6 Seasons with Grande Ocho

[Wannabelikedan]

I’m going to attempt to keep this relatively short but also know omitting too much of this journey would not do it justice. A journal over the chase for this guy would probably have been more appropriate.
2017
This was my first season going “beast” style and taking the plunge onto the public land scene. I read mountains of material here and listened to countless podcasts over anything and everything that I could to translate to what I was seeing on the ground. I managed to kill an ancient giant on private and score on my first public land buck out of basically luck. It was enough to take me down the wormhole, but I honestly still didn’t know crap. I managed to get a few sittings of shooter bucks including this guy twice during the rifle season that year. After season, I dug into every piece of ground that I felt could’ve held him. The two things that stood out with him were how high his rubs were and the size of his turds. I felt I had a pretty good bead on him though he was utilizing a fairly large stretch of riverbottom.

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2018
I took vacation the first two weeks of season that year, something I’d never done before. I wanted to get on him early and attempt to kill a mature buck early. Unfortunately, a massive flood hit in early September and left almost every bedding area he was using then, standing in water. Nowhere I found sign of him the year before proved to be holding him and I was forced to expand elsewhere to locate him. I did manage to find a big turd about a mile away on higher ground in a public field, but I never felt that area was a place to hold him. I ended up abandoning this public for the majority of the season and learned a new parcel.

2019
After getting my but kicked in ‘18, I managed to find the largest shed of my life winter scouting back in this public piece. A no brainer that I would spend the entire season chasing a world class buck. My trail camera inventory wasn’t super high then (still isn’t by some standards), but I still mainly used them to monitor areas that I didn’t plan to hunt. While chasing the highest scoring buck I’d ever seen, I placed this camera in an area I had spotted a good buck working a hot doe in ‘17. Well, 2019 also kicked my but even though I managed to have that 200” in bow range twice in one week. Even got drawn on him the first time, but I ate both buck tags that year. After season, I still had the focus on the 200” for next, but to my surprise, a very large and familiar 8 point was on that camera I had placed across the river in early season. I scouted the nearest bedding and found the same tall rubs and a few big buck turds that confirmed he was there. He was on the back burner for the ‘20 season for my focus was killing the 200.

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2020
The October timeframe was spent killing does and capitalizing on a solid buck early while monitoring the rub line to open up for the 200 with November nearing. I dropped a solid buck while I was getting over covid in late October and already had a doe to boot come November. I scouted the area I picked up the big 8 on November 4th or 5th but never managed to turn up a signature rub of his. I placed a camera on one of the few scrapes I found and spent the next month scouring the other area for the 200”, never to find a hint of him. I returned the second week of December to discover the 8 had daylighted on that camera just a day or two after I hung it. Probably had a dozen pics of him in just over a month. He was the same 4 point on his left, but had a velvet injury on his right side leaving him pretty non typical. I dropped a few sits and made a couple camera moves that last month of season. Never turned up much other than some night pics.

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2021
Life hit hard early in ‘21. Like life altering stuff. Few guys on here know about it. Actually came home to bad news after scouting on February 24th. Rightfully so, I literally did no scouting the rest of that winter. After a traumatic and dramatic spring and summer, I was just happy to see deer season again. Had no real goals other than just to hunt and try to feel happy doing what I love to do. I purchased my first cell cams ever that year. I hung one in the area the 200 was in two years prior just throwing up a prayer. The other went back on a trail I had several pics of the big 8 on in late season of ‘20. Not far from where I had several pics in November. Threw a regular cam way in the back as a wild card. Plan was to wait him out til that cell cam pinged and then dive in on him. The mentality that had handcuffed me with mature deer on this piece is they tend to not stay. The big 8 left in ‘18, the 200 left in ‘20, and others I had followed through the years had done the same. It was never a guarantee that I would get a “next year” with any big buck on this piece. That cell cam soaked for nearly 3 months on a known used trail he frequented in ‘20 and not once did I have a confirmed picture of him. Late December came and I made the trek to gather both cams. I pulled the regular cam in the back and he was on it twice that entire time. He was by far the largest he’d ever been. He returned to his normal 8 frame and his main beams grew so long he sprouted a crab claw 4 on his left side. While scouting that day, I managed to walk on to his ‘20 left side. At that point, he had a target on his head for 2022 and if he didn’t return for the season, I would burn tags looking for him.

