Buck Fever Hits a Snag - 2
One of my longtime return guides, Ron, went to look for Snag in an area we had dubbed "ground zero". I had photographed Snag in "ground zero" over the years, usually within a 300 yard radius. That morning, Ron and his hunter, Rick, had some challenges in the timber with the horses and ended up getting to the glassing knob about fifteen minutes after glassing light. Ron was a little frustrated with the horses and being late. He quickly sat down to glass "ground zero". It was a full moon phase, so often the bucks are bedded at first light or are headed to bed quickly. After getting settled into the glass he was panning across "ground zero" and picked up a lone deer. Dialing in his spotter, he could not believe his own eyes.
Ron quickly got Rick's attention, saying, "You had better come look at this buck! I have been guiding 30 years to see a buck of this class." Ron had actually spotted a buck in 2013 that we ended up killing, named "007", that scored a whopping 240 3/8. The buck that he was looking at now stood out because of his huge drop tine. There was no doubt he was looking at Snag.
Snag was bedded on an open hillside, in a small patch of golden leaved quaking aspens, not 30 yards from where I photographed him in the summer. He got up and headed for the timber, only being in the open for minutes. The giant buck entered a huge timber patch to most likely bed down for the day. Now, most guides would have just simply charged in and tried to kill Snag solo, but Ron knew the chances went way up if we could assembled the team. Ron chose to bring James Sciascia and myself into the hunt. THANKS RON!!
Once at "ground zero" with Ron and Rick, I knew the challenges we would face. I had played out this hunt thousands of times in my head. We were either going to be shooting at Snag at a very close 2-300 yards or we would need to shoot 4-500 yards due to the way the country laid in this canyon. Rick had never hunted with us before, so I was not familiar with his shooting skills at the longer ranges. The shooting we had done together was the evening before this hunt, and it was simply to confirm zeros. Often before a hunt we conduct a short shooting class, firing at steel targets set up around our camp. We show our hunters some necessary shooting positions to ready them for what the mountains may throw at them. On this particular hunt, some of our hunters arrived at camp late so we did not make it past confirming the zeros at the 100 and 200 yard mark.
Not knowing Rick's experience at 4-500 yards, I chose to bring my 6.5x284 I had purchased from Len Backus at LRR(Long Range Rifles, LLC). I want to give a little back story on my 6.5x284. When I met Len Backus for the first time, it was over the phone. I was shopping for a rifle for my wolf hunting. I discussed with Len my goals for a new rifle system. I wanted to match the speed and reliability of a military HORUS reticle that is in MILs, but be able to use MOA as it is easier for me. Len recommended the Nightforce velocity reticle for his 6.5x284. This rifle shoots with 1/4 minute accuracy. To say the least, it's like shooting a laser beam. I can not stress enough the importance of taking a proven rifle system to the hunt. We had been in the hunt for this deer for 4 years and had invested 26 days just this season. It could all be wasted if the rifle system could not perform.
I asked Rick how comfortable he was with his rifle at the further ranges. I also asked him if he had a system for determining the different bullet drops at different ranges. Rick told me that he had done some 400 yard shooting using the system known as "Kentucky Windage". That system can be very effective with lots of practice but it is difficult to account for all the variables.
I offered Rick the use of my rifle, and went on to explain that it had two trusted and proven methods of determining drops. I have a Nightforce scope that has the velocity reticle that matches my bullet's trajectory as well as MOA adjustments. That scope, combined with the G7 BR2 rangefinder (to determine those MOA adjustments and take into account the density altitude and angle) is a very accurate system. Rick accepted my offer to use the rifle.
Ron and I formulated a plan based off of where he had seen Snag go into the timber. After throwing out a couple different ideas, we were off to find a shooting position. We ended up on a steep side hill slope at the base of a tree. From this one vantage point, we could see where Snag went into the timber at 325 and clearly to the other side of the timber patch. If he came out the other side, he would range from 390 to well over 600 yards.
Now we set up our position. I pulled my Primos Polecat shooting sticks from my pack. I never go into the field without them. We worked with Rick using the shooting sticks for his front rest and a backpack for the rear. This is a very common shooting position for us in steep terrain. Although this set up gave him the most versatility to move between different areas where Snag could appear, Rick could not find the comfort and stability needed to make this shot at the further distances. I stressed to him that we were not even going to consider a shot unless he felt 90% confident that he could kill the buck. We had spent way to long looking for this deer to risk a low percentage shot. I would rather come back the next day and the day after that and so on, than risk wounding such a magnificent buck.
