D
dleonard3
Guest
Donnie and I hunted pretty hard for four days and only saw one big buck that got away, and a few small ones that we gladly passed on. We had tried all of the ?secret? spots we could think of. The night of the fourth day (the last day of the season) we couldn't decide where to go. At this point, Donnie told me that he would settle for any buck we could find for his first trophy. I thought there should be a pretty good chance of finding a small buck almost anywhere, so we went to bed without a plan.
We headed out at 5:30 am and decided to drive up to a spot that I thought would be great for glassing with my 20x80mm binoculars. As soon as I got set up and started glassing, I started spotting small groups of does, but no bucks were with them. I was beginning to think the bucks had all been killed out of this area. That's when I realized that there weren't any hunters in the area. I had spotted a couple of orange spots down in the valley about a mile and a half away, and I had seen a few ATV?s go up the road that was about a half mile east, but there really weren't any hunters near us. We had the whole place to ourselves.
I found myself looking over the same does over and over again, when I spotted what looked like a good buck about a thousand yards away ? right out in the open. I fine-focused the binoculars as the buck was broadside, then told Donnie, ?he's a four pointer?. I looked again, and the buck had turned to look in our direction. ?AND HE?S GOT CHEATERS?. Donnie demanded to take a look, so I moved aside so he could see him. Donnie started shaking, but I'm sure it was more because of the cold setting in then buck fever. When Donnie pulled away from the binoculars, he looked at the area the buck was in and asked me how far away I thought he was. I told him that I thought he was better than a thousand yards. I had accidently left my range finder at home that morning, and that distance was out of the question, even for my long range rifle. I decided we should just sit there and wait to see what the buck decided to do.
The buck was acting very cautious and moving very slowly and deliberately, listening and looking before moving again. When he moved, he would move very slowly, almost like he was stalking something. He kept his head low, and would stop by dead Cedar trees for cover. The sun finally came over the mountain, and the buck decided to bed down between two trees with just his antlers showing. I told Donnie that I wasn?t any good at sneaking up on deer because I am too fat and clumsy, but then, he didn't really have any experience. He assured me that he was very sneaky when he wanted to be, so the decision was made that he would try to get closer for a shot. Donnie grabbed my 300 Weatherby and headed down the hill to the west, about 50 yards, then turned north and skirted the edge of some trees. Once he felt he was low enough that the buck couldn't see him anymore, he didn't worry about staying hidden, just tried to walk quickly, but quietly. I was a little nervous that he was going too fast, but the buck didn't show any signs of hearing anything. He arrived at a small ridge that we had agreed would be a good place to sit and wait for the buck to stand up. Even though I could see both Donnie, and the buck in my binoculars, evidently Donnie couldn't see the buck. He looked over at me and I tried to signal to him that the buck was still bedded in the same spot. That's when I realized that Donnie had forgotten his binoculars and couldn't really see my signals. He knew he was at the right spot and figured he should just sit and wait, which was the right thing to do.
About a half hour passed, when the buck decided he'd had enough of the sun shining on him, he stood up, stretched, and turned toward the south. I whistled to get Donnie?s attention, but he had to stand up to see the buck. He could only see the top few inches of the buck?s body over the hill, so all he could do was follow the buck as he walked along the hill side looking for a good shady spot. I was screaming inside ?SHOOT, SHOOT?, but it seemed like half of forever before I heard the first shot. The buck instantly stopped and looked around. Evidently the first shot had been deflected by an unseen branch. A couple more steps and the second shot was heard. This time I actually saw the buck jump a little, but I couldn't see where he had been hit. The buck turned and slow trotted back to his original bed, then slowed back to a walk. He looked a little wobbly, but he kept walking. As he came out into the bright sunlight, the third shot rang out. I saw the hit, right behind the shoulder, then the bucks left front leg went stiff and he stumbled away a few yards, stopped, staggered, then fell. He was just out of sight of Donnie when he fell, so he didn't know the buck was dead. I let out a whoop inside, then quickly gathered up all of our gear and started walking over. When I got to where Donnie had been when he shot, I gathered up my nickel plated brass (he was too excited to remember) then headed toward the red cedar tree the buck had fell to the left of. When I got there, Donnie came over the hill with a look of dejection on his face. I asked him if he had found the buck yet, and he said no. I assured him that I saw him go down and we wouldn't have any trouble finding him. We walked about 20 yards when Donnie said ?THERE HE IS?, and started whooping it up. We were so excided to see that giant rack sticking up.
Most of the time for me, when I walk up to a ?big? buck I just shot, he gets smaller, and smaller the closer I get. This one seemed to swell up before our eyes. After a quick count of the points ? 7 on one side, and 10 on the other, Donnie took a few photos with his cell phone and sent them out to all of his contacts. Within seconds his phone was ringing. It rang within seconds each time he hung up. Most of his friends didn't believe him when he told them where this buck was. How could he live through four days of crowded hunting conditions without being shot. I've heard people say ?big bucks don't get big by being stupid?. Well, my theory is big bucks may be a little smarter, but bucks get big by being lucky. Lucky to live in an area where they don't get shot. In this buck?s case, he was extremely lucky ? until today. His luck just ran out. We haven't had a chance to score him, but he's 34? wide at the tips of the cheaters. He?s got some deductions on his typical frame, and he might not score great, but he's big enough for my oldest son?s first buck. I consider him a ?MAGNUM? Muley, and I feel honored to have been a part of his hunt. Next year, it's my turn.
