Story and photography by Bob Zaiglin

Examples of decisions that can sometimes make a difference between success and failure, but not always.

It was a dank, foggy December morning as I negotiated my truck over a well crowned, slick clay road when I spotted a buck standing some 500 yards or so from my position that appeared to support a substantial set of antlers.  Sliding to a halt, I grabbed my spotting scope, but before I could get a good look at its rack, the buck walked off.

Driving up to where the deer stood, I grabbed my rifle and binoculars to track the buck through the semi open soaked vegetation.  With a light wind in my favor and the animal’s footprints identifiable in the moist soil, I slowly followed the tracks, hoping to get a better look at the animal’s rack, but it was not long before I spooked the buck, and it dashed off.

One hour later, I still hadn’t laid my eyes on the buck I was after so I attempted to intercept it.  Making a large circle, I exited the brush at the northern end of an extremely long tank dam, which had been recently shredded, and spotted a different mature buck feeding along the edge of a brush pile on the east side of the dam.  Reentering the brush for cover, I negotiated my way forward hoping to see the larger racked buck seen earlier on the roadside.

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