Outdoordan
Very Active Member
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- 2,017
We gave it one last try on her Southern Idaho draw tag this weekend. This year she wanted a big buck, and we passed on some smaller 4's early on. Went back this weekend and were shocked at how many people were hunting. Typically, most people go out the first week and either tag out or give up. This was the exception. However, the pressure was so bad even the forkies were running like their tail was on fire. Spotted this buck in an area we wanted to check because on the first trip their was a lot of does using it. It was later in the morning when we got there, about an hour after first lite. Went through a fence gate, and came up on a truck parked. Damn, too late. We were sure this guy was putting a stalk on these deer. The right thing to do was sit by his truck and glass to see if we can see him. There was a patch not junipers that was probably about 150 yards wide, otherwise open hillside leading about a mile to the deer. We did not want to "hop" him as in the surfing term for stealing a wave. We sat for about 15 minutes, with me getting out and looking at the snow by his truck. It became apparent that he was not around, and we drove down to the patch of juniper, parked so the deer couldn't see the truck, and took off after them. We got about halfway when another truck drives right past our truck and on the open road where the deer could clearly see them. It was a long way, but the deer acted particularly spooky. I jumped up and down trying to wave them off to no avail. We felt much more anxious now, and sped up our stalk, bumping some deer between the 3 bucks and about 20 does, and us. Those deer joined the other deer and the big buck started looking straight at us, as everyone was now alerted. The deer were pretty nervous as we got to 600 yards. I said "if we can make it to that small juniper about 100 more yards, we can get a shot". We did, and she sat down on a rock with her shooting sticks out. BAM, first shot missed. She threw another round in, Bam, hit him high and clipped his spine. He was now just standing on his front legs. BAM, she hits him in the front with her third shot. Down he went.
