Opening modern gun started this past weekend here in AR. I was going to do my dangest to get a couple big deer. Hunted Sat., Sun. and Mon. seeing deer every day but the best I saw was a four point. emoBooHoo Here in AR you have to have three on one side just to be a legal buck. Last day at our camp for my four day weekend hunt was today. Decided to take any buck legal to put some meat in the freezer. Got on the stand with heavy overcast and snow!!! Yes, who knew! Snow in south AR in Nov., that does not happen here often. The overcast made the day light late and at 6:30 I saw a doe running hard on top of a ridge with a buck right on her tail. Try as I did I could not tell if he had three on one side or even get him in my sights. Off they went out of sight. 30 yards behind them came a huge buck, he was running in almost a trot. I could tell he had a rack but again with all the woods and limbs in the way with the dim light I could not get on him well enough to feel good about the shot. He got by me also and my heart sank. Five to ten minutes passed and here came a third buck. This one was closer and going slower. I thought for sure he was going to be mine. No cigar, try as I did I could only see a four point with two on each side. emoDoh Now I was really feeling the pain. One hot doe with three bucks on her and not one I even got a shot off at. emoBang Ten to fifteen minutes pass and it is just a couple minutes after seven. I caught movement coming in on that same ridge one more time again. The ridge was about 90 yards out in front of me and with all the trees was not an easy shot. This one would move a few feet, stop, smell the air and move forward. He was following that doe smell. Got my scope on him just as he stopped again. I saw three points on one side and centered the shoulder. I think my finger fired before my mind was ready. emoGoofy The ol' 30-06 kicked me back and made me blink. With just a second I was looking again and no deer, no flag, no running off, nothing. AAAAAUUUGGGGG!!!! DID I MISS! WHERE DID HE GO! I quickly adjusted, looking in the scope and there he was. Standing there, looking around like he was trying to figure out what that was. HOLY CRAP!!!! I had completely missed and he was still there. Dropping to the shoulder again I squeezed off the shot more determined then ever to make this one count. My gun thundered and this time I saw him jump, hump over and run. I knew he was hit hard.
I looked at my watch and told myself I would give it at least 15 minutes before getting down to go look for him. My mind started to retrace what had just occurred. I just could not figure out how in the world I had completely missed that deer the first shot. Then to see it still standing there was just beyond me. I got down and walked over to the ridge. As I crested the top I immediately knew what I had just done. There just over the ridge where I had "missed" my first shot lay a nice sized five point. I had not realized there were two bucks standing right by each other and the first one dropped in it's tracks. emoEek Two feet right and four feet back was blood spattered and lung. emoRolleyes The second deer was not sure what had just occurred to his buddy and was still there when I saw him standing there thinking it was the first one I had missed. That deer ran about 150 yard with the last 50 being a solid thicket you could not see six feet in front of you. To make it worse he did not bleed much at all. With the rain and snow he was a very hard track. It took me two more hours to find him but I finally did. A nice size 6 point the exact size of the other one.
I had not planned to shoot two deer this morning. I had planned to shoot one legal one if I had the chance and save my other tag for MR. BIG. Fate had other plans for me. Here in AR you are allowed four doe and two bucks. We do not have a lot of doe on our property so we usually do not shoot them. With both my buck tags now filled I am done a little earlier then I had expected. On a good note, both of these younger buck will eat well. emoHungry
I am attaching a couple pictures of the two I shot that look so much alike, especially at about 90 yards thru a bunch of brush and trees. I am also adding a couple other deer that two of my fellow hunters shot this weekend. One was a good size seven with a thick short rack and the other was a nice eight. There was six of us hunting and three of those guys are still there. Deer camp is not just about killing deer. Good friends, good memories and enjoying the outdoors is most of it. emoToast Jmax
I looked at my watch and told myself I would give it at least 15 minutes before getting down to go look for him. My mind started to retrace what had just occurred. I just could not figure out how in the world I had completely missed that deer the first shot. Then to see it still standing there was just beyond me. I got down and walked over to the ridge. As I crested the top I immediately knew what I had just done. There just over the ridge where I had "missed" my first shot lay a nice sized five point. I had not realized there were two bucks standing right by each other and the first one dropped in it's tracks. emoEek Two feet right and four feet back was blood spattered and lung. emoRolleyes The second deer was not sure what had just occurred to his buddy and was still there when I saw him standing there thinking it was the first one I had missed. That deer ran about 150 yard with the last 50 being a solid thicket you could not see six feet in front of you. To make it worse he did not bleed much at all. With the rain and snow he was a very hard track. It took me two more hours to find him but I finally did. A nice size 6 point the exact size of the other one.
I had not planned to shoot two deer this morning. I had planned to shoot one legal one if I had the chance and save my other tag for MR. BIG. Fate had other plans for me. Here in AR you are allowed four doe and two bucks. We do not have a lot of doe on our property so we usually do not shoot them. With both my buck tags now filled I am done a little earlier then I had expected. On a good note, both of these younger buck will eat well. emoHungry
I am attaching a couple pictures of the two I shot that look so much alike, especially at about 90 yards thru a bunch of brush and trees. I am also adding a couple other deer that two of my fellow hunters shot this weekend. One was a good size seven with a thick short rack and the other was a nice eight. There was six of us hunting and three of those guys are still there. Deer camp is not just about killing deer. Good friends, good memories and enjoying the outdoors is most of it. emoToast Jmax
I had intended to try for at least one big guy. My wife likes deer meat so she wanted me to take a legal buck for the freezer and every deer I passed she was telling me about it. She was happy as can be when I told her I had screwed up and accidently shot two back to back. I do feel that luck was on my side, right now you happen to get in a place where a hot doe is and your going to see some bucks. emoThumbsup Jmax
