I saw him turn to the right. Figuring I was wasting my time I decided to humor myself and just walk a lil further. I found some fresh kicked up dirt under the leaves and I thought maybe I was wrong and the deer did run this way. A few steps more and I had confirmation, I found a few drops of meat coverd blood. I knew then I hit the deer. I followed the trail for a few more yards and then lost blood. The deer was running down hill towards a big flooded swamp so I went to the edge just to see if I could see where he went in. Again no blood. I walked up and down the edge trying to find a shallow enough spot to cross. And then I saw what I thought was a submerged stump barely sticking out of the water just a few yards in front of me. I thought "That sure is a funny looking stump", as I got closer I could tell it was the left side of his belly sticking up out of the water. He was completely submerged except for just that lil bit of his belly!! It was too deep so I returned to the truck and fashioned a snatch hook out of rope and a screw in step. A few tries later I managed to hook his rack and as I slowly eased the deer to me I could see his rack just under the water and thats when I saw that ol Squiggly G2!! I knew then I had Mr. Squiggles!! I hated like crazy that I didnt get him with my bow, however he is an awesome buck who put up a great fight and left me with a ton of memories and a ear to ear ****-eating grin!! Mr. Squiggles was a great buck and a smart one. He only made 2 mistakes that I know off, the time I missed and the time he died!! I sure hope he bred as many does as he could because he had great genetics. The processor and taxidermist both aged him at 4.5. I enjoyed it Mr. Squiggles, thanks for a GREAT season!!!