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2022
Once the ‘21 season ended, I monitored a beaten trail with a camera to see if I could pick him up til he had shed. Up until the end of February, he was still holding so I pulled the trigger on scouting the first week of March.

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I had one bedding area known but he was having some movement in/out of another. This was the biggest piece to the puzzle piece of this season was deciding what was home base. I found several confirming rubs and it was definitely up to standards for housing a big buck. There was some sign across the river that very well could have been him too, adding more possibilities. I left one camera on each side all spring and summer to aid with answers. Neither produced a sighting by the second week of September when I camera bombed the place. I set cams on trails linking the two main bedding areas, a “cheat” trail, and large dormant scrapes from the previous season. While doing so, I found his ‘19 left side on one of the trails between the two main bedding areas. Probably 100 yards from where I’d picked up his ‘20 left side.

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I had zero previous intel that he was in the area before November 1 from any year prior. The plan was to dive in head first on November 1, unless he pinged on a cell cam before then. I was off work the first 13 days of November to throw the kitchen sink at him. I did make 1 observation sit October 26th. I set up monitoring the west edge of his historic bedding. Nothing aggressive by any stretch but I moved in close enough until I started seeing “deer” sign. I heard movement the last hour of light but only managed to see the rear of one deer. Never identified what it was.

The morning of November 1, I set up on the “cheat” trail. Low impact area but thick transition dividing two open stretches of bottom. No sitings on this sit but I pulled the card from the camera placed in September. Like clockwork, he was on it in the middle of the night. The only time since it had been placed on September 17th.

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I checked another cam on one of the trails linking the two bedding areas. One hit from September 30th, the only confirmation of him I had before November ever. The next 8 days, I chased him with cameras and sits trying to back track him to specific bedding to label home. He hit daylight for the first time on the morning of the 5th coming from the questionable bedding going to the historic bedding. Every picture I had been getting was at night, so I was still pretty torn on home base. I was stage hunting his historic bedding in the evenings and throwing morning observation sits on scrapes, cruising trails and other transitions trying to get a bead on his tendencies. I got pretty intrusive on the evening of the 8th. I had a dicey wind playing towards his historic bedding. The humidity was extremely high that evening and the air was sinking bad with the low winds. No action that evening, but I hung another cell cam to try and give myself more answers. He pushed a doe just yards away from where I had sit the previous night that next morning.

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Made a play the next evening on that bedding area. I knew he would be locked down with her but it was the closest pin on him I had to that point. No cigar on the sit, but I could smell him walking out that night.

I had some things to do on the morning of the 10th but was back in the area that evening. I felt I had been neglecting an adjacent area to that particular bedding. Also had made note to myself how few does I had visuals of on all my sits to that point. Scouted through some large patches of horsetail reeds en route to checking very close to the western edge of his historic bedding. I discovered a small scrape, one big buck turd, several doe tracks and lots of bois d’ arc trees. The bois d’ arc leaves and “apples” were the only major food source available since the acorn crop was a failure. Once I made it just outside the bedding area, I found a car hood sized scrape around a small hackberry. It hadn’t been worked in a few days but it was the missing piece I had been looking for. I made that evening’s sit on it but no visitors.

The next morning I sat in the very back on a cruising trail between bedding areas. A front blew in late the night before and produced a fairly busy sit. Mid day, I made more camera moves, including a cell cam over his scrape and a regular cam several hundred yards west of there on a beat down trail that started at the scrape. The trail ended in a patch of bois d’ arc trees that had a ton of the apples with huge bites taken out of them. I was kicking myself at this point but really felt his days were numbered.

The 12th and 13th were my last days to hunt before I had to get back on the work grind. At this point, I was tying up loose ends on places that he could’ve been locked down in. Basically, process of elimination was my game plan with scouting and sits. I had about 4 areas left to poke around in and I had cut it down to one with the evening sit on the 13th yielding nothing. Night shift occupied the 14th and 15th. He daylighted on his scrape at 2:20 on the 14th. Does had been visiting it off and on since I had placed it there. I elected to pass on the evening sit of the 16th and get some things finished at home.

