So last week I posted about my buck, a smaller fella that I shot while we were out on a hunting trip to try and get my son's LEH Mulie doe. I felt a little guilty for taking that one as this was his hunt even though we finished out the day still looking for the does.
On to yesterday, off to the doe spot on the quads, had a buddy in a truck about 15 minutes behind us text saying he just bumped a set of 5 does and right on the road! Somehow either they heard us coming or maybe weren't visible to us yet, but we decided to keep going on to the spot. No luck over there, we met up with my buddy and headed back home in time for lunch. We decided to skip the evening hunt and go out again at first light instead.
Morning comes, pep talk ensues on the way to the hunt "basically we have today and after work tomorrow to get this done" and "you've got a easy draw here so with the mule doe, if it's a deer just put a bullet in it!". Cruising slowly in the truck this time (-3 on the quads sucks) we get about 12 km in. Nice big open spot with some powerlines to glass. Drop the window and bring up the binos. Within seconds spot a deer, he's huge, and it's a solid buck!. He's headed uphill coming out of a gully going to bed for the day so we make a plan to watch him and see which way he's heading. We're 900 yards away and don't have the gear or the skill to make that shot. Once we see him commit to go left, we sprung into action. drove across the valley to get the wind in our favor, parked on the edge of a narrow quad trail and began a rapid run 200m elevation drop so we could sidehill him before he got too far out in front of us. Luck would have it he picked up the pace and when we spotted him it was a 208 yard downhill shot. Kid lined up on him and let er fly! I was watching through the binos and 1st shot went clean under his belly. Clearly even after ranging, he forgot the holdover. "Aim for his spine I say" as it should hit center mass then, and round two hits true. He flinches a little but seems mostly unfazed and walks slowly over the hillside. We both kind of look at each other and wonder what happened! Off for the last 200 yard dash to look for blood, and just as we crest the hilltop, there he is standing there looking back at us. He was clearly feeling ill at that point as he didn't bolt, but I told the kid to finish up, and he dropped within 10 yards from there. Couple quick pics and then a long hike uphill to get the truck. Managed to get backed up within 100 yds and used the ice fishing sled to make the drag easier. He's the biggest buck in our family yet and it'll be a tough one to beat I think for many years to come! He's a decent 4x5 and weighed more than the two of us skinny guys could lift!
On to the pics! I love the look of my wife in the last one thinking "are you sure that little hook is going to hold?"