We headed out at 5:30 am and decided to drive up to a spot that I thought would be great for glassing with my 20x80mm binoculars. As soon as I got set up and started glassing, I started spotting small groups of does, but no bucks were with them. I was beginning to think the bucks had all been killed out of this area. That's when I realized that there weren't any hunters in the area. I had spotted a couple of orange spots down in the valley about a mile and a half away, and I had seen a few ATV?s go up the road that was about a half mile east, but there really weren't any hunters near us. We had the whole place to ourselves.
I found myself looking over the same does over and over again, when I spotted what looked like a good buck about a thousand yards away ? right out in the open. I fine-focused the binoculars as the buck was broadside, then told Donnie, ?he's a four pointer?. I looked again, and the buck had turned to look in our direction. ?AND HE?S GOT CHEATERS?. Donnie demanded to take a look, so I moved aside so he could see him. Donnie started shaking, but I'm sure it was more because of the cold setting in then buck fever. When Donnie pulled away from the binoculars, he looked at the area the buck was in and asked me how far away I thought he was. I told him that I thought he was better than a thousand yards. I had accidently left my range finder at home that morning, and that distance was out of the question, even for my long range rifle. I decided we should just sit there and wait to see what the buck decided to do.
The buck was acting very cautious and moving very slowly and deliberately, listening and looking before moving again. When he moved, he would move very slowly, almost like he was stalking something. He kept his head low, and would stop by dead Cedar trees for cover. The sun finally came over the mountain, and the buck decided to bed down between two trees with just his antlers showing. I told Donnie that I wasn?t any good at sneaking up on deer because I am too fat and clumsy, but then, he didn't really have any experience. He assured me that he was very sneaky when he wanted to be, so the decision was made that he would try to get closer for a shot. Donnie grabbed my 300 Weatherby and headed down the hill to the west, about 50 yards, then turned north and skirted the edge of some trees. Once he felt he was low enough that the buck couldn't see him anymore, he didn't worry about staying hidden, just tried to walk quickly, but quietly. I was a little nervous that he was going too fast, but the buck didn't show any signs of hearing anything. He arrived at a small ridge that we had agreed would be a good place to sit and wait for the buck to stand up. Even though I could see both Donnie, and the buck in my binoculars, evidently Donnie couldn't see the buck. He looked over at me and I tried to signal to him that the buck was still bedded in the same spot. That's when I realized that Donnie had forgotten his binoculars and couldn't really see my signals. He knew he was at the right spot and figured he should just sit and wait, which was the right thing to do.
About a half hour passed, when the buck decided he'd had enough of the sun shining on him, he stood up, stretched, and turned toward the south. I whistled to get Donnie?s attention, but he had to stand up to see the buck. He could only see the top few inches of the buck?s body over the hill, so all he could do was follow the buck as he walked along the hill side looking for a good shady spot. I was screaming inside ?SHOOT, SHOOT?, but it seemed like half of forever before I heard the first shot. The buck instantly stopped and looked around. Evidently the first shot had been deflected by an unseen branch. A couple more steps and the second shot was heard. This time I actually saw the buck jump a little, but I couldn't see where he had been hit. The buck turned and slow trotted back to his original bed, then slowed back to a walk. He looked a little wobbly, but he kept walking. As he came out into the bright sunlight, the third shot rang out. I saw the hit, right behind the shoulder, then the bucks left front leg went stiff and he stumbled away a few yards, stopped, staggered, then fell. He was just out of sight of Donnie when he fell, so he didn't know the buck was dead. I let out a whoop inside, then quickly gathered up all of our gear and started walking over. When I got to where Donnie had been when he shot, I gathered up my nickel plated brass (he was too excited to remember) then headed toward the red cedar tree the buck had fell to the left of. When I got there, Donnie came over the hill with a look of dejection on his face. I asked him if he had found the buck yet, and he said no. I assured him that I saw him go down and we wouldn't have any trouble finding him. We walked about 20 yards when Donnie said ?THERE HE IS?, and started whooping it up. We were so excided to see that giant rack sticking up.
Most of the time for me, when I walk up to a ?big? buck I just shot, he gets smaller, and smaller the closer I get. This one seemed to swell up before our eyes. After a quick count of the points ? 7 on one side, and 10 on the other, Donnie took a few photos with his cell phone and sent them out to all of his contacts. Within seconds his phone was ringing. It rang within seconds each time he hung up. Most of his friends didn't believe him when he told them where this buck was. How could he live through four days of crowded hunting conditions without being shot. I've heard people say ?big bucks don't get big by being stupid?. Well, my theory is big bucks may be a little smarter, but bucks get big by being lucky. Lucky to live in an area where they don't get shot. In this buck?s case, he was extremely lucky ? until today. His luck just ran out. We haven't had a chance to score him, but he's 34? wide at the tips of the cheaters. He?s got some deductions on his typical frame, and he might not score great, but he's big enough for my oldest son?s first buck. I consider him a ?MAGNUM? Muley, and I feel honored to have been a part of his hunt. Next year, it's my turn.