I pulled my Manfrotto tripod out and set it up in front of Rick, setting the shooting sticks aside. I have a leather saddle gun rest that attaches with a quick release tripod adapter to the top of the Manfrotto. This is the most rock solid rest I carry into the field. It's my "go to" rest if we have the time to set it up. Ron and I cut a few small limbs off of a tree so Rick could rest his back against the tree as well as secure the rear of the gun on a backpack for rock solid stability. We even dug out a flat area for Rick's rear end. We sure didn't want any slipping at the wrong moment. A few more adjustments, and now we had our rest. Rick settled in behind the gun.
I continued with Rick, going over the other important factors for making a killing shot. We covered the parallax on the scope. We covered the canting in the rifle and the reticle (or keeping the reticle perpendicular to the bore). We talked about the way we would determine the range, make our compensation, and shoot. I pulled the G7 BR2 out of my pack....Oh Sh*#!, the the batteries were dead! It's a good thing I had a secondary system with this rifle, otherwise we would have been back to Kentucky Windage. This is also a good reason to have drop charts that have your density altitude factored in, either attached to your gun or in your gear somewhere. My backup drop chart is in a VTAC "Write in the Rain" notebook I carry every day. My rifle had three methods for making that perfect shot. With the Nightforce velocity reticle and my Swarovski EL Range binos (with angle compensation so you get the ballistic range of the shot) in hand we were back in the hunt!
Given the magnitude of this shot, 500 yards was the end of my comfort zone. Now we went over natural point of aim, as well as trigger control. I had Rick check the chamber and recommended he dry fire the rifle in different openings Snag could appear in, simulating the shot. I stressed with him that this was the time to make adjustments if he was not 90% confident. We spent the next hour going over possible shots and taking those shots with an empty chamber.
This was a great exercise because it gave all of us a chance to settle down. Buck Fever is contagious and it can be the reason that you don't take the giant home. I kept going over the words of my buddy Kyle Lamb (retired Delta force operator), "Chaos (buck fever) breeds more chaos. You have to force yourself to remain calm." I was once on a hunt with Kyle where I got a little on the redneck, chaos side of things....that's a whole other story. With Kyle's words in my head, I was working hard to keep my buck fever to a minimum for Rick's, and all of our sake. After more simulated shots Rick turned to me and said, "I am ready. If Snag comes out in the 325-500 yard range I am going to kill him." Those words were music to my ears!!
Now we wait. Another hour went by. Then a small rain cloud came over head. It sprinkled for 15 minutes or so. The whole time Ron and I were scouring every piece of real estate in view. This was a giant patch of thick north facing timber mixed with quaking aspen and thick brush. The openings were small and thick with branches. The bottom of the draw changed from dark timber to more quaking aspens to all quaking aspens to open hillsides of sage. If Snag came out of the timber we would have a serious chance. The whole time I was scanning the small openings I kept thinking to myself, "My prayers will be answered if I could only see him on the hoof, hard horned, one more time." We all just wanted to see that giant, heavy rack with the huge hanging cheaters that look like snags of a tree and the heavy black drop tine. When you have chased such an animal for years, every time you s
Ron quickly got Rick's attention, saying, "You had better come look at this buck! I have been guiding 30 years to see a buck of this class." Ron had actually spotted a buck in 2013 that we ended up killing, named "007", that scored a whopping 240 3/8. The buck that he was looking at now stood out because of his huge drop tine. There was no doubt he was looking at Snag.
Snag was bedded on an open hillside, in a small patch of golden leaved quaking aspens, not 30 yards from where I photographed him in the summer. He got up and headed for the timber, only being in the open for minutes. The giant buck entered a huge timber patch to most likely bed down for the day. Now, most guides would have just simply charged in and tried to kill Snag solo, but Ron knew the chances went way up if we could assembled the team. Ron chose to bring James Sciascia and myself into the hunt. THANKS RON!!
Once at "ground zero" with Ron and Rick, I knew the challenges we would face. I had played out this hunt thousands of times in my head. We were either going to be shooting at Snag at a very close 2-300 yards or we would need to shoot 4-500 yards due to the way the country laid in this canyon. Rick had never hunted with us before, so I was not familiar with his shooting skills at the longer ranges. The shooting we had done together was the evening before this hunt, and it was simply to confirm zeros. Often before a hunt we conduct a short shooting class, firing at steel targets set up around our camp. We show our hunters some necessary shooting positions to ready them for what the mountains may throw at them. On this particular hunt, some of our hunters arrived at camp late so we did not make it past confirming the zeros at the 100 and 200 yard mark.
