A 3-year pursuit and 23 consecutive days of hunting…
Guest Column By Scott Berquist
I am a lifelong outdoorsman and avid hunter and this story begins in 2022 in Dexter. I’ve had the privilege of hunting on private properties in Livingston and Washtenaw County for more than 40 years. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed watching and hunting the local deer in the area, waiting patiently to harvest not just any deer, but waiting for something trophy-worthy. At times, it’s not easy to pass on an 8 or 10 point, but when you do – it makes that payoff all the better. And this is a story of patience.
I started tracking a 9-point at 3 1/2 years old in 2022. I watched this deer all year, knowing he was young, but he had great potential, having 9-inch G2s and G3s. With size like that, I started referring to him as Mr. Big whenever I saw him. During this hunting season, I was willing to give Mr. Big a pass, knowing his potential, but also hoping he wouldn’t get shot by another nearby hunter or, worse, get hit by a car or pass from some other fate.
On February 8, 2023, I was looking out the window in the front yard when I noticed the buck coming onto our property. I yelled out to my wife, “Mr. Big is in the front yard!” and she came up from the basement to see the buck. By the time she came up the stairs the buck had walked around the house to the backyard. We looked out the back windows and my wife got a look at him and noticed he only had one side of his rack. I said, “He just had both sides a minute ago,” and went outside to look around. As I walked around the side of the house, there it was, his right-side shed lying alongside my house. Great find!
Over the summer of 2023, we would see several large bucks but nothing like him. I thought I would never see Mr. Big again. But sure enough, in the fall of 2023, we started seeing him again – and he had grown. He now had massive 10-inch G2s and G3s, and he carried 4 to 5 inches of mass from his base to his G4s. At 4 1/2 years old and an almost 140-inch class deer, I wanted to give him one more year and hope that he would once again survive.
Luckily, he did survive the hunting season of 2023, as I started to see him fairly regularly on my property during January and February 2024. On February 20, I spotted Mr. Big and noticed he once again only had one side of his rack! I called my friend, Jacob, also an avid hunter, to see if he could help me find his shed. A few hours later, Jacob pulled into my driveway and started looking back and forth into the woods as he drove. He looked to the left and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. About 40 yards off the driveway, the sun was beating down on the shed! I now have his right shed from 2022 and 2023. At this point, Mr. Big was about five years old, and I’m starting to really look forward to the 2024 hunting season!
However, during the summer of 2024, there was no sign of Mr. Big, and I just figured he was gone and had moved on. Throughout bow season in October, still no sign – until November 3. There he was – and wow did he look impressive – now a 150 – 160 inch class deer with 11-inch G2s and G3s and even more mass.
I set out to hunt this deer and was very determined. I stalked this deer every day – alternating from my ladder stand to a ground blind. Finally – on November 17, I spotted him about 100 yards away from my ground blind and he was heading my way. As he slowly made his way towards me, my heart started beating out of my chest. He was getting close. There were a few does in the area, and I figured he wanted to check them out, so I stayed patient and tried to remain calm. To my surprise, he continued on his path towards me and as soon as he got within 40 yards broadside, I took my shot! It was a perfect double lung shot and he went less than 20 yards when he dropped. My story of Mr. Big is now over, but the memories and the thrill of the hunt will live forever.
