Sunday morning alarm roused me from a deep sleep at 0500
. i stayed under the covers for twenty minutes or so trying to wake up (i had stayed up a little after 0100
). knew i had best get up and hunt, as i had to pick up baby girl from her aunt's house later in the day.
opened the front door to check the temperature. there was almost no wind and it was not cold, cold
. downed a piece of persimmon bread with a glass of cranberry juice for breakfast. then i brushed the choppers and got dressed. grabbed my keys and rifle from the house and my bibs and backpack from the garage. out the door and on my way .
in position by 0605. 46 degrees with 2 mph wind sse with gusts to 4
i had watched some deer entering a cutover on previous hunts and i decided this would be a good area to see some movement this morning.
by 0700 i was a little antsy (not enough sleep and the sun was to my back keeping me warm and even more sleepy). i wanted to walk to the woodline but made myself stay. at 0723ish i glimpsed a doe walking into the area from the right. two minutes later, a buck came walking up (following her trail? maybe.) he watched her for a brief moment or seven and she looked at him and it didn't seem that she was concerned he was there. i thought, "hhmmpf, must not be the right time!" he turns back to the right and i think, "oh no!! he's going to exit stage right!!!" i ease the safety off and he takes two or three more steps to the right. i tell myself, "not the neck, not the neck" and i put the scope on the heart/lung area and pull the trigger. he arches and i know it's good
. he swirls sharply to the left like a cowboy working his horse on the barrels. he runs just out of sight. i wait about thirty minutes (in my mind) and then head toward the area. **it was actually five minutes at the most**
he ran all of fifteen to twenty feet after that hard turn to the left when he arched. "running dead"
when i see this, i think, "oh no, a four point!":
i turn him and am relieved to see two more points:
purdy teefs:
when i walked up to him, there was no smell whatsoever and his hocks were clean:
nice deer. we are pretty much 8 or better but we have a line of these fellas that got started sometime around '08. i would like to take them all out but nature has other intentions:
now my problem begins. i tried my bestest (twice) to get him in the back of the truck but just couldn't do it. i was so thankful the truck was not lifted but it was still to much for me to pull him up. i had to reach for the strap and pull up his head to grab the horns:
i leave to get some help. had to wake up a neighbor. i felt bad and exchanged the deer meat for his trouble. at least i get a picture out of the deal (along with the cape/horns):
continued...for more pics...
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