ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 17, 1996 TAG: 9611180110
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B13 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: OUTDOORS
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
Kevin Price had a feeling it was going to be a fine morning to catch up with a buck, maybe even the one with the trophy rack, the one that had eluded him the previous year.
The weather had turned cold, and from his tree stand in Giles County, Price watched snow showers and sunshine battle each other - as if to determine who would rule the day.
``I knew the deer were going to be moving,'' said Price, who lives in Pembroke.
It was about time his luck changed. Price had missed a buck on the opening day of muzzleloading season, and he'd seen nothing but slick-headed deer since. With the black-powder season a week old, his enthusiasm was beginning to plunge. He decided it was time to change the location of his stand.
``I was kind of frustrated,'' Price said. ``I didn't get to the stand until 7 o'clock in the morning.''
On the way in, he flushed three deer, and 45 minutes after climbing into his stand he heard a buck grunt up the ridge from him. A fleeting glimpse revealed it wasn't a big one.
``About 8:30 or so I looked out the way I'd come and saw a deer coming. It was a doe,'' Price said. ``The deer came within 10 yards in front of me. I just sat there and enjoyed the view. She turned and went over the ridge.''
Price, 26, was enjoying the morning. ``It was just beautiful,'' he said. ``It was quiet.''
And it was about to get better.
Just after 9 a.m., Price stood in his stand for a mid-morning stretch.
``I looked to my left and all I could see was horns,'' he said. ``A buck was coming to me at an angle, at a slow walk. It was real thick where he was. He came up within about 40 yards to my left and I just held my gun waiting on him. When he came out of the thicket and was about 20 yards [away], he stopped. I put the cross hairs on his neck.''
Price knew there was an outstanding buck in the area. ``Last year, I hunted this buck,'' he said. ``I could see his tracks and see where he horned. I hunted all through bow season, muzzleloading season and rifle season and never could put an eyeball on him. He was pretty smart.''
At the conclusion of the deer season, Price was with three buddies when he found a dropped antler during a rabbit hunt in the lowland fields that adjoin the deer woods.
``Look at this,'' he called to his companions, telling them he believed it was from the big buck he'd hunted.
``Wouldn't it be nice if we could find the other horn,'' said his friend, Greg Williams, who began a search. A short distance away, Williams found it. One side had six points, the other five.
``I knew it was him!'' Price said.
The shed antlers were a yearlong reminder to Price that a huge buck roamed his hunting area.
``This year, I had been bowhunting in there and scouting for him and never could see his tracks like last year,'' he said.
Then, Price began to realize what was wrong. Last year, when he saw the deer sign, there were no acorns in the area. The deer were ranging in the lowlands, where they grazed in open fields and left behind abundant indications of their existence. This year, acorns are abundant. The deer are sticking to the high country, Price said, and that's where he relocated his stand, a move that filled his vision with huge antlers.
When the buck stepped out of the thicket, Price pulled the trigger on his in-line rifle just as the snow began to fall heavily.
``I didn't realize how big he was until he hit the ground,'' Price said. The rack had 15 points and a 24-inch outside spread.
Back at the hunting cabin, Price, and a companion, Lee Blaker, compared the shed antlers found after the close of last season with the buck's rack. No question, it was the same deer.
``But he was a lot bigger than he was last year,'' Price said. ``It had taken me two seasons to get him.''
LENGTH: Medium: 75 linesby CNB