Buckmeister
12-05-2010, 06:17 PM
Was out last weekend going after some whitetails. I was tracking a large buck when I decided to stop and do some rattling to see if I could turn him around. After waiting a short time I continued on the bucks trail.
After going another 50 yards or so I heard a tremendous racket going on in the heavy timber ahead of me (I was currently walking through a partialy logged area). It was 2 large bucks going to war. They were about 150 yards directly ahead and above me up a short hill. I couldn't see them but they sure were going at it.
I wasn't sure what to do. The fight stopped and I had my rifle at the ready watching the tree line to see if anything came out. It was dead silent. I did a little calling but nothing happened. I walked in slowly and came across the battle scene. No bucks to be seen. Boy did they ever tear up the surounding area!! I searched around and found that they both left the site going in the same direction at full run, down and away from where I was. One of them was bleeding. After a distance they slowed down to a walk and then split up, the bleeder going back up hill, and the other heading into super thick bush. I never did catch sight of them, but their track was very large so I knew they must be some fine bucks.
I found where both bucks had been bedded down prior to the fight (about 100 yards from each other). My guess is that they had heard me rattling and got up to investigate. One buck made a rub about 15 yards from his bed, and the other buck came from lower down but turned up to meet the buck while he was rubbing. Then the fight ensued. Why did they run?? Either they caught scent of me, or when I called to them, it spooked them somehow.
Anyways, my big question is this, "When you come across 2 bucks fighting, what do you do"???? If you can see them and they are within range, then its a no-brainer. But in this case, they wern't far away, I just couldn't see them. How could I draw them out to catch sight of them??
At any rate, this was a 1st for me and it sure was cool listening to a buck fight happen right in front of me.
After going another 50 yards or so I heard a tremendous racket going on in the heavy timber ahead of me (I was currently walking through a partialy logged area). It was 2 large bucks going to war. They were about 150 yards directly ahead and above me up a short hill. I couldn't see them but they sure were going at it.
I wasn't sure what to do. The fight stopped and I had my rifle at the ready watching the tree line to see if anything came out. It was dead silent. I did a little calling but nothing happened. I walked in slowly and came across the battle scene. No bucks to be seen. Boy did they ever tear up the surounding area!! I searched around and found that they both left the site going in the same direction at full run, down and away from where I was. One of them was bleeding. After a distance they slowed down to a walk and then split up, the bleeder going back up hill, and the other heading into super thick bush. I never did catch sight of them, but their track was very large so I knew they must be some fine bucks.
I found where both bucks had been bedded down prior to the fight (about 100 yards from each other). My guess is that they had heard me rattling and got up to investigate. One buck made a rub about 15 yards from his bed, and the other buck came from lower down but turned up to meet the buck while he was rubbing. Then the fight ensued. Why did they run?? Either they caught scent of me, or when I called to them, it spooked them somehow.
Anyways, my big question is this, "When you come across 2 bucks fighting, what do you do"???? If you can see them and they are within range, then its a no-brainer. But in this case, they wern't far away, I just couldn't see them. How could I draw them out to catch sight of them??
At any rate, this was a 1st for me and it sure was cool listening to a buck fight happen right in front of me.