RE: Official Team The Dark Horses Thread (Returning Champs) (13)
Well fellas, I got skunked this weekend.
I had a shooter 4x4 come through on Saturday morning. I let him get through the only opening I had b/c I couldn't decide whether to take him or not... I guessed him to be in the 115-125 range. Clean 4x4. Great buck. Heavy rack. Once I got a good gauge of his size and decided to take him, he just skirted my set and kept getting behind brush...
Sometimes I'd swear those big bucks have ESP, and they just always seem to have 9 lives.
Anyway, he cruised through and gave me no shot. I hung the bow back up and let him clear. After he got about 60-70 yds out, I gave him a solid grunt. He immediately came charging back into the set, with his ears pinned back and hair bristled. He gave me a couple good grunts and stopped at 15 yards. Right behind a goddam grapevine mess. Ugh.
No shot again.
This time, he wheeled and went straight away (again, no shot) - and just like that . .. he was gone.
Looking back, it was a pretty impressive experience though. He looked like a hammerhead shark coming in to a wounded tuna. Head swinging low, deliberate, aggressive. Big, boxy frame. For the first time this year, my heart really started pounding. When he came back in, he was ready to whip some ass.
I'm kicking myself, because I could have stopped him in a slim opening when he first came in, but I wanted to get a better look at him before I cut an arrow loose. Besides, EVERY other deer crossed right to my left. Not this guy. He had his own way. And it saved his ass. I just didn't know . . . he just looked like he should have been a mainframe 5x5. He had weak brows, too, which is uncharacteristic for the area. Very strong in the G2-3,but when I saw the matching 4's, I just hesitated.
Great, great hunt though.
Just a matter of time, boys.
Daniel, Marty - keep after it fellas. I've got a feeling that you guys are far from being finished. You guys can close this one out for the Dark Horses. Git-r-dun.