Some bucks that reside in the oaks and hills of East Fork Ranch become somewhat notorious as the days of the season unfold, that is where the story of the “Big nine” begins. It was unseasonably warm in mid October, hunting buddy Jimmy Sills and I were found ourselves relaxing in the pot belly blind at the top field where the story of the big nine had just been told. Waiting in anticipation that this big deer would appear like it had just days before when hunting with good friend Rodney Passow. Rodney and I had been hunting this location the first day of his hunt when three great bucks appeared. We discussed taking any of the deer including the nine point which sported unusually long brow tines. Being the first day of his hunt we regrettably decided to pass, only to hunt this buck the rest of the week with no luck.
As Jimmy and I finished our evening hunt we were disappointed to get no glimpse of the deer we were looking for. The next few days proved to be very tough hunting with warm temperatures and lack of deer movement we were struggling to say the least. On the third evening of the hunt we decided to try a stand known as the “Hole” which usually produces sightings of some big deer. We settled in to our blind glassing intently hoping for some luck. As the night progressed we watched as many young bucks chased does and fed in front of us. Then as the light faded I caught movement at the left of our stand, with one glance I told Jimmy “It’s him, it’s the big nine”. As the deer moved across our field of view it didn’t take long for us to decide to shoot, but as he moved into position the buck unexpectedly passed all the other deer in the field and headed into the opposite timber. Just as Jimmy settled onto the buck he had one step before it entered the brush, the shot was fired. Appearing to be a good hit we gave the buck a few minutes to expire before taking up the trail.

Making our way to the place we last saw the buck we quickly spotted the blood trail. Marking the first drop of blood we took up the trail with Jimmy in the lead, only twenty yards into the timber we spotted the bedded buck, he appeared to be hit, without knowing for sure a second shot was taken to ensure the fate of the deer. Once down a sense of excitement and accomplishment overwhelmed me knowing we had just harvested a deer that eluded us all season. As the hunt ended we discussed the events that unfolded that day agreeing that the “Big Nine” might not have been the largest taken that week it was definitely the most memorable.