At 77 he's still...

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
I'll jump in tomorrow with more photos and stories of the hunt. Five hunters went out with 10 tags. 4 of us took 5 bucks and does and more were seen. Our host provided additional deer and frozen quarters for all participants and the hunter that was unable to connect with a deer this weekend. We had a great time with Dad and Wncdeerhunter opening our Low Country season with the slaying of two fine does within 30 minutes of getting on stand Thursday evening. Then Fri and Sat, my Dad and Wncdeerhunters Dad slew two fine big bodied 8 pointers from a pair of stands only about 400 yards apart. What a hunt it was. Hot and cold, long and short range and every deer recovered, though I needed some solid Beagle assistance to find mine only 100 yards away in the tall grass.....but, I ain't no tracker like a good dog, or perhaps I'm just lazy....probably that...yep.

Dad is still on cloud 387. I think that pissy stinking scrapper buck is stronger than any illegal drug!

Freezer is chock a block full as I set the quarters aside until I can thaw, rinse and process.

For tomorrow, off to the taxidermist to get Dads choice of mounts. I'm guessin this one is likely to go on his mantle! He sure earned it. Been some real challenges over the last two years, heart repairs and now advancing Parkinsons. We struggle together (successfully!) with the walks and dragging and skinning and quartering and even the ladders but he's by gosh rock f'in solid on that Winchester Model 70, 7x57 Mauser...No doubt!
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
We get to the Low Country, Andrews SC about noon on Thursday. Crock is plugged in, red beans and rice cooking for supper. All the gang shows up and we head out to the stands for a quick sit on the first evening about 430 PM.

Dad is in a ground blind on a path in the woods and wncdeer hunter is about 400 yards north of him in a box watching a fresh cut corn field. I'm about 4/10 mile away in a bottom by the river in a ground blind.

515 pm and Pow! Seems Dad is shooting as wncdeerhunter texts that Dads makin all the noise and 530 POW....its wncdeerhunter and the old 243 is barkin at deer.

Wncdeerhunter locates his doe and then helps Dad trail blood to his doe as well.

If yer gonna skin one, might as well skin two and its a great start to the Low Country hunt and Dad has broken the ice after last years medical hiatus.

Dad with his ice breaker on Thursday evening. 80 yards, heart lung, Win 70 Featherweight 7x57 with handloaded 150g Barnes X. 75 yard recovery.

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I think he's just a little happy with this kill.

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Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Friday is a dry day. We relax in the evening with venison spaghetti and the remainder of the McCallan 10. A huge fire, cigars, pipes, tails of the hunt and plans for Saturdays hunt.

Saturday AM. I'm sitting with Dad in the Tower Stand.....wncdeerhunters Dad is on the Powerline tower. Early he kills a fine big bodied 8 Point buck, 150 yards on the run and he spines it....Dead on the spot.

653 and I'm looking at a fine lil burger buck....Dad is watchin through binos and I line up Ingwe.....perfect heart lung and he runs 100 yards, I hear him crash. Tall grass, it takes a while to find and we get some help from the tracking beagle but its good, 745 and dad and I are back in the tower to sit out the remainder of the morning.

Once again, if yer gonna skin one, might as well skin two!

The mornings bucks on the truck heading to the skinning rack.

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My burger buck.

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I mount all the horns, but perhaps these can be lapel pins or cuff links!

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Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Sunday morning. We sit the soy field. Yep, its an evening stand but I've never hunted a bean field. And, its cold. Damp and cold. Breezy everywhere but the soy field is by some fluke, totally calm. There is a light mist over the field, but we can see clearly to 500 yards, all the surrounding tree lines are visible and the rising sun is brightening them perfectly for spotting bucks on the margins.

O730 and we hear one behind us stalking east. She pops out, 40 yards. Its a doe, no shot for us and she looks up at us....busted... flips her ears and then without even a snort, as if she knows we've used our doe tags, prances across the 200 yards to the wood line just opposite the ground blind we can see from our tower. She's gone and we settle back down for the prime time sit. The wind remains zero and the mist is burned off.

Dad: You ready for coffee

Me: Yep.

Dad leans down to fetch out the thermos from his pack....we are cramped onto two folding chairs in a 36"ish square tower. I'm glassing the far woodline by the ground blind one last time. Its shaded there and I see it. Tall wide spike or 4 I think and a marvelous body. He steps out......sniffs, turns butt on and starts walking the 20 steps to the woodline where the doe went.

Me: Dad, shooter buck, get your gun.

Dad: What? (Viet Nam Artillery Hearing, i.e. not much!)

Me: Louder: Buck, Get Gun, and Get leaned over here!

