For those who wanted details, and a look at it stripped?
This is a Wyoming buck. I underestimated how long it would get back to where I wanted by sunup and found myself about a mile short come shooting light. There were a couple of meadows and a few old clear cuts so as shooting light arrived, I slowed way down and started glassing the openings. A couple of deer come into one of the clearings. It turned out to be a doe and a three point. He was very narrow and amazingly tall. Nice chocolate color. I watched them for awhile until they moved into the timber and continued to work back to where I was supposed to be some 20 minutes earlier.
I came to another large clear cut and spooked another small buck at the edge. I could see a deer across the opening which turned out to be a doe. I noticed a buck slightly above her that looked like a decent four point. I glassed around a bit and went back to the buck. He seemed to have fairly good forks and it occurred to me that he must have a decent frame. I've no real experience judging deer and tend to just look for one that has the look I want. In any case he turned and started walking up the hill and looked even better at that angle. Grabbing the spotting scope, I took a quick gander (as well as one can balancing the spotting scope against a tree) and thought I probably better shoot this buck as I figured odds were stacked against finding a better one.
I took a rest, fired and cleanly missed. The buck did stop walking then. I took another shot and missed. It occurred to me that maybe I should dig out the range finder and put it to use. He ranged at 325 yards (I had been thinking a bit further and was shooting over him). He turned and started up the hill and I fired again. He stopped, stood for a moment, and took three steps back. I knew that one connect. He paused for a moment and started walking up the hill to the edge of the trees. The doe and another little buck walked up behind him and obstructed him from another shot. I watched them for a bit and the doe and other buck just stood at the edge of the trees facing into them for sometime. I couldn't see him, but assumed he was bedded or dead just in the trees.
Not being sure and not wanting to push him if not down for the count, I dropped down to the bottom of the cut into the timber and worked around to come at them from the other side. I got close to where they went into the timber and I spooked a deer that I didn't get a good look at, but that didn't sound big. I moved to the edge and cut tracks that I followed into the edge of the trees. Seeming to still be a bit short of where I thought they went in, I worked back to the edge a bit further up. By the land marks in line to where I shot, I figured it was the right spot, turned to look back into the timber and saw him lying about 20 feet in. He was quite dead. He was bigger than I had thought. While I'd scouted a few bucks in another area, I didn't scout this one here. In summary it was a classic case of being in the right place at the right time.
The shot was 325 yards, Savage 110 30-06, Winchester 165 grain pointed soft point. The bullet entered a bit far back in the front of the paunch, passed through the lung on the other side, shattered two ribs and lodged against the skin.
I like the velvet look but think it was too late to save it. The hair was slipping from the skin (on the antler) as was. I stripped it today and it was starting to smell a bit ripe. I like the hard horned look better anyway. I'll have to work to get the color I want. I do plan to get this one mounted. It?ll be my first mount. Past animals I have done my own European mounts, but given a limitation of funds and room for animals, haven't done a shoulder mount.
A bit gnarly.
Got the job done.
