Buck Fever Hits A Snag - 3
I suddenly caught some movement in the bottom of the draw...it was white...could it be a tail? I grabbed my spotter and pulled the gun saddle rest off the tripod. I attached the spotter and dialed it in. My prayers were answered. There he was! I had not laid eyes on him hard horned this year. His antlers were darker and way heavier than I had expected. I quickly got Rick into his shooting position. If the deer kept going the same direction it would be a 509 yard shot. Snag was feeding and kept going north towards thicker cover. I was looking through a very small opening about the size of a deer. The opening was covered in hanging branches and a shot would be impossible. He quickly disappeared into the thicker cover and was out of sight. As quickly as he had appeared, he disappeared even faster. After seeing him, I remember thinking that this could actually happen, we have a chance. We scoured and scoured the timber patch, it seemed like forever. Did he bed down? Was that the only glimpse we were going to get? Ron said, "I got a deer moving below the big quaky patch." I swung the spotter over...it's a small buck. Another lifetime passed, my heart was pounding, where is this buck?
The small buck was in a perfect lane for a shot, it was a long corridor that was about 12 yards wide and had a big bend or dog leg in the opening. I got Rick locked on the opening. We had done a big portion of our practice shots right there. He got the small buck in the scope. The Nightforce scope had to be on maximum power for the velocity reticle to work. Target acquisition can be more challenging on 22 power. We kept scanning no Snag...no Snag. Then sure enough there he was at the top of the long open corridor, mostly covered in brush, it was Snag!! In range and ten feet from being completely in the open. Now my heart was beating out of my chest. "I got him Rick. He is 25 yards above the small buck, can you see him?" "No", Rick says.
"He is moving towards the small buck. He is about to come out in the opening, do you see him?" "No", he said again. The opening was not that big and the edges were thick. The deer were extremely hard to find, especially in a scope you only looked through for the first time that day! Snag walked forward into the edge of the opening. He was in a place that we could take a shot.
"Rick do you see him?" "No. No, I can not." Wow! Now my heart was jumping out of my chest. I pulled him off the rest, removed the gun saddle and set up the spotter.
"Rick look in the spotter." "Oh, ya' I got him." I set the saddle back up in a flash. Rick got behind the gun and Snag walked forward, covered his vitals with brush and kept feeding. So we waited.
"Okay, he is the top deer, or the highest in the opening." I said to confirm. "Yes, I got him." Rick replied. Suddenly, Snag got ****ed at the smaller buck and chased him off running for half the distance of the opening. I don't think I took a breath for about four minutes. The chaos in my chest was running strong. I kept thinking, "Keep it together." This was without question the most intense moment of mule deer hunting in my life. I was a hundred times calmer hunting Magnum, and we shot him at 60 yards!
The small buck ran out of sight into the timber, made a small circle and came out above Snag. "Rick, there are two bucks again. Snag is the lower buck." "I got him." Rick replied again.
"Snag is going to come in the open but he will be face on." Wait until he turns broadside." I whispered. "Yep, I got him." the reply. He fed forward for another 10 steps. He had about the same distance to go and he would be out of the shooting lane possibly gone forever.
"He is going to turn, Rick. As soon as he turns, you're going to have to shoot." "I got him." again the reply.
"He is turning, be ready...He is broadside...He is not going to stop. Your going to have to shoot him. 410 Rick. Shoot...SHOOT!" Both Ron and I, "SHOOT!!"
BOOM!
My binos were shaking at this point. I saw Snag jump kick and twist sideways like a horse when he sees a ghost. My first words were, "WOW! That was intense." Ron said, "Wow, Robb, you kept it together really well." Inside and out I was shaking with intensity. This was the most intense moment of mule deer hunting in my career. The 140 grain Berger bullet did it's job perfectly. It was a pass through shot, taking out one lung. After 4 years, we get to pay our respects to a Wyoming Legend for the rest of our lives!!! Snag is 38 1/2 inches wide, he has 58 inches of extras and will score around 240. Ricks best deer ever. One of the finest bucks to come out of western Wyoming EVER!!!!
That feeling of buck fever, or chaos, is what we all go through as hunters or as guides, at different levels, in every hunting scenario. I figure, if you don't get excited, why would you want to hunt or guide? The key is, learning to manage that excitement, as well as have your shooting system in place and the kinks worked out well before the hunt. This chaos time is when mistakes get made. If Rick, Ron and I had not worked together going through all of those scenarios over and over, again and again, before Snag showed up, or if we did not have the rifle system to make the shot, Snag could have easily been "that buck that got away."
A lot of hunters see big deer on occasion. Very few are consistent at bringing those giants home. I contribute our success at Non-Typical Outfitters to a multitude of things. Scouting, perseverance, a "never quit" attitude and teamwork are a few of those things. But, two of the most important things that contribute to our success are our skills as shooters and having the knowledge to set up the best shot.
Killing Snag most likely would not have happened if I had not offered Rick the use my 6.5x284 rifle system, or if I had not spent years practicing that system, learning from the very best shooters and gun makers in the country. Buying that gun from Len Backus took my shooting and hunting to the next level. I was not just buying a gun or piece of equipment.
