Outdoordan
Member
About this time of year the hunting posts start getting pretty slim so I thought I'd add a post regarding my daughters 2022 Idaho buck. I was pretty proud of her for getting the shot off, and a long one at that (long to us). I had spotted this buck from our truck in a spot that had lots of does. I had told my daughter we would monitor that spot as 2 weeks before (on the opener) we had seen a lot of does and small bucks using this hillside. The buck was probably 1.5 miles away, but my spotter showed us it was a good buck. My daughter (14 yrs old) had killed a few Mulies, a Whitetail, and a Coues buck in the past, and had stated she would not settle for a small buck this year. Opening weekend we passed on some smaller 4x4's including one that was pretty wide, but had the splindly thin antlers of a young deer. Two weeks later, and we were on this good buck. We headed down a 2 track only to see a truck parked. We were sure it was another hunter that had seen the buck. We were going to give this person first "dibs" on the buck, and sat there for about a half an hour looking for him. It was fairly open with some junipers, so, the longer we sat, the more I got convinced nobody was stalking the buck! Finally, after looking for tracks in the snow (from the other hunter), we decided the stalk was ours. We had about 1.25 miles to get to the buck, and did not want to blow it out by driving closer. It was on a steep open hillside looking right down on the valley, and the 2 track going down the valley center. About a half mile on our way to the buck, we had a truck drive right down the 2 track. We started jumping up and down trying to get the attention of the group of hunters. To no avail, they kept going. So, we started jogging towards the group with the buck in it. We bumped some does, that of course headed straight towards the hillside with the deer. That got us going quicker. Finally, at 480 yards, we ran out of the little cover we had, and could tell the deer were ready to leave. Daughter got on the sticks, and tried to reduce her breathing/heart rate. BAM, thwack and the 257 weatherby mag (my gun that she has since decided is her gun), hit its mark. The shot hit it a little high, and because they were up above us, clipped the spine. The buck started running on its 2 front legs down the hill, and then stopped. Bam, and she hit it again! 2-shots under pressure at 480 yards! Proud Dad moment. Thanks for reading.
