The Legend of Crabby 10

 

The story of Crabby 10 is a perfect example of how hunters can endure almost anything while pursuing their quarry, especially when they put their minds to it. The chase for this buck began during a hunt around Thanksgiving of 2017. Tim Burns was sitting in a blind named the Lowlands while scouting for a mature buck. Enter Crabby 10.

This buck had a visible wound at the bottom of his chest, which Burns assumed was the result of a vicious fight with another buck. Later that evening, he was informed that a hunter had taken a shot at Crabby 10 just days earlier. That hunter’s bullet barely grazed the beast.

After seeing him in person, Burns decided that Crabby 10 would be an outstanding buck for his girlfriend to harvest. Plans soon commenced for the two to pursue him.

Due to their hectic schedules, Burns and his girlfriend were unable to chase the buck until late December. In a pleasant turn of events, Burns was given the opportunity to hunt Crabby 10 himself as a Christmas gift. Now the heat was really on to harvest this brute.

Burns spent the next several weekends hunting the Lowlands blind in hopes of getting a shot at Crabby 10. His efforts were to no avail — the buck flat out disappeared. These sits were especially tough because many of them did not produce a single deer sighting.

After this grueling stretch of hunts, a decision was made for Burns to sit in a blind overlooking a large field nearby that was known for attracting hoards of deer. This field also happened to be between the Lowlands blind and another blind that Crabby 10 had been spotted at, called the North Tower. Countless uneventful sits had taken place at the Lowlands, the North Tower, and in the field between the two blinds by many hunters earlier in the season, and no one had caught a glimpse of Crabby 10.

The mature buck just didn’t have a habit of making his presence known. His elusive nature made him sort of like a White-tailed deer version of Houdini. Burns began to fear that the buck may have succumbed to his injuries. Only time would tell…

Burns tried hunting some other areas after ringing in the New Year. With nothing to show for it, the weary hunter was starting to lose his optimism until he realized that it was now January and much of the natural forage had either died or had been grazed off. This meant food plots would be an important food source. Since Crabby 10 was not showing himself at the Lowlands blind or at the North Tower, Burns decided to try the big field again. That evening, he and his girlfriend crawled into the same blind and looked out with watchful eyes.

As dusk began to set in, Crabby 10 crested the trees. Burns immediately sprang into action and readied his rifle. Right before the long 300-yard shot, the buck turned and his body took on a hard quartering angle in the pair’s direction… Burns’ 270 barked and Crabby 10 hit the ground, motionless. Burns and his girlfriend were overcome with joy. After a few short minutes, Burns’ girlfriend climbed out of the blind and began running towards the buck to celebrate.

In an instant, the buck hopped up as if he was awoken from a nap. He bolted off into the woods, seemingly not to be seen again. Talk about taking a kick in the stomach! Burns was sick. They searched and searched for the deer with no sign of him. The next few days were tortuous, full of “what-ifs” and “I should haves.” Such is deer hunting.

Two days more days went by and miraculously Crabby 10 showed back up on a trail camera at the Lowlands blind. Not only did he reemerge from the south Texas brush, but he also appeared to be healthy and behaving normally. Later, Burns would learn that his shot was high and to the right. It pierced the buck’s neck muscles and created a flesh wound. In an instant, Burns was back on the hunt and more determined than ever to claim his trophy.

Burns diligently hunted Crabby 10 at the last known area he had been lurking in without any luck. In mid-February, hunters finally caught a glimpse of Crabby 10 near the end of the big field right at last light. It was obvious that this old monarch was trying to avoid any and all hunting stands, so a brush ground blind was set up at the end of the field. Burns has hopes of seeing him from this inconspicuous location and getting a shot opportunity. That evening, Burns and his girlfriend slipped into the makeshift blind with a hopeful attitude.

As deer began to emerge from the brush line and prepare to enter the field Burns noticed some unexpected behavior. You see, the winter weather had been harsh on the native forage and the deer were beginning to have to look a little harder for a fresh browse. As a result, they were drawn to the freshly cut brush that Burns and his girlfriend were concealing themselves with.

The deer were coming within feet of the hunters, trying to eat leaves off the branches. Burns felt that this would soon pose a problem. The deer were getting extremely close to them and then spooking off. This was not an ideal scenario for encountering a mature buck.

As darkness drew near, Burns looked up and saw Crabby 10 enter the field. The buck began walking straight at him as if he was being pulled by a string. It was happening! 100 yards. 80 yards. 50 yards…this buck was not stopping.

Burns scrambled to ready his rifle as quietly as he could. The buck came to 30 yards before realizing something wasn’t right. Burns touched the trigger and the buck dropped! All of this happened within about 90 seconds. The celebrating again commenced, this time for good. The legend of Crabby 10 was finally over after three grueling attempts to seal the deal.

In all, Burns and his girlfriend put in about 20-30 hunts for this trophy over the span of 10-12 weeks. Their dedication, persistence, and relentless attitude helped seal the deal on a mature South Texas giant. Crabby 10 is hanging on the wall in Burns’ house. Each time he looks up at him, the story unfolds in his mind. Crabby 10 is a true testament of how tough and elusive south Texas whitetails can be. If you don’t go all in, you may very well end the season empty-handed.