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The morning of the 17th was a cold and frosty one. Had no wind initially but was supposed to roll from the SW late in the morning. I had a general spot picked out to sit but not an exact tree. Plan was slowly make my way in to the area I had found the small scrape and cruise trail at grey light. Once I could see, decide which tree was going to work and quickly hang. I bumped a single doe once I got in the vicinity and picked a tree 20 yards behind me. I was set by about 7:30. Not 15-20 minutes after, I heard movement at my 1:00. Pulled the binos up and it was a doe. She slowly approached and I caught movement behind her. Binos up again and an old friend by the name of “buck fever” came upon me. It’s been quite some time since I’ve felt a mini panic attack in the tree. I quickly started talking myself down off of it and slowly got my bow in hand. They were in no hurry browsing around and he was casually keeping an eye on her. She made her way in to 35 yards working to my left. I thought she was going to continue on that path out of the area, providing no shot opportunities with that projected path. To my amazement, she redirected towards my right, crossing the wash in front of me at 30 yards. “Holy s?/t this is gonna happen” I thought to myself. Once she was about 25 yards at my 2:00, he had followed her every step and started down into the wash. I drew and had estimated 30 yards for the lane I wanted and where she had walked. Tried to stop him and he took 2 extra steps. No shot. Two more steps and I get him to stop this time. Probably the best anchor and release I could ever recall making on an animal in the moment. Flight was true and impact looked to be where I was aiming. He tore off hard and I hear him stop but he’s just out of sight. I hear more commotion a few seconds later. Wasn’t sure if he tipped over or took off again. I make a couple phone calls immediately and talked it out. Had one friend on the way by the time those were over and I get down to look at my arrow. I found blood immediately at the site and it’s great blood. Arrow was soaked as well. I mark it and headed back to the truck to wait on my help. 9:30 we’re on the trail and it’s no issue following blood. Still cautious though, I’ve got my head pinned to the ground scanning harder than I should have. My buddy stops me at about 60 yards and tells me he sees him laying 20 yards ahead. In disbelief, I argue with him until I turn around and actually look for myself. A lot feels hit me at that moment. Basically every feeling imaginable. So much time, sweat, miles and scouting went into that one moment that it gets a hold of you when it all finally comes together. 6 seasons with one animal on public ground. 3 visuals. 1 3-mile relocation. Dozens of pictures and videos. 2 sheds. Countless miles walked scouting. All of it hits in one wave. Since I had first seen him in November of 2017, this was truly the first measurable amount of time I had spent hunting this animal. In the end, I hunted a total of 15 days specifically for him this season alone. 19 total sets were made and of those I sat only one tree twice. Just a truly remarkable animal to get to know and hunt over the years. My respect runs deep with these animals without question. Big shout out and thanks to Ridgeghost for listening to me ramble about this deer for so long and sharing his thoughts/knowledge with me. Appreciate ya dude!

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[Edcyclopedia]

Ochotacular!

[Bonecrusher101]

I love this story! Well written with a successful finish!!! Congrats on staying with it and getting your buck!

[Chuck B]

Fantastic. Happy for you man. Beauty of a buck!!

[stash59]

[Kokes]

awesome buck and write up, congrats!

[Arrowbender]

Great Story w even greater Effort to close the deal on a Great old Beast of a Buck!!!

Congrats !!!

[hunting_dad]

First of all let me say what an awesome write up you did. Unbelievable

Heck of a story and history with that buck. Cool to see how it played out and the time it took to finally get on that deer. Many congrats and respect for your dedication to staying after him and finally closing the deal. Awesome

[Grizzlyadam]

Good write up! Congrats on finally sealing the deal on that buck, that's quite an accomplishment!!

Maybe I missed it but what's with the one big foot there in that pic?

[Trout]

Buen trabajo!

[Jackson Marsh]

Great story and a great buck!

Well done.

[Wannabelikedan]

Good write up! Congrats on finally sealing the deal on that buck, that's quite an accomplishment!!

Maybe I missed it but what's with the one big foot there in that pic?

Just the way I was holding them. It’s closer to the camera. Just showing the wear and the coloration in his hooves. Never seen one losing the pigment like that. Guess it’s from age.

[Dpoole90]

Wow! Awesome story! Awesome deer!
Congratulations

[huntinsonovagun]

Great ending to an awesome buck. Makes ya wonder how many of them make it to 8+ years.

Did you ever pin down his primary home?

We may need to see pics of the 200”. Sounds like he would have been the state record…ever hear anything else about him.

You’ve been getting after it and it’s paying off—congrats!!

[greenhorndave]

Dude, that was a great read and an amazing story.

Thanks for taking the time to write it and congrats!