The door was open to a huge knowledge base in long range shooting. I already had some great exposure to high level shooting from working with Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactics and the special forces teams we helped with horseback training. But I was able to add to it when I bought the rifle from Len. He was clear about his desire to share every bit of knowledge he developed in 22 years of long range hunting and shooting with all of his customers. I learned a ton from Len. I was constantly asking him questions about things from scopes to reloading to shooting accessories, that would have taken years to learn on my own. I cannot stress enough the value of going into a hunt with a trusted rifle system, and the practice and knowledge to put it to use. It is simply priceless.
The small buck was in a perfect lane for a shot, it was a long corridor that was about 12 yards wide and had a big bend or dog leg in the opening. I got Rick locked on the opening. We had done a big portion of our practice shots right there. He got the small buck in the scope. The Nightforce scope had to be on maximum power for the velocity reticle to work. Target acquisition can be more challenging on 22 power. We kept scanning no Snag...no Snag. Then sure enough there he was at the top of the long open corridor, mostly covered in brush, it was Snag!! In range and ten feet from being completely in the open. Now my heart was beating out of my chest. "I got him Rick. He is 25 yards above the small buck, can you see him?" "No", Rick says.
"He is moving towards the small buck. He is about to come out in the opening, do you see him?" "No", he said again. The opening was not that big and the edges were thick. The deer were extremely hard to find, especially in a scope you only looked through for the first time that day! Snag walked forward into the edge of the opening. He was in a place that we could take a shot.
"Rick do you see him?" "No. No, I can not." Wow! Now my heart was jumping out of my chest. I pulled him off the rest, removed the gun saddle and set up the spotter.
"Rick look in the spotter." "Oh, ya' I got him." I set the saddle back up in a flash. Rick got behind the gun and Snag walked forward, covered his vitals with brush and kept feeding. So we waited.
"Okay, he is the top deer, or the highest in the opening." I said to confirm. "Yes, I got him." Rick replied. Suddenly, Snag got ****ed at the smaller buck and chased him off running for half the distance of the opening. I don't think I took a breath for about four minutes. The chaos in my chest was running strong. I kept thinking, "Keep it together." This was without question the most intense moment of mule deer hunting in my life. I was a hundred times calmer hunting Magnum, and we shot him at 60 yards!
The small buck ran out of sight into the timber, made a small circle and came out above Snag. "Rick, there are two bucks again. Snag is the lower buck." "I got him." Rick replied again.
"Snag is going to come in the open but he will be face on." Wait until he turns broadside." I whispered. "Yep, I got him." the reply. He fed forward for another 10 steps. He had about the same distance to go and he would be out of the shooting lane possibly gone forever.
"He is going to turn, Rick. As soon as he turns, you're going to have to shoot." "I got him." again the reply.
"He is turning, be ready...He is broadside...He is not going to stop. Your going to have to shoot him. 410 Rick. Shoot...SHOOT!" Both Ron and I, "SHOOT!!"
BOOM!
My binos were shaking at this point. I saw Snag jump kick and twist sideways like a horse when he sees a ghost. My first words were, "WOW! That was intense." Ron said, "Wow, Robb, you kept it together really well." Inside and out I was shaking with intensity. This was the most intense moment of mule deer hunting in my career. The 140 grain Berger bullet did it's job perfectly. It was a pass through shot, taking out one lung. After 4 years, we get to pay our respects to a Wyoming Legend for the rest of our lives!!! Snag is 38 1/2 inches wide, he has 58 inches of extras and will score around 240. Ricks best deer ever. One of the finest bucks to come out of western Wyoming EVER!!!!
That feeling of buck fever, or chaos, is what we all go through as hunters or as guides, at different levels, in every hunting scenario. I figure, if you don't get excited, why would you want to hunt or guide? The key is, learning to manage that excitement, as well as have your shooting system in place and the kinks worked out well before the hunt. This chaos time is when mistakes get made. If Rick, Ron and I had not worked together going through all of those scenarios over and over, again and again, before Snag showed up, or if we did not have the rifle system to make the shot, Snag could have easily been "that buck that got away."
A lot of hunters see big deer on occasion. Very few are consistent at bringing those giants home. I contribute our success at Non-Typical Outfitters to a multitude of things. Scouting, perseverance, a "never quit" attitude and teamwork are a few of those things. But, two of the most important things that contribute to our success are our skills as shooters and having the knowledge to set up the best shot.
Killing Snag most likely would not have happened if I had not offered Rick the use my 6.5x284 rifle system, or if I had not spent years practicing that system, learning from the very best shooters and gun makers in the country. Buying that gun from Len Backus took my shooting and hunting to the next level. I was not just buying a gun or piece of equipment.
The door was open to a huge knowledge base in long range shooting. I already had some great exposure to high level shooting from working with Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactics and the special forces teams we helped with horseback training. But I was able to add to it when I bought the rifle from Len. He was clear about his desire to share every bit of knowledge he developed in 22 years of long range hunting and shooting with all of his customers. I learned a ton from Len. I was constantly asking him questions about things from scopes to reloading to shooting accessories, that would have taken years to learn on my own. I cannot stress enough the value of going into a hunt with a trusted rifle system, and the practice and knowledge to put it to use. It is simply priceless.
- Previous page: Buck Fever Hits a Snag - 2
