dave_83golf
08-08-2011, 02:06 PM
3582I saw this baby 3 days in a row in early December. After passing him up twice and nearing the end of the season, I decided I would take a go at him... I had him at about 40 yards the first time I spotted him and decided I would get my hunting partner on the radio, to see if he was interested in taking him. By the time he hiked 500 yards or so, the deer made his way into the thicker bush, and disappeared. Two days later I spotted him at about 600 yards, but I wasn't entirely sure it was the same deer. We made a play on him, and had him running straight at me until he quickly veered to the left and up the hill away from me. I was downwind, so i thought he might run me over, but for some reason he headed east up the hill. I had him pinned with my Bino's... I was 90% sure he was the same buck, and 95% sure he was a 4... But that wasn't good enough, I had to be certain.... I passed him up that day as well.... Finally on the day of the kill, I had passed up a small 4 that morning, and must have seen upwards of 200 deer that afternoon. I started regretting my decision to pass up the 4 earlier that day. I had about 2km to hike, in order to get back to the spot where I saw the 4 point the day before. It was nearing 1:30pm and I knew I had to move quickly in order to get to the spot, and successfully harvest the animal, and get him back to the road by dark. It was a long shot, but I figured it might be my only chance. We had already hiked 5-6km's that day, and had been hunting all week. Joints were sore, and body was tired...
Spotted another 10-15 deer on the hike to the spot, thought one was a shooter, but he turned out to be a big 3... its now about 2:30 and we figure we had about 2 hours of light left in the day... As we approach the clearing, my partner and I split up. I took the low side, he went high. As I crested the hill i spotted 3 does feeding in the clearing, and decided I would sneak along the low side to ensure I wasn't spotted... As I looked to my right I spotted him. The only trouble was that he had me pegged too... Standing still for what seemed like an eternity he went back to feeding. I had absolutely nothing to rest on, so I looked for anything I could rest on to take a shot of about 225 yards. i spotted a fallen log covered in snow about 20 yards away, so i backed out of the area, and waiting 2 or 3 minutes to let the herd feel as though there was no threat. as I circled another fallen tree, I made my approach to the log. The buck had not seen me, but a doe, that i missed, who was bedded down about 150 yards to my right certainly didn't ignore my presence. She stood up and bounded up the hill, followed by 2 or 3 more does. This was my only opportunity to take a shot, but I wanted to make sure I had a shot i knew I could make. A lone branch coming from the fallen tree was the only quick access rest I had. Heart pounding, and palms sweating, I put a bullet in the chamber of my .308 winmag and pressed the barrel against the branch, it provided just enough stability, that I took the safety off and pulled the trigger.... as the rifle went off, 15-20 deer bounded for the hills. The buck took 4 or 5 steps to the right, and I reloaded another bullet. frantically I wiped snow from the log and took another rest thinking I had missed. As I looked through the scope to take shot number two, the buck rolled on his back and didn't make another move.. we field dressed the buck and drug him down a hill side, arriving at the road right at dark... Headlamps illuminated, we made the 3km journey back to the truck, and made it home around 7pm... What a hunt! Reliving this gets me so excited for the 2011 hunting season. Good luck to all, happy and safe hunting.
Spotted another 10-15 deer on the hike to the spot, thought one was a shooter, but he turned out to be a big 3... its now about 2:30 and we figure we had about 2 hours of light left in the day... As we approach the clearing, my partner and I split up. I took the low side, he went high. As I crested the hill i spotted 3 does feeding in the clearing, and decided I would sneak along the low side to ensure I wasn't spotted... As I looked to my right I spotted him. The only trouble was that he had me pegged too... Standing still for what seemed like an eternity he went back to feeding. I had absolutely nothing to rest on, so I looked for anything I could rest on to take a shot of about 225 yards. i spotted a fallen log covered in snow about 20 yards away, so i backed out of the area, and waiting 2 or 3 minutes to let the herd feel as though there was no threat. as I circled another fallen tree, I made my approach to the log. The buck had not seen me, but a doe, that i missed, who was bedded down about 150 yards to my right certainly didn't ignore my presence. She stood up and bounded up the hill, followed by 2 or 3 more does. This was my only opportunity to take a shot, but I wanted to make sure I had a shot i knew I could make. A lone branch coming from the fallen tree was the only quick access rest I had. Heart pounding, and palms sweating, I put a bullet in the chamber of my .308 winmag and pressed the barrel against the branch, it provided just enough stability, that I took the safety off and pulled the trigger.... as the rifle went off, 15-20 deer bounded for the hills. The buck took 4 or 5 steps to the right, and I reloaded another bullet. frantically I wiped snow from the log and took another rest thinking I had missed. As I looked through the scope to take shot number two, the buck rolled on his back and didn't make another move.. we field dressed the buck and drug him down a hill side, arriving at the road right at dark... Headlamps illuminated, we made the 3km journey back to the truck, and made it home around 7pm... What a hunt! Reliving this gets me so excited for the 2011 hunting season. Good luck to all, happy and safe hunting.