I just got back from my MO deer hunt. The best weather we had all week was opening morning. It rained non-stop after that. Fortunately for me, I was done by 8:45 am opening morning! I selected a field stand for that morning because I had spotted a nice buck during archery season that was working a scrape line near this location. At about 8:30 am I spotted two deer about 500 yards away coming across a cut bean field. At about 350 yards I could tell one was a buck and the other a doe. We have the 4 pt rule in affect in our county, so I needed to make sure before I pulled the trigger. I could tell he had a fairly wide rack, but I couldn't count the points. This was extremely frustrating, because they could have turned and gone any direction. Fortunately for me, the kept coming out in front of my stand. At 200 yards, I new for certain this was a legal buck. at 186 yards I let the 7mm mag bark. He was perfectly broadside. I ended up shooting in an awkward position and the shot was high hitting him in the spine. I followed up with a neck shot. The doe stood there for a good 5 seconds before moving off. This is the biggest deer I have personally ever seen while hunting. It is one of the 3 or 4 biggest ever shot on this farm. Even at 186 yards, I could tell for sure how big he was. It's amazing how well the antlers blend in with a picked bean field. I was speechless when I finally walked up to him.
He is a standard 8 with a 2 inch sticker, so we'll call him a 9. He has a 19 inch inside spread and was field dressed at 189 lbs.
He is at the taxidermist now and I will hopefully get him back in April.
