The right antler reminds the author of a single flame dancing from the buck’s forehead. (Photo courtesy of David Draper)
December 05, 2025
By David Draper
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The small buck had been in front of me for 30 minutes, hoovering up the kernels of corn that had spun from the feeder just before daylight. I was alternating between watching it and scanning the surrounding brush, hoping a bigger deer would show up. My rifle lay tilted against the side of the blind as I used the shooting sticks as a rest for my binoculars.
Suddenly, as if it had ghosted out of the ground, a large-bodied buck appeared. Muscled up and thick necked, the...
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