Well I have hunted hard all year and had a fairly high set of expectations. I passed up on several bucks that just didn't turn my crank, including a nice 4x4 that was probably pushing the 140's in his frame, should be an easy high 150s buck next year. So as luck would have it I am actually living in a zone with the extended season that goes to dec 20th this year. But I had made a promise with my wife that come November 30th, the 300 would go back in the safe and I was done for the year. I have been taking a bit to much time away from work and since I run my own buissness I'll have to work twice as hard now to get caught up before x-mas.
Well I spent yesterday with the family for the first saturday in a month, so in the morning we played some games and hung out with my girls, we got a call saying to expect some company in the afternoon. My wife said we should run into town quick and pic up some snacks, pop, odds and ends before we get company. Well we all pile into the surburban and off to town we head, about 4 miles down the road as i maded a bend in the road I catch movment in the field to my left, deer oh my big deer, in fact best deer I have seen all year. We stopp and I grab some binocs (I keep a set in every vehicle.lol) I say wow hes is nice ,the wife then says well are you going to go back and get your gun, I shrug . " By the time we go back get the gun and get back he'll be long gone", She says give me a break, best deer youve seen and now you don't even want to try. So spin around head for home, run to the house whip open the safe grab the 300, grabbed 4 shells jammed into my pocket and back out. Head back to where we seen him gone, so we tour the field ( my wife is also 8 months pregnant right now)and it is pretty rough, but she's a trooper and insists we get upto the big hill where we can glass. After 20 mins of glassing with nuthin again I am about to give in and head for town, she whispers 5 more min. Low and behold he pops out across the far ridge nose down and just in a rut mode, I bail out town clothes , shoes jacket hit the ground in prone and try to get a bead on him. This is all happening pretty fast and in my head I am trying to guesstimate the range for using the right stadia line on my scope, With know range finder( back at home) I figure he is atleast 500+ so I have a 20 mph cross windand a 500yrd shot, so I hold on the edge of my 500 yrd stadia and squeeze one off. At the sound of the report echoing thru the coulee I see him freeze snap his head around and jump into the big bush all in the time it took me to work my bolt, now I am trying to see where he went, if he was hit(but I had that sinking feeling of a miss) He never appears again but the bush is thick and about a 1/4 mile long and wide. We drive around after 10 minutes to look for blood, nothing I found his tracks followed them down into the bush and it is pretty evident he was alive and well.
By this time I am pretty mad at my self, and the wife is relentless on the rubbing in of all the practicing, reloading, ringing the gong out in our back forty twice a week all summer long . (300 yrds) The postal matches, the one shot and done and on and on.I slip into that quiet, ego relinquishing place,where you almost want to vommit but to salvage any sort of your manhood ya swallow hard and push on.LOL. So off to town we go, get our grocerys and head homeas soon as grocerys are unloaded I grab my range finder and ballistic chart fore my load and head back. Oh I blew it alright, from the rocks I had for my rest to his tracks was 421yrds Acorrding to my chart I shot over him by at least 10" maybe more as I used a high hold on my 500yrd stadia. I am Iman enough to admit it I messed it up royally, I am still sick to my stomach, and didn't sleep lvery well last night.LOL Plus the wife had to let all my buddys know.Pride and ego and confidence all kicked in the Yicheeas.LOL
Well I spent yesterday with the family for the first saturday in a month, so in the morning we played some games and hung out with my girls, we got a call saying to expect some company in the afternoon. My wife said we should run into town quick and pic up some snacks, pop, odds and ends before we get company. Well we all pile into the surburban and off to town we head, about 4 miles down the road as i maded a bend in the road I catch movment in the field to my left, deer oh my big deer, in fact best deer I have seen all year. We stopp and I grab some binocs (I keep a set in every vehicle.lol) I say wow hes is nice ,the wife then says well are you going to go back and get your gun, I shrug . " By the time we go back get the gun and get back he'll be long gone", She says give me a break, best deer youve seen and now you don't even want to try. So spin around head for home, run to the house whip open the safe grab the 300, grabbed 4 shells jammed into my pocket and back out. Head back to where we seen him gone, so we tour the field ( my wife is also 8 months pregnant right now)and it is pretty rough, but she's a trooper and insists we get upto the big hill where we can glass. After 20 mins of glassing with nuthin again I am about to give in and head for town, she whispers 5 more min. Low and behold he pops out across the far ridge nose down and just in a rut mode, I bail out town clothes , shoes jacket hit the ground in prone and try to get a bead on him. This is all happening pretty fast and in my head I am trying to guesstimate the range for using the right stadia line on my scope, With know range finder( back at home) I figure he is atleast 500+ so I have a 20 mph cross windand a 500yrd shot, so I hold on the edge of my 500 yrd stadia and squeeze one off. At the sound of the report echoing thru the coulee I see him freeze snap his head around and jump into the big bush all in the time it took me to work my bolt, now I am trying to see where he went, if he was hit(but I had that sinking feeling of a miss) He never appears again but the bush is thick and about a 1/4 mile long and wide. We drive around after 10 minutes to look for blood, nothing I found his tracks followed them down into the bush and it is pretty evident he was alive and well.
By this time I am pretty mad at my self, and the wife is relentless on the rubbing in of all the practicing, reloading, ringing the gong out in our back forty twice a week all summer long . (300 yrds) The postal matches, the one shot and done and on and on.I slip into that quiet, ego relinquishing place,where you almost want to vommit but to salvage any sort of your manhood ya swallow hard and push on.LOL. So off to town we go, get our grocerys and head homeas soon as grocerys are unloaded I grab my range finder and ballistic chart fore my load and head back. Oh I blew it alright, from the rocks I had for my rest to his tracks was 421yrds Acorrding to my chart I shot over him by at least 10" maybe more as I used a high hold on my 500yrd stadia. I am Iman enough to admit it I messed it up royally, I am still sick to my stomach, and didn't sleep lvery well last night.LOL Plus the wife had to let all my buddys know.Pride and ego and confidence all kicked in the Yicheeas.LOL
