Twanger
Well-Known Member
I wish I could tell some grand and epic tale about the hunt for this buck because he has the largest spread, 20 inches, of any buck I've ever killed.
Alas, the story is pretty ordinary.
Although I didn't have any camera intel on this location, but the wind was SW and right for the stand Saturday morning.
However, it was the pre-rut and big bucks have a way of making sudden early morning appearances in the pre-rut chase phase.
I decided to roll the dice.
I got in one hour before first light and spooked a deer out of the yard.
Argh. Not a good start.
I climbed up my favorite tree and settled in.
Just about first light this buck walked into the yard 40 yards out.
I could not tell how good he was, but could tell that he was big.
I set the HHA Speed Dial on the Tac15, thumbed off the safety and got him in the scope.
It seemed so far, and it was very early, that I was conflicted over the shot.
It was hard to tell how good a buck he was from the side, and I only had one archery tag left.
As I paused in indecision he turned and walked right in to the feeder at 20 yards.
For 5 minutes or more in the morning gloom he snacked on corn and the best I could tell (my eyes are not all that great) was that he was wide and had a good point on his right side.
I turned the Speed Dial back down to 30 yards, good for any shot from 3-30.
Then he turned to show me his left broadside and faced the park, which was 10 yards off past the tangle of dead branches put around the yard by the landowner as a makeshift fence.
That made my mind up and I found his shoulder in the scope and the arrow was away.
In two leaps he made it over the dead branches, one more leap, and bang, he fell down dead in sight! He ran only 17 yards.
I waited a half hour because I had a spike buck under me.
Finally the spike took off and I climbed down to claim my prize.
I didn't really know how big he was until I tried to move him and could not. Wow. Easy 240 pounds on the hoof. Wow was he heavy.
I went back to the truck and got a block and tackle and managed to get him hung in a tree to gut him.
It took me about 45 minutes to haul him about 30 yards to the yard, and by that time a friend who was hunting nearby showed up and helped me get him loaded into the truck.
This morning he went 165 lb on the scale, field dressed.
Tinker the Taxidermist now has him to do a shoulder mount.
Alas, the story is pretty ordinary.
Although I didn't have any camera intel on this location, but the wind was SW and right for the stand Saturday morning.
However, it was the pre-rut and big bucks have a way of making sudden early morning appearances in the pre-rut chase phase.
I decided to roll the dice.
I got in one hour before first light and spooked a deer out of the yard.
Argh. Not a good start.
I climbed up my favorite tree and settled in.
Just about first light this buck walked into the yard 40 yards out.
I could not tell how good he was, but could tell that he was big.
I set the HHA Speed Dial on the Tac15, thumbed off the safety and got him in the scope.
It seemed so far, and it was very early, that I was conflicted over the shot.
It was hard to tell how good a buck he was from the side, and I only had one archery tag left.
As I paused in indecision he turned and walked right in to the feeder at 20 yards.
For 5 minutes or more in the morning gloom he snacked on corn and the best I could tell (my eyes are not all that great) was that he was wide and had a good point on his right side.
I turned the Speed Dial back down to 30 yards, good for any shot from 3-30.
Then he turned to show me his left broadside and faced the park, which was 10 yards off past the tangle of dead branches put around the yard by the landowner as a makeshift fence.
That made my mind up and I found his shoulder in the scope and the arrow was away.
In two leaps he made it over the dead branches, one more leap, and bang, he fell down dead in sight! He ran only 17 yards.
I waited a half hour because I had a spike buck under me.
Finally the spike took off and I climbed down to claim my prize.
I didn't really know how big he was until I tried to move him and could not. Wow. Easy 240 pounds on the hoof. Wow was he heavy.
I went back to the truck and got a block and tackle and managed to get him hung in a tree to gut him.
It took me about 45 minutes to haul him about 30 yards to the yard, and by that time a friend who was hunting nearby showed up and helped me get him loaded into the truck.
This morning he went 165 lb on the scale, field dressed.
Tinker the Taxidermist now has him to do a shoulder mount.
