I was very excited to get to hunt my dads friends farm all week. there had been 4 good bucks killed off of it this year so far, but plenty more running around. the farm is in the bootheel of missouri and border otter slough conservation area (it has about 10 deer hunters each year, so its basically a 6000 acre refuge). what the deer do is feed in the fields of otter slough in the nights, and a soon as the shooting from duck hunters starts in otter slough, the deer head straight to the blocks of woods. but my dad dropped me off at the stand i was hunting around 5:50, and about 5 minutes after he left i could hear deer walking of my right shoulder in some brush, it was too dark still to make out a deer. as soon as it was light enough to see a deer, i saw 4 does walking in the brush to my right, really had no shot opportunities. it was a great start, about 15 minutes into the hunt i had already seen 4 deer. then about 10 minutes after i the does i had a doe swim through the swamps that was 40 yards in front of my stand, i could have nailed her, but it was early and there were some bruisers running the woods where i was, so i passed on her. following her i had a yearling, either a button buck or a doe, passed it too. then at about 6:35 i saw movement in thick stuff to my left. after looking at it i saw antlers on it and immediately thought it was a shooter. he walked along the levee i was on and i thought i wouldnt get a shot, but then he turned and got up on the levee with me and i was ready, but when i stopped him, he turned completely towards me, and i noticed he was very wide. after about 30 seconds of him standing motionless trying to figure out what made the noise, he turned broadside and started walking. i stopped him again, he was about 65 yards away and i squeezed the trigger with the crosshairs on the center of the body, right behind the shoulder. after the shot the deer ran off with his tail down and got real low and ran out of my sight. i immediately called my dad to go check the blood. after i called him i called my best friend. they were both very happy for me. after about 15 minutes my dad and brother arrived from out of the two man stand they were hunting. we immediately found blood and it was red with bubbles in it, we knew this deer was dead. after about 45 yards of a blood trail we saw the antlers sticking up out of the brush. while my dad went back to get the camera from the truck i looked to my right up the ditch and noticed a huge puddle of blood. the buck tried to get out of the ditch he was in, but never made it out. hes my best buck by far and he wont score much but im very happy with him. the .308 sure did the trick.
killed 8 point with a 19 inch spread
