Well another deer season in the books.
I hunt on a lease in SW Mo.It's a 6 hour drive from home but well worth it.
My partner Gary and I left Dallas on Nov 12th and headed north for the opener Sat 13th.We arrived to 65 degrees and heavy rain.
A cold front and high NW winds greeted us opening morning.
I saw a total of one buck and one doe.They were bedded down in the CRP grass behind a terrace in a field to get out of the north wind.I only saw them briefly
when they stood up to stretch. Saturday afternoon was pretty much the same,saw a few does and a spike but no shooters.Right at end of legal shooting time I
saw an eight that was very heavy mass wise but wasn't very wide.It was obvious he was in love with the doe he was trailing.They walked up to within 50 yards of me and neither paid me any attention.I got a good look at him,but let him walk.I guessed him to be a four year old buck and well over 200 lbs on the hoof.
Sunday AM the wind was almost still, just a light breeze.
It was also a very different day.Gary and I were about 800 yards apart sitting in tripods that are in a 600 acre block of CRP.
By the time the sun cleared the horizon to our east the two of us had counted over 45 deer.Most were does but it was obvious the rut was in full swing.
Small bucks were chasing the does all over the field.I counted 8 different bucks including a two year old 9 pointer that walked right under my stand.He was very impressive for a young deer.High narrow rack that looked like a muley.All the points were long forks and a 4 inch eye guard on one side.They other eye guard was broken off.I let him walk too.
The eight pointer and the doe from the previous evening made an appearance that morning too.I watched him chase her across the field from my south headed right at me.When they were less than 100 yards she stopped and he mounted her.First time in 30 plus years of deer hunting I'd ever seen it.They spent the next two hours bedded with 100 yards of me.I watched the 8 pointer rise from his bed three times to chase off other smaller bucks.One young six he absolutely whipped the snot out of before the six gave up.
Another first,never seen it before.
Sunday night at 10PM we were about to hit the rack when the phone rang.It was the local fire chief saying someone had started a fire in the CRP field.
Fortunately between the rain and their quick response it only burned an area about the size of a football field.
It did however drasticly decrease the number of deer we would see over the remainder of the week.
Between the fire and the full moon,it got tough from Monday on.
I called the wife that night and told her the days tale.
She said " You might as well go chase ducks until Sat the 20th.It's the last day you will have to hunt. I shot my first deer on 11/20 and your oldest grandaughter
was born on 11/20 "
How prophetic she turned out to be.
I hunted hard everyday that week.Spent between 10 and 12 hours a day on stand,never saw a shooter buck.
11/20 I decided to get out of the CRP and into the river bottom hardwoods on the lease.As it had been a long week we were late getting up and started down into the timber right at legal shooting time.I bumped a doe on the way to the stand I had chosen to hunt.It's a two man ladder stand situated on the corner of a very dense thicket that is a known bedding area.
I got into the stand at about 6:45 and settled in for a long wait.
Everything was very still and I could hear and see a few squirrels running around.
At 7:22 I caught a glimpse of movement in the thicket.A big body appeared and low and behold I could see horns.I glassed him with the binos and could tell he was a pretty good deer but not really sure as he was moving almost constantly.I finally saw what I was looking for,knew for a fact he had seven points and was a legal buck.
I reached for my rifle,a Rem 700 stamped 7MM Express,released the safety and started looking for a hole to shoot through.The buck continued to walk and was on a trail quartering away from me.Every step he took he was getting a little farther into the timber.
I tried to whistle at him to stop him,but my mouth was so dry I couldn't whistle.
I tried again and he slowed for just a second but continued away.
Third try I finally got him stopped.He was about 140 yards away,broadside.All I could see through the scope was his ribcage,the rest of him was covered by trees.I centered the crosshairs on his ribs and the rifle fired almost of it's own accord.
Last I saw was him racing off through the timber,tail in the air.
I had some difficulty locating where he was standing when I shot him.It all happen so fast I didn't really get a good "mark" on exactly where he was.
After a bit of searching I found a big puff of white hair and bright pink blood.From there it was easy,Ray Charles could've followed the blood trail.
The 139 Hornady and 58 grs of H4831SC had done it's job.The deer did run about 250 yards before he piled up.The old boy looked like he had been in the ring with every contender who would challenge him.Gouges in his face,a broken G2, a puncture in his neck and most of the hair across his back was gone.
When I found him I called for help to get him out and then called the wife.
