I have been chasing whitetails pretty much since they have been here to chase. I still remember the first set of deer tracks I ever saw on our Orange County farm when I was 15 years old. That was exciting. My first experience hunting them was with a farmer friend going to Camp Butner and hunting with shotguns and dogs.
From those beginnings, I have seen the seasons and deer population expand. I have hunted with most legal weapons except crossbows and pistols. And I have been fortunate over the years to kill a pile of deer and some pretty nice ones at that. I have quite a few shoulder mounts on the wall and over the last decade or so, a bunch of Euro mounts as well. I have killed some heavy deer (200+ lbs) but the older mature bucks with nice racks have been hard to come by.
All of that changed yesterday evening as I managed to be at the right place at the right time and I did not make any mistakes. The hunt was short and sweet. Does filtered out into the fescue hay filed from my left but they were not in feed mode. It did not take long before the buck showed up and I said shooter. From there it was all business, getting ready for a shot opportunity. It all happened fast as the buck stopped about 125 yards in front of me a showed me his butt. Not my idea of a good shot and I knew he would stand still long with the does around. A loud maaaaa and his head popped up and he turned broadside and took a couple steps to his left. I got the crosshair just ahead of the point of the shoulder and squeezed. Bang, Flop! He dropped like a sack of taters and did not kick or thrash a bit.
I watched him for a minute or so before I climbed down to go check him out. I was pretty confident that this buck was #1 on our hit list for this season and a quick check confirmed it. We have quite a bit of history with this buck over his at least 5 1/2 years. He has a habit of showing up on camera early and then vanishing, Last year he disappeared in early Sept. and was not seen until this summer. He stuck around a little longer this year until the end of Oct. and we really wondered if a neighbor had killed him. He is easy to ID with a trash point that turns 90 degrees off his left main burr and he also appears to have a third pedicle with another point in between his main beams. That point also has a 90 degree turn.
Bottom line, he is the best buck I have ever taken to date. I finally got a good one!
From those beginnings, I have seen the seasons and deer population expand. I have hunted with most legal weapons except crossbows and pistols. And I have been fortunate over the years to kill a pile of deer and some pretty nice ones at that. I have quite a few shoulder mounts on the wall and over the last decade or so, a bunch of Euro mounts as well. I have killed some heavy deer (200+ lbs) but the older mature bucks with nice racks have been hard to come by.
All of that changed yesterday evening as I managed to be at the right place at the right time and I did not make any mistakes. The hunt was short and sweet. Does filtered out into the fescue hay filed from my left but they were not in feed mode. It did not take long before the buck showed up and I said shooter. From there it was all business, getting ready for a shot opportunity. It all happened fast as the buck stopped about 125 yards in front of me a showed me his butt. Not my idea of a good shot and I knew he would stand still long with the does around. A loud maaaaa and his head popped up and he turned broadside and took a couple steps to his left. I got the crosshair just ahead of the point of the shoulder and squeezed. Bang, Flop! He dropped like a sack of taters and did not kick or thrash a bit.
I watched him for a minute or so before I climbed down to go check him out. I was pretty confident that this buck was #1 on our hit list for this season and a quick check confirmed it. We have quite a bit of history with this buck over his at least 5 1/2 years. He has a habit of showing up on camera early and then vanishing, Last year he disappeared in early Sept. and was not seen until this summer. He stuck around a little longer this year until the end of Oct. and we really wondered if a neighbor had killed him. He is easy to ID with a trash point that turns 90 degrees off his left main burr and he also appears to have a third pedicle with another point in between his main beams. That point also has a 90 degree turn.
Bottom line, he is the best buck I have ever taken to date. I finally got a good one!