Andrew Lair – Troy, OH

Andy started bow hunting with his friends when he was fifteen years old. He grew up in a rural area and his grandfather owned a farm. Since then, many years have gone by, and Andy has trodden through life and through fields, harvesting deer, and raising a family of his own, and still holding onto a dream of getting a shot at a monster buck!

It was a November day during gun season of 2007. Andy had gone out to the field late the day before to see if there was any action. He walked to the corner of the woods where two fence rows came together. He hunkered down in the fence row to observe this new area. Andy saw lots of deer sign, and after last shooting time he quickly scouted around and picked a tree stand location for the following day. He would be back with his Thompson/Center Omega .50 caliber muzzleloader .. hoping to smell the black powder as it burned through the barrel for a victory shot!

Visions of a monster buck were captured in Andy’s thoughts as he waited. The next day was finally here. He left work early in the afternoon and got to the field around 3:00pm. The temperature was 30-40 degrees on big buck day, sunny and windy. Andy hiked 2/3 mile with stand and gun. He made his way back to the corner of the field, climbed 20 plus ft. into the tree, and was settled in by 3:45pm. The 6″ to 8″ tree was swaying a plenty in the 15-20 mph wind.

The woods were silent, other than the sound of falling leaves. Andy was in the tree stand nearly a half-hour, when he spotted an 8-point, ¼ mile away and coming straight at him. Putting the binoculars on him confirmed that he was a “decent 8-pt.” The buck stayed about 140-150 yds out and did not stop for a shot. With the strong wind the grunt call went unnoticed. The shot could have been taken .. but there was a ‘still voice’ in the heart of the hunter, “Don’t shoot.” Andy held off on the trigger and decided to pass on the buck.

Within 1-2 minutes of passing on the 8-pt, Andy noticed 4-5 does in the bean field behind him. He slowly turned to check them out, but one of the does had noticed his movements involving passing up the shot on the 8-pt. .. there was caution in the air. Andy checked the other side behind him; a “really nice” buck was coming down the fence line at 50 yds and closing.

The buck walked a few steps closer and stood still. “I had no time to get excited before the shot!” Andy’s scope on the deer was steady, he fired .. and the silence was broken! “It was a good shot, the buck folded up .. he dropped in his tracks!” said, Andy. “I was super thankful I had went to 20 plus feet with the stand as the buck stopped at 25 yds and checked out the does. He was totally unaware as I swung 160 degrees for the shot.”

Shooting 150 grains of Triple 7 powder and 200 grain Shock Wave. Shooting 4″ groups at 150 yards. He was confident in the shot. Andy didn’t realize just how big the buck was until he walked over to look at him. The inside spread on the rack was 20 ¾ inches; the antlers scored at 185 inches, and the buck weighed in at 195 lbs field-dressed. Estimated age, 5 yrs. “Not an ounce of fat .. this buck was lean!” “I realized that this was an awesome deer!”

It was so heavy, the landowner had to help Andy haul the deer out. “As soon as the landlord (cool guy) saw the rack, he said he thought they found the sheds 2 yrs earlier. The landlord borrowed the sheds back from a friend he had given them to. Identical match! His friend (another cool guy) gave me the sheds to keep.” Andy smiled and commented to us, “How rare is that!”

Andy’s family has enjoyed lots of good venison summer sausage this year. And when the time is right, Andy will be taking his sons deer hunting to carry on the traditions of hunting and being thankful for what God has provided. One lesson that Andy said he learned through this adventure was the reminder: “Don’t take the bad shots.” If Andy would have shot at the 8-pointer .. he would not have seen his monster buck!

Our interview ended with a laugh when Andy told us about the time he was going hunting, and he put his clothes in a plastic tub to hide the scent. He got in his truck in his long-johns, driving and planning to put his clothes on once he got to the field to hunt. When he arrived at the field, still in his long-johns, he went to the back of the truck and discovered that he forgot his tub of clothes! Do deer laugh?

Needless to say, we enjoyed our interview with Andy. He still finds time for hunting, but he keeps busy with his own business, which is Outdoor Enterprise. Andy does landscape construction (outdoor living spaces) and grain farming. His ad is printed in the Outdoor Guide. Any last advice from Andy? Let your dreams soar on Eagles’ wings!

Photo provided by Rick Busse