All she said was "I told you so"
I hunt on a lease in SW Mo.It's a 6 hour drive from home but well worth it.
My partner Gary and I left Dallas on Nov 12th and headed north for the opener Sat 13th.We arrived to 65 degrees and heavy rain.
A cold front and high NW winds greeted us opening morning.
I saw a total of one buck and one doe.They were bedded down in the CRP grass behind a terrace in a field to get out of the north wind.I only saw them briefly
when they stood up to stretch. Saturday afternoon was pretty much the same,saw a few does and a spike but no shooters.Right at end of legal shooting time I
saw an eight that was very heavy mass wise but wasn't very wide.It was obvious he was in love with the doe he was trailing.They walked up to within 50 yards of me and neither paid me any attention.I got a good look at him,but let him walk.I guessed him to be a four year old buck and well over 200 lbs on the hoof.
Sunday AM the wind was almost still, just a light breeze.
It was also a very different day.Gary and I were about 800 yards apart sitting in tripods that are in a 600 acre block of CRP.
By the time the sun cleared the horizon to our east the two of us had counted over 45 deer.Most were does but it was obvious the rut was in full swing.
Small bucks were chasing the does all over the field.I counted 8 different bucks including a two year old 9 pointer that walked right under my stand.He was very impressive for a young deer.High narrow rack that looked like a muley.All the points were long forks and a 4 inch eye guard on one side.They other eye guard was broken off.I let him walk too.
The eight pointer and the doe from the previous evening made an appearance that morning too.I watched him chase her across the field from my south headed right at me.When they were less than 100 yards she stopped and he mounted her.First time in 30 plus years of deer hunting I'd ever seen it.They spent the next two hours bedded with 100 yards of me.I watched the 8 pointer rise from his bed three times to chase off other smaller bucks.One young six he absolutely whipped the snot out of before the six gave up.
Another first,never seen it before.
Sunday night at 10PM we were about to hit the rack when the phone rang.It was the local fire chief saying someone had started a fire in the CRP field.
Fortunately between the rain and their quick response it only burned an area about the size of a football field.
It did however drasticly decrease the number of deer we would see over the remainder of the week.
Between the fire and the full moon,it got tough from Monday on.
I called the wife that night and told her the days tale.
She said " You might as well go chase ducks until Sat the 20th.It's the last day you will have to hunt. I shot my first deer on 11/20 and your oldest grandaughter
was born on 11/20 "
How prophetic she turned out to be.
I hunted hard everyday that week.Spent between 10 and 12 hours a day on stand,never saw a shooter buck.
11/20 I decided to get out of the CRP and into the river bottom hardwoods on the lease.As it had been a long week we were late getting up and started down into the timber right at legal shooting time.I bumped a doe on the way to the stand I had chosen to hunt.It's a two man ladder stand situated on the corner of a very dense thicket that is a known bedding area.
I got into the stand at about 6:45 and settled in for a long wait.
Everything was very still and I could hear and see a few squirrels running around.
At 7:22 I caught a glimpse of movement in the thicket.A big body appeared and low and behold I could see horns.I glassed him with the binos and could tell he was a pretty good deer but not really sure as he was moving almost constantly.I finally saw what I was looking for,knew for a fact he had seven points and was a legal buck.
I reached for my rifle,a Rem 700 stamped 7MM Express,released the safety and started looking for a hole to shoot through.The buck continued to walk and was on a trail quartering away from me.Every step he took he was getting a little farther into the timber.
I tried to whistle at him to stop him,but my mouth was so dry I couldn't whistle.
I tried again and he slowed for just a second but continued away.
Third try I finally got him stopped.He was about 140 yards away,broadside.All I could see through the scope was his ribcage,the rest of him was covered by trees.I centered the crosshairs on his ribs and the rifle fired almost of it's own accord.
Last I saw was him racing off through the timber,tail in the air.
I had some difficulty locating where he was standing when I shot him.It all happen so fast I didn't really get a good "mark" on exactly where he was.
After a bit of searching I found a big puff of white hair and bright pink blood.From there it was easy,Ray Charles could've followed the blood trail.
The 139 Hornady and 58 grs of H4831SC had done it's job.The deer did run about 250 yards before he piled up.The old boy looked like he had been in the ring with every contender who would challenge him.Gouges in his face,a broken G2, a puncture in his neck and most of the hair across his back was gone.
When I found him I called for help to get him out and then called the wife.
All she said was "I told you so"
