Rather than throwing in the towel after a miss, father and son hit the reset button.
David and Brittany Oettel knew a bigger-than-average whitetail roamed the area near their farm as early as Christmas 2014. An across-the-road neighbor, a bowhunter, told them he’d stuck a giant buck and hadn’t found it. The man was convinced the shot wasn’t fatal.
The Oettels live on a small farm in southeastern Indiana with their two children, Ezra and Ella. Their 22 acres are adjacent to her stepfather’s 130. Everyone in the family loves venison and hunting, and both kids had already harvested antlered deer going into the 2016 season.
The first trail camera photograph of what had to be the buck the neighbor mentioned came during the summer of 2015. It had somehow lost its right antler.
“We heard rumors the deer might’ve been hit by a car,” David said.
Much to their delight, the animal returned — wearing a complete and even larger rack — in the fall of 2016.
“Over the past several seasons, we have planted food plots and prepared elevated stands for the kids,” David said. “The stands are not very high, but enough to be above the weeds and undergrowth.
“Both boxes are by food plots, and we have trail cameras set up to watch the comings and goings of deer,” he added.
The Oettels have set up a rifle range for their kids. It has been a little tough on Ezra as he is very small. His rifle, chambered in .44 Magnum, has a substantial kick, and the stock is a bit too long for him. (They have since ordered a youth stock for the gun.)
David usually takes both children out to shoot after work each day, but he could not make it home one evening and asked Brittany to do it in his stead. That evening, Ezra held the gun at the wrong angle and ended up scope-whacking himself just above the eye.
“I usually put my hand on his shoulder and brace him during practice, but Brittany didn’t know to do that,” David said.
In addition to the sore brow, the episode also caused Ezra to flinch somewhat after that day.
Brittany explained, “Ezra is a very good shot with a small caliber rifle, but he needs the experience of shooting the heavier magnum. Even with practice, he wants to shoot only two or three rounds, and then he’s done for the day.”
In 2016, the Oettels hung their trail cameras in early June. But they retrieved no photos of the local legend until one evening in September.
David had gone out and moved the camera, swapping cards in the process.
“Later that evening, I sat down to look through the pictures on the card and found several images of the buck taken just two days earlier,” he said. “I wished then I hadn’t moved the camera, but it was too late to undo.”
Rather than re-hanging a camera where the buck was photographed, David felt the best course of action was to stay out of the area.
The entire family was excited to see the big Typical visiting their food plots. They hoped it would remain close by until the youth hunt.
“Indiana’s youth season started on Saturday, Sept. 24, and both kids wanted to shoot bucks rather than does, which was okay with me,” David said. “Neither is a newbie.
“We decided we’d hunt only bucks in the mornings, then toward late evening, if they wanted, they could shoot a doe,” he added.
Brittany went with Ella, while David accompanied Ezra. Their blinds were about 500 yards apart, and both setups overlooked food plots. Ezra wanted to hunt from the newer one, where the big buck had been seen.
“When Ezra and I arrived at our blind, I took the opportunity to view recent pictures on the camera. There were images of the big buck taken at 8:30 the two previous evenings. That’s past legal shooting light, which was supposed to be 8:02 that day,” David said.
Saturday morning was fruitless. Neither child saw a deer they wanted to shoot.
“The evening sit was much better. First, Ezra and I saw a couple of small bucks. Then about 7:20, a really decent 8-pointer appeared. I told Ezra there was a buck he could shoot if he wanted,” he said.
Ezra wanted, but he missed.
“After the shot, the 8-pointer and another small buck ran off about 50 yards, stopped and turned to look back our way,” David said. “I quickly helped Ezra reload the gun, and we tried to set up for another shot. By the time he was ready, the deer took off into the brush. Ezra was pretty upset with himself for missing.”
The boy knew what he’d done wrong. He admitted he’d closed his eyes just before squeezing the trigger.
Being whacked with a scope will do that.
“Ella and I heard the shot,” his mother said. “We had no idea if he’d hit a deer or not. We waited for the phone call or a text message, but it didn’t come right away. We were confused. Did he hit it or not? We didn’t know they were trying to reload for a second shot.
“David finally sent a text to let me know the shot had been a clean miss. There was no wounded deer to look for later on,” Brittany added.
David resumed the story: “I tried to reassure Ezra that maybe it was for the best. I thought I was lying to him when I said an even better buck might still show in the 30 minutes we had left.
“Unbelievably, 20 minutes later, I glimpsed movement outside and turned to see this giant 12-pointer standing right where the 8-pointer had come out earlier,” David continued. “My heart was beating out of my chest. I didn’t think this was going to play out very well at all.”
The buck was probably 50 yards away, scoping out the food plot before entering it. David says he was more nervous than his son was.
I was not going to tell him it was ‘the one,’ just that there was another buck he could try to shoot. I was praying, Please don’t mess this up!
“I quickly maneuvered Ezra around in the blind to be looking out the right window, got the gun in place for him, and then waited. Ezra was frozen. I told him to go ahead and shoot, but nothing happened. I asked if the buck was looking at him. Still no response, at first.”
And then a whisper: “Yeah, he’s staring right at us.”
His father responded “Don’t move,” and then slowly turned his head so he could see out the window. By the time he could focus on it, the buck was looking the other way.
“I moved to cock the rifle, but even that slight noise caused the buck to look back our way,” he said. “Ezra was pulling the rifle tight to his shoulder, and I placed my hand on his back.
“I wanted to yell ‘Hurry up and shoot!’ but I held my tongue. I was really worried he was extremely nervous from missing the last time,” David added.
The boom came without warning. The buck reared at the shot before plowing out of the food plot and into the brush.
Ella and her mom immediately began discussing whether Ezra had shot at a buck or a doe.
“David and I started texting almost immediately after the shot,” Brittany said. “I typed ‘Did he shoot a doe or a buck?’ And his reply was ‘Oh, my gosh. He drilled it. I think it is the monster, but I’m not sure. It’s at least a big 10. Huge!’
“Ella and I chose to remain in the stand until dark, but we kept wondering if the guys were messing with us. They had done it just that morning,” Brittany said.
When they all met back at the truck, the guys assured the girls that Ezra had indeed shot a big buck, maybe the one from the trail camera photos. Back home, the family decided to wait another hour before searching for the deer.
The trail was easy to follow, and it ended at the dead buck-of-bucks, just 50 yards from where it took the bullet.
Ezra’s one statement was “I saw blood through the scope after I shot!”
Editor’s Note: Ed Waite is a master scorer and regional director for Buckmasters Whitetail Trophy Records. A longtime contributor to Rack magazine, he has also published three volumes of big deer tales, “Wallhangers” I, II and III, which are available at book stores, on Amazon and through WallhangersUSA.com.
This article was published in the August 2017 edition of Rack Magazine. Subscribe today to have Rack Magazine delivered to your home.
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