Cyrus
10-14-2012, 01:44 PM
Spent a few days last week trying to find a couple deer. This was my g/f first year out after bigger game. I bought her a tikka t3 lite in a 7mm-08 which she quickly found the bullseye on at a 100 yards. We started out last friday and quickly saw a small buck which we passed on. Saw the usual does a nice bull moose and a cow. Around 1130 we were on our way out and came across a very nice buck. However he spotted us before I could get my g\f in a shooting position and it took off. The next day I walked a familiar ridge where I always see deer. I walked the ridge and I had my g\f walk the road which was adjacent to the ridge. I spooked up 3 bucks, one a nice 4pt that quickly ran towards my g\f direction. When they hit the road they just kept running through and she just saw antlers run off into the sticks. Over the course of a couple days we kept seeing these bucks but they were just too spooky to get a good shot at. One of my tryout purchases was a hunting blind tent from princess auto. I tried it out one night thinking it might be easily spotted by game. My g\f decided to take the night off which was regrettable after the game I saw. 1 hr before dark the game started to come out and I spotted a whitetail mingling with a 3 pt mule deer and a bunch of does. I took a look through my scope and observed 4pts on either side. I rested my scope on the side of the tent and waited for the deer to turn broadside. It kept getting chased by mule deer does and would not stay still...guess they didn't like the smell of it?? A quick glance behind me and I observed 2 mule bucks, a 3 pt and nice 4pt at approx 50 yards. I had a choice to make an easy shot at the mule deer or the whitetail which was approx 300 yards. Having never taken a whitetail I decided to take the tough shot. After a few minutes I finally got him broadside and I took my shot. I was breathing a bit hard but was steady. A fired off a round and saw it hit the dirt in front of him. He quickly took off and that was that. I had sighted in my gun a month earlier and thought it would shoot a tad high at that distance not low. I turned around and observed the 4pt was still there but I decided I would not take him as I wanted to get something decent for my g\f, that and I wanted to quit while I was still ahead.
I went out to the range the next day and found that my rifle was shooting 6 inches low at 100 yds. One of my mount screws had come loose and after a few adjustments and several rounds I got it to where it should be. Fast forward to sunday night, after seeing a few small 2 pts and spike bucks we were hoping this would be the night we see something shootable. We set up in the tent and I set up a tripod for my g\f to shoot off of in the event something came out. After watching a few does come out as well as a 2 pt I thought our night might be over as legal light was starting to fade. As I was viewing the does through the binos I observed they all started to watch the bush line. I looked over and observed a nice looking buck come out into the open. I whispered to my g/f that there was a nice buck and I thought she should take it. She set up on the tripod and I told her to take her time as the buck had no idea we were there. She fired off 1 round with her 7mm-08 and I saw the buck drop in its tracks. She was quite excited but also felt a bit guilty for shooting a deer...guess it is a little different than a grouse. Anyway this 3 point weighed in at 150 lbs on the hook and was a great 1st deer!
http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac293/cyrus747/IMAG0399_zps18f8e2ff.jpg
I still had my deer to get and I had told myself this year I would hold out for something big. There was no hurry as we had some nice meat in the locker now anyway. I went out sunday and again ran into the bucks I had seen a few days earlier. I saw them run down towards a road I had walked up on. I quickly made my way down to try and cut them off. I was quietly walking along the road when this large buck casually walked out of the sticks about 10 feet in front of me. I think I jumped higher than the deer did which of course quickly darted off back into the thick still heavily leaved aspen. I spent the next couple days battling some high temps and some cursed fishing winds.
Tuesday morning my g\f and I headed out and parked. We started to walk the road at daylight where we had seen the spooky bucks. We had a conversation on the way out about a buck I had nicknamed "Mr Big" who I had trail cam pics of in August and early september. With no recent pics we concluded he had left or was shot. Anyway back to the hunt, we walked up the road about a 100 meters when I looked over to the left and observed a very large buck about 80 yards broadside standing in some aspen. I knew instantly I wanted to take this buck. I quickly set up my tripod and aimed. There was a few bushes in the way and I quickly had to re-adjust over about 5 feet. The buck was looking straight ahead and had no idea we were there. I quickly aimed and fired off a round. I saw the buck jump up and took off. I couldn't beleive he did not drop as nothing has never ran more than a couple feet when I have taken anything with my 300 wsm. The deer darted towards the bush and after a quick glance at the antlers knew I had fired at the deer I named Mr Big. I went to the spot where we was standing and saw no blood. I started to make circles around the area and after seeing no blood started to think I had missed yet again. After cursing my gun and the expensive zeiss scope I thought I had missed the deer of a lifetime. I spotted something out of the corner of my eye and I saw that I had got him. I located the buck down just in an open clearing right in front of some real heavy bush. I had nailed him through the lungs and he still managed to go 250 yards before he decided to lay down. This was my biggest deer to date which weighed 180 lbs on the hook. Anyway here is a couple pics. He has one weaker tine at the back of one antler but I don't care...
