M
massandtrash
Guest
My hunting partners and I started out hiking up the ridge on opening morning. By the time first light was upon us we were in position. We started glassing with high expectations, but as time drug on all we were seeing was small bucks, does, and lots of hunters. Later that morning we decided to go higher and farther away from everyone else. As we set up on a high vantage point and the glassing started. Two hours of glassing and still nothing. There was one particular spot that kept catching my attention, it just seemed as though a buck should be in this spot. I kept picking it apart when out of nowhere stood the largest buck I had ever seen on the hoof. Instantly I was thrown into a panic. I started gathering up my stuff to move in on him. Idaho Bugler kept trying to calm me down and all I could say is a few choice words I shouldn't repeat. I finally calmed down enough to explain to him where this buck was at. IB couldn't believe it either; this was the biggest buck we had both ever seen.
We put together a game plan which just never panned out. The buck bedded down with no possible approach. We watched him until dark, and then headed back to camp. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep that night. I was sitting in position by 4:00 am waiting for the light to show me this giant again. As you all know bucks like this are very rarely seen more than once. Of course I never saw this buck again. I kept hunting this area in hopes of seeing him again.
On the third evening of the season I was glassing from a high vantage point when I spotted a buck. This buck was in the shadows of the timber, but I could tell he had very long tines. He wasn?t 300 yards from where the big buck had been spotted on opening day. The stalk was on because there was not much daylight left. My buddy was spotting the buck for me while I made the stalk. By the time I was in position the buck had walked into an open area and bedded down. With very little light left to shoot I had him in my sights. I was sure this was the buck from opening day, but he looked really narrow. I radioed my spotting partner and asked him if he was the buck from the other day. He replied that it was too dark for him to tell. I made up my mind to shoot, rested the crosshairs on his front shoulder and squeezed one off. To my amazement he bolted out of his bed and out of sight. My initial thoughts were that I missed. I gathered my things to go look for blood and off I went. By the time I had reached the spot it was pitch black. No blood, no deer, and no sign of where he was at when I took the shot.
I went back to get my buddies and a couple of hours later we found him piled up under a tree not 40 yards from where he had been bedded. I knew he wasn?t the buck from opening day, but he had incredible tine length for such a narrow buck. IB couldn't believe how long his tines were and just went on and on about them. When I put a tape on him the next day he was only 20 4/8? wide. This buck measured out at 174 4/8 BC, not bad for a 20 ?? buck.
M&T
We put together a game plan which just never panned out. The buck bedded down with no possible approach. We watched him until dark, and then headed back to camp. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep that night. I was sitting in position by 4:00 am waiting for the light to show me this giant again. As you all know bucks like this are very rarely seen more than once. Of course I never saw this buck again. I kept hunting this area in hopes of seeing him again.
On the third evening of the season I was glassing from a high vantage point when I spotted a buck. This buck was in the shadows of the timber, but I could tell he had very long tines. He wasn?t 300 yards from where the big buck had been spotted on opening day. The stalk was on because there was not much daylight left. My buddy was spotting the buck for me while I made the stalk. By the time I was in position the buck had walked into an open area and bedded down. With very little light left to shoot I had him in my sights. I was sure this was the buck from opening day, but he looked really narrow. I radioed my spotting partner and asked him if he was the buck from the other day. He replied that it was too dark for him to tell. I made up my mind to shoot, rested the crosshairs on his front shoulder and squeezed one off. To my amazement he bolted out of his bed and out of sight. My initial thoughts were that I missed. I gathered my things to go look for blood and off I went. By the time I had reached the spot it was pitch black. No blood, no deer, and no sign of where he was at when I took the shot.
I went back to get my buddies and a couple of hours later we found him piled up under a tree not 40 yards from where he had been bedded. I knew he wasn?t the buck from opening day, but he had incredible tine length for such a narrow buck. IB couldn't believe how long his tines were and just went on and on about them. When I put a tape on him the next day he was only 20 4/8? wide. This buck measured out at 174 4/8 BC, not bad for a 20 ?? buck.
M&T
