Steve Esker Buck (2010)

Story:

“In Praise of Trail Cameras”

August 2011

By: Edson B. Waite, Jr.

     Steve Esker and his twin brother, Scott, have access to 30 properties near Columbus, Ohio, and they spend a great deal of time scouting and evaluating each one.  By the time deer season opens, they’ve usually decided not only where they’re going to devote most of their time, but also which bucks to pursue.

     Going into the 2010 season, the crossbow hunter from Reynoldsburg set his sights on a 24-pointer that had no aversion to being photographed.

     “We named that buck TF24 for the old abandoned tree farm where it lived and the number of points we could count in photographs,” Steve said.  “It often showed up with another buck we nicknamed Stickers.  We retrieved photos of the pair throughout the summer, and then they stopped.”

     “TF24 was missing in action for 32 days,” he added. “Where he went and what he did are a mystery to me.  When he finally stepped in front of a camera again, he was there three straight nights.  And then he was gone again for another 32 days.  I have no idea why.  It was as if there was a 32-day cycle.”

     The 24-pointer appeared again on Sept. 20, for the first time out of velvet, and then it returned regularly, even during the daytime.

     The Franklin County tract the buck called home is an overgrown and abandoned nursery and tree farm, but there were also a couple of cornfields.  To reach his stand, Steve had to crawl on hands and knees. He didn’t want to cut a trail to it.

     In seven or eight vigils, while the corn was still standing, he passed up two very nice 150-plus-inch 8-pointers and another 4×4 that might’ve scored 145.

     “When I arrived at the farm on Oct. 14, I saw that the cornfields had been cut.  There was no longer any cover outside of the thicket, which meant any deer that had been bedding in the corn were now either in the thicket or had moved away.  I hoped TF24 had done the former,” Steve said.

     The weather forecast called for a west wind that afternoon, which was perfect for Steve’s setup.

     “Around 6:45, the wind shifted, and I just felt that would be the night,” he said.

 “Fifteen minutes later, while I was watching a 5-pointer dining on apples and a nearby doe that was acting spooky, she caught a whiff of me or something and blew several times.  I thought I was busted, but the 5-pointer didn’t even flinch or turn to look at her or me.  Moments later, here came TF24 from my left.

     “I never heard him approach,” Steve continued.  “I casually turned my head, and he was standing there just behind some branches.  I carefully turned on my video camera and readied my crossbow for a shot.

     “Suddenly, TF24’s ears perked up, and he looked away from me.  That’s when it hit me that my trail camera had perhaps taken its last photo of the buck.”

     “While he was distracted, I tripped the trigger and sent the bolt was on its way.  Simultaneously, the buck crouched and lurched forward several inches, causing the bolt to strike the buck farther back than where I wanted.  The deer spun around and dashed into the thick stuff,” Steve said.

     “I was a wreck, hyperventilating and going all wobbly.  I’d filmed the shot, so I turned the camera on my goofy self before calling my brother.

     “When I told him I’d just shot TF24, I almost lost it again.  I told him to call everybody, ’cause I wasn’t capable of calling anyone else,” he laughed.

     Without looking for the bolt or sign, Steve gathered his gear and headed home, where his friends gathered to watch the footage several times before deciding the shot was lethal.  That’s when the tracking began.

     The blood trail was quickly located by flashlight, but it ended after 75 yards.  Since there was no use wandering around in the dark and possibly bumping a wounded deer, the men chose to leave and return the following morning.

     Joy of all joys, it started raining at 4 a.m.

     “We all met at the farm at daybreak and immediately headed for the last drop of blood we’d found.  We fanned out and started looking over, under and around everything that might hide a fallen deer,” Steve said.

     “My friend, Travis, walked up a narrow lane within the trees and disappeared from view, while the rest of us continued to search.  About 7:40, my cell phone rang.

      It was Travis.

     “‘You are going to be very happy,’ he said.  ‘I am standing over your deer,’” Steve said.

     The buck covered about 120 yards before giving up the ghost.

     “We made the deer presentable, and then I did a walk-up sequence for the video of the hunt, which I hope will air on TV.  Next came a green-scoring session right there in the thicket to see how it rated.  Actually a 22-pointer, we figured it would gross about 211, which was within a quarter-inch of its BTR composite score.

     “Travis made the comment that perhaps I could give him the $300 that I had to pay for the helicopter that helped me locate the previous year’s buck,” Steve grinned.  “I’ll have to think about that for a while.  Good friends are hard to come by!”