Wisconsin Man Bags 19-Point Buck After Hunting It for Five Years

Red deer are rutting in the fog in Richmond Park in London on Jan. 23. Thick fog and temperatures below freezing have caused travel disruption today with hundreds of flights cancelled across London airports. Jack Taylor/Getty Images

“I cannot believe this” is what a Wisconsin man said after he successfully hunted a 19-point buck over the weekend.

Joshua Gawrysiak, of Eau Claire, told Fox News that he hunted the buck for five years before striking it with an arrow it in Chippewa Falls on Saturday, Nov. 10.

“I’ll never shoot a deer like that again,” Gawrysiak told the Leader-Telegram. He said he hunted the animal on private property but had permission to hunt on the grounds.

“I’ve been hunting since I was 12 years old,” he added. “It’s been my passion.”

He was between 50 and 60 feet away from the buck when he shot it with an arrow at 8:53 a.m. Before striking it, he dropped his arrow while trying to load his bow due to the frigid temperatures, according to the report.

After hitting the shot, the buck ran for about 220 feet before it collapsed, he said.

The buck is probably between 5 to 6 years old, said Gawrysiak, adding that the deer has “dodged cars, bullets, arrows, and poachers” for years. And he’s “had a history with this buck for about [five] years,” according to a GoFundMe page. He also believes the animal was recently hit by a car because “he had really bad damage on his back end,” the Leader-Telegram reported.

“This is the buck I’ve been hunting for so long. Here he is, I can hold him,” Gawrysiak told Fox.

“It’s bittersweet,“ Gawrysiak told the network. ”The journey is over.”

“Watching this deer grow each year for the past five seasons was special and it’s sad I won’t be able to watch him grow anymore,” he added.

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