My hunt this morning couldn’t have gone worse. Random traffic backup on the way lead to me sitting in park on the interstate for over an hour, and watching the sun rise in my rear view mirror. I finally got in the stand around 7:45, and got busted by at least 2 different deer. Add insult to injury, I turn to look back at my main shooting lane and see a monster shooter that I haven’t seen on camera walking straight down it at 130 yards. I grab my gun and by the time I’m on him he’s turned into the woods, never to be seen again.
I got down around 11 and did all the stuff we normally have to handle. Refreshed feeders, checked cams, and busted two bucks that were out in the middle of the day. I left this new lease feeling pretty dejected for lunch. Met up with the family and picked up my 5 year old for the afternoon. We went to the duck club and worked on a duck blind that should have been finished weeks ago. I get to a stopping point, and realize we still have a little time to skip down the road and sit in a ground blind I haven’t sat in yet.
This ground blind is nestled up on the edge of a river on a point where a large creek that drains soybean fields to the east meets the river. There’s a band of mature hardwoods along the river, and 8-10 year old hardwoods up on the high ground that were planted as part of the CRP program.
5 year old in tow, half hand holding, half carrying over greenbrier patches, we make the 150 yard walk to the ground blind. I set him down outside the blind, shoo him inside, then duck in myself. I set up the two folding chairs, plop him in one, close the zipper, and Jr says, “Dad, there’s a deer.” I look up, and sure enough, 60 yards away, there’s a piece of brown fur. Thinking that it’s got to be a button buck or something irrelevant to our pursuit, I take my backpack off and finally take a seat myself, and grab the binos. Immediately I can tel this is far from a yearling, and start shaking like a leaf. We haven’t been in the blind for 5 seconds, and there’s a shooter in range!
He’s obstructed by some saplings, but working towards us. I cock the hammer on the muzzleloader (while patting myself on the back for loading it at the 4wheeler), and he looks laser eyes straight at us. But after a second of staring goes right back to half heartedly raking some brush. I whisper to my son to cover his ears, and we wait for a shot. I took a few deep breathes and reminded myself to take my time, and relax. After an eternity of about 10 seconds, he takes a couple steps, I bleat are him with my mouth on an opening, and let the CVA rip. The 250 grain Barnes hit him like a freight train, and he dropped in his tracks. The smoke clears, and we watch the last couple twitches while giving each other the biggest hugs of our life.
From the time I stepped into the blind, till I pulled the trigger, had to be less than 90 seconds. The end is the biggest buck I’ve ever laid eyes on, and an everlasting memory for me and my oldest. This will be my first shoulder mount, and first time using a processor in years. I dropped him off at a highly recommended place, and looking forward to the results.
Any thoughts on score? I grabbed a couple of quick measurements, but nothing exhaustive. Inside spread was 19.5 inches, and the G2s are both right at 12 inches.
I got down around 11 and did all the stuff we normally have to handle. Refreshed feeders, checked cams, and busted two bucks that were out in the middle of the day. I left this new lease feeling pretty dejected for lunch. Met up with the family and picked up my 5 year old for the afternoon. We went to the duck club and worked on a duck blind that should have been finished weeks ago. I get to a stopping point, and realize we still have a little time to skip down the road and sit in a ground blind I haven’t sat in yet.
This ground blind is nestled up on the edge of a river on a point where a large creek that drains soybean fields to the east meets the river. There’s a band of mature hardwoods along the river, and 8-10 year old hardwoods up on the high ground that were planted as part of the CRP program.
5 year old in tow, half hand holding, half carrying over greenbrier patches, we make the 150 yard walk to the ground blind. I set him down outside the blind, shoo him inside, then duck in myself. I set up the two folding chairs, plop him in one, close the zipper, and Jr says, “Dad, there’s a deer.” I look up, and sure enough, 60 yards away, there’s a piece of brown fur. Thinking that it’s got to be a button buck or something irrelevant to our pursuit, I take my backpack off and finally take a seat myself, and grab the binos. Immediately I can tel this is far from a yearling, and start shaking like a leaf. We haven’t been in the blind for 5 seconds, and there’s a shooter in range!
He’s obstructed by some saplings, but working towards us. I cock the hammer on the muzzleloader (while patting myself on the back for loading it at the 4wheeler), and he looks laser eyes straight at us. But after a second of staring goes right back to half heartedly raking some brush. I whisper to my son to cover his ears, and we wait for a shot. I took a few deep breathes and reminded myself to take my time, and relax. After an eternity of about 10 seconds, he takes a couple steps, I bleat are him with my mouth on an opening, and let the CVA rip. The 250 grain Barnes hit him like a freight train, and he dropped in his tracks. The smoke clears, and we watch the last couple twitches while giving each other the biggest hugs of our life.
From the time I stepped into the blind, till I pulled the trigger, had to be less than 90 seconds. The end is the biggest buck I’ve ever laid eyes on, and an everlasting memory for me and my oldest. This will be my first shoulder mount, and first time using a processor in years. I dropped him off at a highly recommended place, and looking forward to the results.
Any thoughts on score? I grabbed a couple of quick measurements, but nothing exhaustive. Inside spread was 19.5 inches, and the G2s are both right at 12 inches.
Comment