josh.schreiber
Well-known member
So here I've been all season, hiking WAAAAAYYY back into the mountains, putting myself through heart attack inducing strain in search of big 'ol buck, when it turns out all I have to do is watch our driveway!
I got to our farm yesterday afternoon just after 2:00, hoping to squeeze in a few good hours of hunting. I had just passed through our first gate when I saw a flash of brown in some thick woods on the left. --Thought I also saw antlers attached--. So I speed up a hundred yds or so to where there is a clearing. Out pops this deer (a doe), and I think "Oh cool, a deer". (Haven't seen ANYTHING the last several times I've been out). I guess I justy imagined the antlers. ...NOPE! I glance back behind her b/c I see more movement, and theres a good 8 pt buck +/- 10 yds behind her, perfectly broadside to me! I slam on the brakes, jump out of the driver's seat, throw open the back one, undo the latches on the rifle case, and when I turn around w/ the rifle up the dummy is still standing there! He wasn't the brightest deer b/c (1)He's pretty young, and (2)Well, he clearly had one thing on his mind, and wasn't about to be distracted from that! emoGoofy
So I take a breath to steady myself, aim, and squeeze. The buck jumps and kicks his legs real good, and I lean back against my ride and wait and listen. I hear running for awhile, but no big crash. I really am not worried at this point though, b/c it was only about a 40-50 yd shot, and I knew I made a good one. I wait a bit more, then head up the little hill to look around. My 7mag did a number on that deer! I find several good drops of blood, some hair, and even a good size chunk of lung that got blown out! I head back down to my car to put my boots on to track him (remember, I wasn't even hunting yet--just had on my regular duds and some slip on shoes). When I'm putting my boots on my buddy pulls up. He'd come up too, hoping for a good buck. We head up into the woods, and follow the blood trail for only about 75-80 yds to where he dropped. I was (still am, kinda) really disappointed when I first saw him. I guess I'm just not that good at judging rack size "on the hoof" (heck, I'm still fairly new to this hunting thing!), but when I first saw it, and even when I shot it, he looked ALOT bigger! emoBang
Oh well...
I'm pretty sure I still would have taken him even if I did have more time to ovserve the rack. I NEED the meat, we've only got a couple more weeks in the season, and he was the ONLY buck I've seen all year.
I'm happy--I've got a bunch of good meat, another 8 pt rack to put on the wall, and he's really not big enough to get mounted, so I'm saving a few hundred $$$!
Now I can sleep again! I've been putting that ahead of hunting since the season began! emoParty
Sorry about the picture quality--all I had was my phone.
ps--I'm sure some of you were wondering- OF COURSE I saved the heart! Pickled deer heart is a good enough reason alone to kill a deer! emoHungry
I got to our farm yesterday afternoon just after 2:00, hoping to squeeze in a few good hours of hunting. I had just passed through our first gate when I saw a flash of brown in some thick woods on the left. --Thought I also saw antlers attached--. So I speed up a hundred yds or so to where there is a clearing. Out pops this deer (a doe), and I think "Oh cool, a deer". (Haven't seen ANYTHING the last several times I've been out). I guess I justy imagined the antlers. ...NOPE! I glance back behind her b/c I see more movement, and theres a good 8 pt buck +/- 10 yds behind her, perfectly broadside to me! I slam on the brakes, jump out of the driver's seat, throw open the back one, undo the latches on the rifle case, and when I turn around w/ the rifle up the dummy is still standing there! He wasn't the brightest deer b/c (1)He's pretty young, and (2)Well, he clearly had one thing on his mind, and wasn't about to be distracted from that! emoGoofy
So I take a breath to steady myself, aim, and squeeze. The buck jumps and kicks his legs real good, and I lean back against my ride and wait and listen. I hear running for awhile, but no big crash. I really am not worried at this point though, b/c it was only about a 40-50 yd shot, and I knew I made a good one. I wait a bit more, then head up the little hill to look around. My 7mag did a number on that deer! I find several good drops of blood, some hair, and even a good size chunk of lung that got blown out! I head back down to my car to put my boots on to track him (remember, I wasn't even hunting yet--just had on my regular duds and some slip on shoes). When I'm putting my boots on my buddy pulls up. He'd come up too, hoping for a good buck. We head up into the woods, and follow the blood trail for only about 75-80 yds to where he dropped. I was (still am, kinda) really disappointed when I first saw him. I guess I'm just not that good at judging rack size "on the hoof" (heck, I'm still fairly new to this hunting thing!), but when I first saw it, and even when I shot it, he looked ALOT bigger! emoBang
Oh well...
I'm pretty sure I still would have taken him even if I did have more time to ovserve the rack. I NEED the meat, we've only got a couple more weeks in the season, and he was the ONLY buck I've seen all year.
I'm happy--I've got a bunch of good meat, another 8 pt rack to put on the wall, and he's really not big enough to get mounted, so I'm saving a few hundred $$$!
Now I can sleep again! I've been putting that ahead of hunting since the season began! emoParty
Sorry about the picture quality--all I had was my phone.
ps--I'm sure some of you were wondering- OF COURSE I saved the heart! Pickled deer heart is a good enough reason alone to kill a deer! emoHungry