http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac293/cyrus747/IMAG0430_zps95e2dbb2.jpg
http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac293/cyrus747/IMAG0412_zpsc7516e1e.jpg
Here he was back in August
http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac293/cyrus747/PRMS0018.jpg
My dad later in the week took a not bad 4X3...if he would of held out we might of had an opportunity at a 5 pt the same size as mine if not bigger that showed his face on a camera a few days ago, but no point in being greedy I guess!! Should be some tasty stuff as neither buck was stinky yet and both were in great shape.
I went out to the range the next day and found that my rifle was shooting 6 inches low at 100 yds. One of my mount screws had come loose and after a few adjustments and several rounds I got it to where it should be. Fast forward to sunday night, after seeing a few small 2 pts and spike bucks we were hoping this would be the night we see something shootable. We set up in the tent and I set up a tripod for my g\f to shoot off of in the event something came out. After watching a few does come out as well as a 2 pt I thought our night might be over as legal light was starting to fade. As I was viewing the does through the binos I observed they all started to watch the bush line. I looked over and observed a nice looking buck come out into the open. I whispered to my g/f that there was a nice buck and I thought she should take it. She set up on the tripod and I told her to take her time as the buck had no idea we were there. She fired off 1 round with her 7mm-08 and I saw the buck drop in its tracks. She was quite excited but also felt a bit guilty for shooting a deer...guess it is a little different than a grouse. Anyway this 3 point weighed in at 150 lbs on the hook and was a great 1st deer!
http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac293/cyrus747/IMAG0399_zps18f8e2ff.jpg
I still had my deer to get and I had told myself this year I would hold out for something big. There was no hurry as we had some nice meat in the locker now anyway. I went out sunday and again ran into the bucks I had seen a few days earlier. I saw them run down towards a road I had walked up on. I quickly made my way down to try and cut them off. I was quietly walking along the road when this large buck casually walked out of the sticks about 10 feet in front of me. I think I jumped higher than the deer did which of course quickly darted off back into the thick still heavily leaved aspen. I spent the next couple days battling some high temps and some cursed fishing winds.
Tuesday morning my g\f and I headed out and parked. We started to walk the road at daylight where we had seen the spooky bucks. We had a conversation on the way out about a buck I had nicknamed "Mr Big" who I had trail cam pics of in August and early september. With no recent pics we concluded he had left or was shot. Anyway back to the hunt, we walked up the road about a 100 meters when I looked over to the left and observed a very large buck about 80 yards broadside standing in some aspen. I knew instantly I wanted to take this buck. I quickly set up my tripod and aimed. There was a few bushes in the way and I quickly had to re-adjust over about 5 feet. The buck was looking straight ahead and had no idea we were there. I quickly aimed and fired off a round. I saw the buck jump up and took off. I couldn't beleive he did not drop as nothing has never ran more than a couple feet when I have taken anything with my 300 wsm. The deer darted towards the bush and after a quick glance at the antlers knew I had fired at the deer I named Mr Big. I went to the spot where we was standing and saw no blood. I started to make circles around the area and after seeing no blood started to think I had missed yet again. After cursing my gun and the expensive zeiss scope I thought I had missed the deer of a lifetime. I spotted something out of the corner of my eye and I saw that I had got him. I located the buck down just in an open clearing right in front of some real heavy bush. I had nailed him through the lungs and he still managed to go 250 yards before he decided to lay down. This was my biggest deer to date which weighed 180 lbs on the hook. Anyway here is a couple pics. He has one weaker tine at the back of one antler but I don't care...
http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac293/cyrus747/IMAG0430_zps95e2dbb2.jpg
http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac293/cyrus747/IMAG0412_zpsc7516e1e.jpg
Here he was back in August
http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac293/cyrus747/PRMS0018.jpg
My dad later in the week took a not bad 4X3...if he would of held out we might of had an opportunity at a 5 pt the same size as mine if not bigger that showed his face on a camera a few days ago, but no point in being greedy I guess!! Should be some tasty stuff as neither buck was stinky yet and both were in great shape.