Dan Perez and a Buck Named Busy

If you've spent much time chasing whitetails with a bow, you've undoubtedly heard about the dreaded October Lull. It's that time of the season, usually occurring in mid-October, when the deer just seem to get a little funky. Whitetail sightings, in general, wane. Bucks are much less active - especially mature bucks. In fact, it's during this time of year that a lot of hunters choose to hang back a bit, saving their time for the rut.

Not Dan Perez. And there just may be something to that.

Perez, a recognizable personality from Whitetail Properties TV, puts plenty of time and energy into setting up the areas he hunts to offer deer plenty of food and cover. While mid-October is not known as a hot time for mature buck activity, under the right conditions it can pay off big. Just as it did on Oct. 15 for Perez.

The wind was blowing out of the northeast as (Whitetail Properties TV cameraman) Joe and I slipped through the woods headed to the ranger blind, Perez said. On the way we talked in a whisper about a close encounter we'd had the week prior with a 13-pointer named 'Busy.' We were only in the blind a short time and we were covered up with deer. It was a perfect evening. Then about 6 p.m. or so I saw a buck and asked 'Is that Busy?' Sure enough, it was."

Busy was a buck that Perez knew well. A 5-year-old stud with splits on both his right side G-2 and G-3, he had long brow tines and a tight frame. Perez liked what he saw.

Busy was more than just a pretty rack, however. The buck was also a bully. As soon as he entered the field, he began to push around any other buck in his path before taking out some rage on a patch of pearl millet.

As soon as he got within 20 or so yards of another buck he'd posture and run him off. Then he'd proceed to approach another buck with the same aggressive disposition, Perez said.

All of this posturing and bullying was leading the buck into range. At a distance of 33 yards, Perez readied his bow and made the shot. Perez hit the buck perfectly with a Rocket Sidewinder Aerohead. After a mad dash of about 80 yards, Busy stopped, dropped and rolled.

It was a warm and windy evening in mid-October, a time of year that mature bucks aren't supposed to be on the move if you believe conventional whitetail wisdom. And yet this was not the first time that Busy had been, well, busy.

Perez had actually encountered the deer just a few days earlier. But with light too low for the video camera to record the action, Perez chose to pass on the opportunity.

Sometimes that's hard to do, especially when you consider the odds of having him within bow range again are pretty slim, Perez said. But the neat thing about bowhunting mature whitetails is that the pursuit is a constant roller coaster of emotions. One minute you think you're done and your heart sinks, and the next thing you know your heart is beating through your chest because a big old buck suddenly appeared from nowhere and he's closing the distance fast! Having had a second chance to harvest Busy was a roller coaster called redemption.