Not knowing Rick's experience at 4-500 yards, I chose to bring my 6.5x284 I had purchased from Len Backus at LRR(Long Range Rifles, LLC). I want to give a little back story on my 6.5x284. When I met Len Backus for the first time, it was over the phone. I was shopping for a rifle for my wolf hunting. I discussed with Len my goals for a new rifle system. I wanted to match the speed and reliability of a military HORUS reticle that is in MILs, but be able to use MOA as it is easier for me. Len recommended the Nightforce velocity reticle for his 6.5x284. This rifle shoots with 1/4 minute accuracy. To say the least, it's like shooting a laser beam. I can not stress enough the importance of taking a proven rifle system to the hunt. We had been in the hunt for this deer for 4 years and had invested 26 days just this season. It could all be wasted if the rifle system could not perform.
I asked Rick how comfortable he was with his rifle at the further ranges. I also asked him if he had a system for determining the different bullet drops at different ranges. Rick told me that he had done some 400 yard shooting using the system known as "Kentucky Windage". That system can be very effective with lots of practice but it is difficult to account for all the variables.
I offered Rick the use of my rifle, and went on to explain that it had two trusted and proven methods of determining drops. I have a Nightforce scope that has the velocity reticle that matches my bullet's trajectory as well as MOA adjustments. That scope, combined with the G7 BR2 rangefinder (to determine those MOA adjustments and take into account the density altitude and angle) is a very accurate system. Rick accepted my offer to use the rifle.
Ron and I formulated a plan based off of where he had seen Snag go into the timber. After throwing out a couple different ideas, we were off to find a shooting position. We ended up on a steep side hill slope at the base of a tree. From this one vantage point, we could see where Snag went into the timber at 325 and clearly to the other side of the timber patch. If he came out the other side, he would range from 390 to well over 600 yards.
Now we set up our position. I pulled my Primos Polecat shooting sticks from my pack. I never go into the field without them. We worked with Rick using the shooting sticks for his front rest and a backpack for the rear. This is a very common shooting position for us in steep terrain. Although this set up gave him the most versatility to move between different areas where Snag could appear, Rick could not find the comfort and stability needed to make this shot at the further distances. I stressed to him that we were not even going to consider a shot unless he felt 90% confident that he could kill the buck. We had spent way to long looking for this deer to risk a low percentage shot. I would rather come back the next day and the day after that and so on, than risk wounding such a magnificent buck.
I pulled my Manfrotto tripod out and set it up in front of Rick, setting the shooting sticks aside. I have a leather saddle gun rest that attaches with a quick release tripod adapter to the top of the Manfrotto. This is the most rock solid rest I carry into the field. It's my "go to" rest if we have the time to set it up. Ron and I cut a few small limbs off of a tree so Rick could rest his back against the tree as well as secure the rear of the gun on a backpack for rock solid stability. We even dug out a flat area for Rick's rear end. We sure didn't want any slipping at the wrong moment. A few more adjustments, and now we had our rest. Rick settled in behind the gun.
Given the magnitude of this shot, 500 yards was the end of my comfort zone. Now we went over natural point of aim, as well as trigger control. I had Rick check the chamber and recommended he dry fire the rifle in different openings Snag could appear in, simulating the shot. I stressed with him that this was the time to make adjustments if he was not 90% confident. We spent the next hour going over possible shots and taking those shots with an empty chamber.
This was a great exercise because it gave all of us a chance to settle down. Buck Fever is contagious and it can be the reason that you don't take the giant home. I kept going over the words of my buddy Kyle Lamb (retired Delta force operator), "Chaos (buck fever) breeds more chaos. You have to force yourself to remain calm." I was once on a hunt with Kyle where I got a little on the redneck, chaos side of things....that's a whole other story. With Kyle's words in my head, I was working hard to keep my buck fever to a minimum for Rick's, and all of our sake. After more simulated shots Rick turned to me and said, "I am ready. If Snag comes out in the 325-500 yard range I am going to kill him." Those words were music to my ears!!
Now we wait. Another hour went by. Then a small rain cloud came over head. It sprinkled for 15 minutes or so. The whole time Ron and I were scouring every piece of real estate in view. This was a giant patch of thick north facing timber mixed with quaking aspen and thick brush. The openings were small and thick with branches. The bottom of the draw changed from dark timber to more quaking aspens to all quaking aspens to open hillsides of sage. If Snag came out of the timber we would have a serious chance. The whole time I was scanning the small openings I kept thinking to myself, "My prayers will be answered if I could only see him on the hoof, hard horned, one more time." We all just wanted to see that giant, heavy rack with the huge hanging cheaters that look like snags of a tree and the heavy black drop tine. When you have chased such an animal for years, every time you s
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