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View Full Version : Last day Okanagan 4-pt buck



4pointer91
11-12-2007, 07:13 PM
Well it was a long day that turned out to be a great day of hunting.

My son & I left home around 5:30am to get to a spot before sunrise, we walked in the final 1/2 km then each sat in differant locations as the sun rose. Within the first hour it began to snow and we found ourselves looking for cover until it let up.

Once the weather cleared my son resumed sitting above a game trail and I proceeded to walk into and around an area I was quite familiar with that I knew had a few does in. After a couple hours we met up again, neither of us had seen anything so we decided to head back to the truck, warm up and grab a bite to eat.

It was around 11am when we decided to drive to another area down from us that had some good draws we could work. Walking into this new area my son spotted 4 deer, we identified two does, a larger deer and a smaller deer. We decided to walk around in order to intercept them but we did not see them again so we worked a few draws in the area and after a hours hike sat above another game trail. Once again we did not see anything and my son was complaining about a headache and felling sick so we decided to call it a day and head back to the truck. Once we got to the truck we found a note someone had left on the wiper blade.


http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/scan00024.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6785&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=2230)

After reading this note we decided to check it out, we went to the spot this fellow indicated and sure enough saw the tracks. My son was now feeling much better and wanted to pursue these deer further. As we tracked them further it became apparant they were in thick and there was no easy access so once again it was back to the truck.

Now 2pm we decided to stay the day and head back to the spot we were in earlier in the morning. Driving up to this area I spot a deer to my left. At first I thought this deer was small, once it turned its head I could tell it was something bigger. So I told my son to hop out and identify it and sure enough it was a 4-point muley buck. My son attempted to shot at it and found out to his dismay that the safety on the gun was on. By the time he took it off the buck was running up the hill and he had a split second to get a shot off. After his shot he ran up the hill trying to find any trace off the deer. There was no blood on the ground or any sign off a hit.

We left the area where he had just shot and went up towards the spot that we were earlier in the morning. We parked the truck and right when my son got out he spotted a doe running towards a gulley. He got the binoculars and took a look to see if it was the buck he just shot at. I left my son sitting on a stump overtop a game trail while I went to go try and find some bedded down deer. Sure enough I reach a draw and find 4 or 5 bedded deer, I spooked them and they ran away. So I went back to meet up with my son, we then went back to the truck to relook in the area my son had shot.

By this time it was getting close to 3:30pm and we decided to go for a drive. We went a little way down the road and saw 3 unidentified deer. Once again we decide to investigate these deer by driving further along down the road until we saw another road that led to where we thought the deer went. We walked in on a trail along the side of a draw trying to locate the deer, after about half hour we had not seen anything and decided to head to the truck and go home driving out the last 30 minutes of light.

As we were approaching the truck I saw something 100 yds to my left, standing, looking at us. As I turned to look it was clearly a large 4-point next to a large doe, I quickly let off the trigger and shot broadside to the lungs. The buck bolted to the left and became out of sight. My son & I walked to the spot the deer were standing and looked for sign of a hit, there was no blood sign at all. It was darkening up fast now and we began looking hard for sign, as I was sure I had good shot placement. After about 10- 15mins my son calls to say he's found it.

The buck was 200 yards from where it was hit, hit in the lungs, I was very surprised there was no blood sign from it. My boy was eager to pose for a pic with the buck before it got much darker.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/IMG_0950_2_.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6779&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=2230)

I'm very thankfull to the person that left the note as it turned out to be the turning point of the day! Now it's time to search for a good Okanagan taxidermist.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/IMG_0953_2_.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6780&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=2230)

Measured the widest spread 27 1/2". Very symetric, any guesses on a score?

franklin3
11-12-2007, 07:19 PM
Wow that note is wicked that must have been the "hunting gods" ...nice buck tho congrats

mark
11-12-2007, 07:29 PM
Cool story! Awesome buck, Id say about 172 gross typical!

BlacktailStalker
11-12-2007, 07:36 PM
Wow no kidding, talk about luck.
Thats awesome, congrats.

ianwuzhere
11-12-2007, 07:40 PM
gotta love notes like that. wish i woulda got one of them today. congrats!!- looks like you caped it- are you going to get it mounted?

Brambles
11-12-2007, 07:49 PM
Thats a great buck, not going to guess on the score cause I'd get it wrong anyways. but congrats on a fantastic deer

dunbartr
11-12-2007, 09:06 PM
Awesome buck! Nice work. 200yds with no blood????

I "missed" a decent whitey today searching high and low for blood (or down deer) within a 100yds radius for over an hour. The ground was easy going and I could see tracks in the moss in places, but no blood or deer. I assumed I missed, but maybe I didn't look far enough? What caliber rifle/weight bullet were you using?

boxhitch
11-12-2007, 09:06 PM
That note is sort of eerie. 'The Buck...', like a fortune teller.
Good on ya for following up.

Will
11-12-2007, 09:33 PM
any guesses on a score?
Score Shmore !!!!!!! Heckuva Nice Buck ! Congrats on that ! :smile:

If I must though I'd say maybe 165-168-ish?..looks abit "short" in the G2's...but those mains curve around nice which could be decieving.........

At any Rate it's a Beautiful Buck ! Awesome shape to that Rack..love the spread out look too, Congrats again :cool:

4pointer91
11-12-2007, 09:34 PM
Yes, I'd like to get a shoulder mount done ...there's a couple local taxidermists in Westbank ( Harley White, Westwind taxidermy) and one in Kaleden (Kilback). Don't know much about Westwind but have read threads on the other two.

I was shooting a Browning 30.06 with a 180g bullet. It was a lung shot at 100 yds, not sure why there was no sign ...perhaps the light conditions didn't help.

Brambles
11-12-2007, 09:38 PM
Harley White is a popular choice, I don't think you'd go wrong with him, of course you'll probably wait minimum 1 year and maybe 2

Sharkey
11-12-2007, 09:39 PM
That rack looks like fire to me - the way the front tines turn and flare out. Really cool!
~D

BCJunior
11-12-2007, 10:20 PM
creepy note, haha very good story and nice looking buck, congratz!

R Brooks
11-12-2007, 11:01 PM
Awesome looking rack:-)

porcupine
11-13-2007, 12:11 AM
Nice buck, nice note, good story.......it'll sure look good on the wall!
________
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1/2 slam
11-13-2007, 12:24 AM
nice buck.....congratulations:D

hunter1947
11-13-2007, 06:01 AM
You guys were luck that that wood cutter left you the note ,very nice deer ,are you getting it mount ed ???.

Walksalot
11-13-2007, 07:28 AM
Nice buck, well done.

Fisher-Dude
11-13-2007, 10:06 AM
Nice buck! You'll want to have Harley do your mount for you - he is the best out there.

steepNdeep
11-13-2007, 10:07 AM
Awesome buck and even better story!! Congrats! :cool:

I'd guess it grosses in the low 170's... the short G2 and narrow inside spread lower the score...

4pointer91
11-17-2007, 06:36 PM
I decided to go with Barry Kilback for getting the shoulder mount done, he's close by and does very good work at a reasonable charge. Looking forward to seeing it done!

LeverActionJunkie
11-17-2007, 07:04 PM
Great deer buddy, I don't know what's better the deer or the story:) Awesome all around