Heavy Hawg Down! Lucky Dude ME!

congrats Founder on another great buck. luck is where persistance and skill join together! i don't think there's much luck involved. great work
 
Way to go Founder! I've been following your posts for a long time and am beyond impressed with your persistence and love for the sport/hobby. Congratulations on a once in a lifetime Majestic Mule Deer. That guy is a stud and I'm glad that opportunity presented itself for you. All the time and dedication it took definitely paid off. Couldn't have happened to a better guy. I look forward to seeing and/or reading about your future hunts!
 
Work hard, be patient, and put yourself in a position to be lucky, and sometimes all the stars line up. And don't miss the shot! Well done, Brian!
 
Wanna see an old man act like he just killed his first buck ever? I was sure excited scoring on this big boy.

I put in a total of 18 days of scouting the high country of Wyoming and located a few dandy bucks. I picked one to get after and then put in 6 days with a bow in hand trying to get it done, but failed.....failed to even see the buck I was after! I went into the rifle hunt knowing that it could be really tough getting a crack at my target buck. I knew others would be in the same area hunting, and deciding on my hunting tactic proved to be real hard. I bounced around on how I wanted to do it.....setup across a canyon where I could see more country and hope he shows himself within range, or go right in there where I suspected he lived and risk bumping him in an effort to get a good shot.
I decided I needed to get in there early and hunt it like I did with my bow, just sneak along the ridge slowly and quietly and try to catch him feeding on one of the open slopes.

I was in place before light and began my sneaking when it was light enough to see. From where I began my sneaking to the end of the ridge was only about 3/4 of a mile. About 25 minutes in, I was almost to where I felt I had my best chance to see the buck I was after when I turned back and saw a couple dudes 200 yards back hustling up the ridge behind me. I figured they saw me and were going to try and hurry by me, so I picked up the pace just a hair as I was within 50 yards of a chute I had to look down before they came buzzing up.

I made it before they could mess things up and got a look, but only a short look before they darn near came running out onto the open slope 80 yards below me. Radio was in hand and they were talking to someone. Man, was I ever frustrated that someone would be doing that. Oh well......

Anyway, luck was not on their side and instead on mine, because as I turned and took two steps headed for the next opening to look at, there stood this beast of a buck just 80 yards away staring at me. He was caught just before rolling into the dark timber of the north slope.
He was old, knew he wasn't going to survive another winter :), was fat and would fill my freezer, and knew I'd appreciate his awesomeness and knew I had put in the effort needed. ;)

At first I thought it was the buck I was after, but after raising the .300 and seeing the cheaters and a huge back fork, my gut said "SHOOT MAN, SHOOT!!" The bullet hit perfectly, which isn't always the case for me. He took off out of sight.
I knew he was hit and the excitement poured in, but so did the question of, "was he as big as I think?" I began heading for where he was standing when I spotted him laying there and could see that big back fork. He looked good and kept looking better the closer I got. My gut was right telling me to shoot.

So that's my story. It was much funner than it sounds in this post. The video will give you an idea. I was shaking with excitement. It was a moment I wish I could bottle up and enjoy from time to time, but the memory will have to do.

An amazing buck he is and I'm so grateful to have been the lucky one that day. Hopefully the effort I put into big buck hunting has played a role in helping me to make the right decisions that brought about that luck. Good karma too. I'm a lucky dude both with hunting and everyday life.

Thanks to Yellowstone Horse Rentals for setting me up with a couple good horses and a trailer. My hunting buddy and I were happy to have them pack our gear in and our gear and bucks out.

Thanks too to my hunting buddy (Jason). He shared his points with me and I put in the time to find us a great place to hunt. He took himself a nice buck that he was very happy with, so it was a real win/win. He's a darn good guy and I enjoyed our backcountry adventure together.

BTW, this was one of the biggest body bucks I have ever killed!!!


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What a sweet buck!!! Congrats Brian!!! Wow!!!!??
 
Incredible story. Had a guy push on me working bulls this past season within 50 yards of me and walk straight at the bulls! Never know what you get in the field!
 

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