CB11WYO
Well-Known Member
Took the wife out last Saturday for a try at filling her goat tag.
Left the kids with grandma and headed out before daylight for our area. Got to the desired spot with just enough light to start seeing horns. Ended up right in the thick of things only a mile from the Interstate, just out of sight! As her luck would have it the very first buck we see is looking pretty darn good, and he's hanging out at 300 yards! I keep telling her this is probably the one but she, not wanting to kill the first thing she sees, puts me off as we continue to stare at him through the spotting scope.
After 10 minutes of this he gets nervous and pushes his does over a rise and out of sight. Having finally convinced her to consider this buck we hop on the main road and drive north to intercept them. We spot them again and drive within about 400 yards before stopping. She slides out the passenger side and sets up right in the middle of the 2-tracker. I follow and get her dialed in... 375 yards, no wind, cake! She settles in and lets it go... Buck jumps and takes off full speed in a 30 yard circle. Awesome, I think to myself, he's gonna die right where he started! But this is where the adventure begins... He keeps going, in Speed Goat Overdrive, back towards the east and the main road, then cranks it north and heads out of sight.
Oh boy, I'm starting to think we're in for it. We follow him on foot over the rise he disappeared behind, finally spotting him at 600+, but he's soon gone. Nuts! We get on his track, and start finding blood. Cool, we follow that for a 1/4 mile then lose it in the green grass in the bottom of the draw. Marking the last blood and not seeing him to the north, we head north-west on a hunch. We make the top of the ridge and see... nothing. We continue north-west across the next draw and are just topping the next ridge when I see horns! We hustle into position on a prairie dog mound without being detected. He's trying to graze but otherwise not getting around too well. He finally spots us and turns to walk straight away, offering no shot. Not wanting to do anymore tracking/wondering I tell the wife to put one through the back of his neck, range 200 yards... She fires and he drops like a sack of potatoes. Man what a relief!
After inspection he is indeed a great buck. Her first shot at 375 hit him clear back at the point of the hip... has us both puzzled. Nerves? I dunno. Bulllet chipped the forward edge of the hip but had no more influence than that. Kinda disappointing. 2nd shot, through the spine, lights out.
We can chuckle about it now but now she knows why we like "DRT"
Got our exercise at least getting to the truck.
-Clint
Left the kids with grandma and headed out before daylight for our area. Got to the desired spot with just enough light to start seeing horns. Ended up right in the thick of things only a mile from the Interstate, just out of sight! As her luck would have it the very first buck we see is looking pretty darn good, and he's hanging out at 300 yards! I keep telling her this is probably the one but she, not wanting to kill the first thing she sees, puts me off as we continue to stare at him through the spotting scope.
After 10 minutes of this he gets nervous and pushes his does over a rise and out of sight. Having finally convinced her to consider this buck we hop on the main road and drive north to intercept them. We spot them again and drive within about 400 yards before stopping. She slides out the passenger side and sets up right in the middle of the 2-tracker. I follow and get her dialed in... 375 yards, no wind, cake! She settles in and lets it go... Buck jumps and takes off full speed in a 30 yard circle. Awesome, I think to myself, he's gonna die right where he started! But this is where the adventure begins... He keeps going, in Speed Goat Overdrive, back towards the east and the main road, then cranks it north and heads out of sight.
Oh boy, I'm starting to think we're in for it. We follow him on foot over the rise he disappeared behind, finally spotting him at 600+, but he's soon gone. Nuts! We get on his track, and start finding blood. Cool, we follow that for a 1/4 mile then lose it in the green grass in the bottom of the draw. Marking the last blood and not seeing him to the north, we head north-west on a hunch. We make the top of the ridge and see... nothing. We continue north-west across the next draw and are just topping the next ridge when I see horns! We hustle into position on a prairie dog mound without being detected. He's trying to graze but otherwise not getting around too well. He finally spots us and turns to walk straight away, offering no shot. Not wanting to do anymore tracking/wondering I tell the wife to put one through the back of his neck, range 200 yards... She fires and he drops like a sack of potatoes. Man what a relief!
After inspection he is indeed a great buck. Her first shot at 375 hit him clear back at the point of the hip... has us both puzzled. Nerves? I dunno. Bulllet chipped the forward edge of the hip but had no more influence than that. Kinda disappointing. 2nd shot, through the spine, lights out.
We can chuckle about it now but now she knows why we like "DRT"
Got our exercise at least getting to the truck. -Clint