Dad: What?

Me: BUCK RIGHT SHOOT!

Finally, he grabs his old faithful 7x57 and leans across my lap. My gun is leaning on the front rail. Dad is in my lap, elbow digging into my stomach and now I really gotta pee, he's lining up the scope and I'm still watching through the binos over his head.

Me: Butt to you, 6 steps from the woods.

Dad: Where?

Me: Left of the ground blind.

Dad: What ground blind?

Me: Right!

Dad: Where right?

Me: Corner, under tree with yellow leaves.

Dad: Got it, Where is the deer?

Me: LEFT!!!!!!!!!

Dad: That's his butt.

Me: SHOOT!

That old scrapper buck is 4 steps from gone. I grunt twice, he takes a step. I grunt again really loud, the buck stops, looks hard left and the 7x57 barks.

Through the binos, I watch the buck plung forward onto his chin. He's hit hard...down on his side, legs stiff, very little movement and then he relaxes and its done.

Me: Stay on him.

Dad: Yep, got him. Shoot him again?

Me: Only if he gets up. Reload your gun.

Dad: Oh yeah. Forgot.

Dad reloads. We wait. 5 minutes. We keep dad on the gun, watching the buck and I slip around the field and sneak up on the right. I'm sure its dead but its a big one and want to be sure. Dad knows I'll drop flat on the right if the buck moves and he'll pop it again....yep, I trust him that way....and only him.

20 yards out and I smell that buck.....white belly and big long horn stickin out and stinking to heaven of pee and musk. He's in full rut, I see the neck and body now and he's solid as a horse.

Tossing a pine cone and then a poke in the butt with the rifle and he's for sure dead. Signal dad, he already off gun and on binos. I count points, a fine 8 with a little kicker on one horn that will hold a key ring. Three tips broken off, puncture wounds in chest and inner thigh, scuffs and scrapes and the base of the horns worn smooth and white from wrestling, lots and lots of character on this dude. Dads biggest.....Entry wound is left neck, in and out and a perfect clean kill.

I get dad. We hand slap, back slap, hoot, holler, pee, drink coffee, take photos, talk too loud, stomp around, kinda dance and call the wives and generally act in a manner that ensures no more deer will be on the field for the day. But, we're happy.

Dad Counting tines..."Six, Seven, Eight"

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Me...Will that kicker hold a key ring?

Dad...Yep

Me....Well, that offishally makes it a 9.

Dad...Really?

Me....Yep, Happy?

Dad....You Bet!

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Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Dads SC Buck is back. Bigger than any two I've ever shot. He did just fine this year. 225ish yards, one shot in the neck. The buck a proud old broken tined scrapper and Dads biggest ever. I got to be on stand with him that morning in the soy bean field. Bitter sweet, is was also our last hunt with a fine friend, Bob. So, we look at this mount and we think of friends.

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Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Its a neat mount. Selected it because that's how it was looking for Dad when I grunted the third time and that's when Dad took the shot. Now, next mount like this, we'll take hide all the way back past the ribs to cover the back of the mount. We put exta fur there but you can also have the open spot upholstered, etc. I think getting enough hide is the best solution...going clear back to the hams wouldn't be too much to ensure your Taxidermist has enough good fur to work with.

Mother in law said that buck is so big in the body, its daddy mighta been a big angus bull!
 

wncdeerhunter

Old Mossy Horns
Looks good - I'm looking forward to picking the buck dad killed that trip up from the taxidermist. Only one he ever had mounted - not sure why, he killed bigger, but I'm glad he did
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Looks good - I'm looking forward to picking the buck dad killed that trip up from the taxidermist. Only one he ever had mounted - not sure why, he killed bigger, but I'm glad he did

Yep. I'll be wanting to see that one too. Fire place mount for it or den? I think back on that evening and morning. We both got to work for our Dads that day. You busting brush in the afternoon for your Dad and then 200 yards on the other side of the same wood lot, me spotting for my Dad the next morning. Awesome hunting trip. I think about that particular evening and morning quite a bit lately.
 

Putt

Old Mossy Horns
Take that picture and make it into a 8x10 and hang in your man cave!! Great hunt for sure.
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
I got to get a scope mount for Dads Garand. We scoped the slickside M16 upper last month. I think he wants to change up and hunt a bit with the old Battle Rattle, Its looking like the Trusty Win 70 Featherweight might be on back up duty this year!
 

Sharps40

Old Mossy Horns
Dad seeing his 2016 Low Country Buck for the first time since eating it on the same day he killed it! We had a huge dish of Backstrap in tomatoes that night in camp!


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