The following article is about an extraordinary hunt as told by our nephew, Derek.
Derek Harrison experienced the hunt of a lifetime on opening weekend of gun season 2024. It all started on the second day of the hunt, November 16 on his father-in-law’s property in Hillsdale county. It was a fluke of a site, as a few weeks earlier he’d set up his hunting spot in the dark. Heading out on the morning of the hunt, and running late, Derek reflects on saying to his brother-in-law, Kenny, “I know there are big deer, we just haven’t seen them yet.” The 3 cameras that had been strategically placed had not captured larger bucks, but physical signs would suggest otherwise. And shortly, this would prove to be true, but it would take awhile before they’d be able to fully relish in that reality.
So Derek and Kenny head out to their prospective hunting spots, with Derek using a saddle set up. A half hour after daylight, Kenny puts a hit on the biggest buck of his lifetime, and then sees clearly larger bucks chasing after it. He texts Derek the news, as excitement towards the possibilities for both of them begins to set in. About an hour later he is distracted by the sound of sticks breaking and then the sight of antlers. This seemingly large buck is about 60 to 70 yards away. Derek is quite uncomfortable from the awkward, still position of his body, as he awaits the precise moment to pull the trigger. It comes, but he has to free hand it, going the opposite direction from what he’s used to. He knocks down the deer with the first shot of his 12 gauge slug gun. His heart is pounding, as he watches the deer get up and run. Derek knows he can not get a second shot from the tree, so he races down the tree still wearing his saddle, which is slipping down his legs. He pulls up for a shot and in that instant, he realizes that he does not have a shell racked in. Adrenaline flowing, Derek runs like a madman for 100 yards in pursuit of this massive buck. The buck is 30 yards away, Derek goes down to his knees, landing himself in animal dung. As his heart races, and the scope of his gun fogs up, he waits for the deer to stand up again so he can get off another shot. He can see the neck, pausing before shooting, not wanting to screw up the mount. This was only for a moment, of course, as opportunities like this don’t present themselves everyday. So Derek shoots the buck in the neck, sees that the head is down, and walks to within 3 to 4 feet from the beast. In his excitement, he calls Kenny and says, “He’s big and he’s down!” Then he lets out a loud scream of exhilaration and heads back to help Kenny retrieve his deer, remembering exactly where to return for his own trophy.
Unfortunately, they don’t find Kenny’s deer. Bummed about this, but still feeling celebratory about his own, the family arrives, beers are cracked open, and it’s only 10 a.m. Text messages are sent out, as the recipients await pics.
So they head back to the location where Derek’s buck had lain and he’s gone! Beer half down, Derek is thinking, what the heck? They start tracking blood again. It’s a pretty open area and he’s thinking that they should be able to see him. The blood trail was leading back to where this had all started, yet no deer. Along the way, Kenny found their cousin Brandon’s decayed buck, which had been hit while bow hunting 6 weeks earlier. At that time, he’d hired a tracker, whose dog’s actions suggested that the deer was still alive from a non lethal hit.
Brandon calls his tracker to help with finding Derek’s deer, but he will not be available until after his own evening hunt. They wait. The tracker finally arrives with a GPS on the dog and 3 radios for communication, one which includes a GPS. This one goes to Brandon who is stationed back at the cabin. Derek and the tracker each have a standard radio. The dog follows the blood trail, then disappears into the darkness. Shortly thereafter, the tracker calls to say, “I’m looking at him!” Derek shouts over the radio, “Shoot him!!!!!” But the tracker is not legally at liberty to shoot the deer. So Derek runs back to the cabin where Brandon is,as he needs a GPS to locate them. In the meantime, the dog went right up to the deer, who then stood up, then bounded off once again. Discouraged but not defeated, they head in for the night with plans to resume the search in the morning.
On Sunday morning, Derek and Kenny seek permission from area neighbors with adjacent properties to extend their search. When they arrive at one of these neighbors, to add to the tone, they observe men processing a harvested deer. These people had heard Derek’s scream of the previous morning and were thus captivated by his quest. The mystery of this buck only intensifies as a result of conversations with some of these neighbors. One spoke of a big old deer with 3 legs that he’d seen just 3 weeks earlier, describing him as “One Big SOB!” Another story was from a hunting neighbor who’d previously shot what would later be confirmed to be this same deer with a bow on two separate occasions this fall, leaving wounds on the back. What they were to learn that day is that this buck was legendary!
Permission to track granted, the search moves into full force. Derek has to answer to texts sent prematurely after this monster went down for the first time, so the pressure is on!
The tracker of the previous day returns. They begin where the dog started acting crazy the previous day, now at midday, and he leads the tracker into a cattail marsh. The tracker falls and gets soaked, and in his frustration begins cussing. Everyone departs to watch the Detroit Lions game. (The Lions defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars 52-6.) The plan was for the family to grid search the area on Monday. It is decided that Derek’s wife, Ashley, will take the day off and the boys will be kept home from school for this monumental event.
The buck’s (tracked) trail
And then Derek’s friend, Matt, who’d been one of the recipients of the premature celebratory text, suggests a tracker who happens to be from a nearby town. Matt previously had success with this tracker, which is encouraging. So this tracker, Joe*, comes out on Sunday evening, insisting that they start tracking from the very beginning to enhance the scent trail for his dog. Derek heads out into the woods on his own with Joe, who immediately finds an overlooked speck of blood. They’re feeling hopeful as Joe says, “God is good. Do you mind if we pray?” So pray they do, and 5 minutes or 75 yards later, the rest is history, or at least, we’re almost there. The deer is still alive! Derek shoots, the deer takes off again. Derek shoots two more times. The deer goes down for about 10 minutes. Derek starts to make calls. Joe and Derek are hugging, their lifelong bond secured. The dog starts barking. It’s 11 p.m. now and they’re getting ready to take the standard victory pics. And then they notice that the beast is still breathing! They stab the deer in the heart. The deer lifts his head and then proceeds to get up for what would be the final time. He chases after them both, rearing his head for 10 yards before falling to the earth with the knife still in his heart. It is finished. Oh, and yes, he had just 3 legs!
Derek and Ashley Harrison
Informal autopsy would reveal that this buck of at least 9 lives was declining from previous injuries, with multiple sites of infection noted, internal bleeding, and hair falling out of his hide. They were to discover 10 injuries, besides the ones inflicted by Derek during this 37 hour pursuit. It is surmised that the amputated left, front leg was from being hit by a motor vehicle and was well healed. The right antler was smaller than the left and damage to this antler suggests further assault on this much matured buck of 6 ½ years based on aging of the teeth. Derek scored him at 156, which if not for the stunted antlers on the right would have easily rendered a 160. Each scar tells a story of the one that got away. In the end, though not edible for consumption, Derek was able to preserve the antlers, as well as memories that will last a lifetime!
What kept him alive this long is beyond comprehension. Perhaps it was for such a time as this, providing an ending that is nothing short of legendary. To this magnificent creature…. RIP.
*Joe M. Coe, Military Veteran. Author – Butcher – Deer Tracker (231) 286-0544
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