My 06 shotgun buck (lots of Pics & story)
11-20-2006, 02:05 PM
#1
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: West Central IL
Posts: 904
My 06 shotgun buck (lots of Pics & story)
First - I know this is the "bowhunting" forum, but this is where I post and how most of you know me, and shotgun hunting isn't that far off from bow hunting in Illinois, and I am sure most of you do it If I offend anyone in here I appologise..
Opening morning of shotgun season went great. I had 2 130" deer within range and elected to let them walk, because they were 2 1/2. I have let many er walk this season, and let me tell you, it pays! I had numerous small bucks and fawns in the field in front of me and an occasional doe in the distance. Late morning arrived and I had a doe that would just not leave me alone, she kept circling me stomping and looking at me. I finally decided that now was the time to fill my doe tag with this big mature doe, so I shot her and she ran 30 yards and crashed, and I saw her go down. My buddy and I both drug her out and to the house where I took care of the fun part (feild dressing).
That night, I went to the same stand and saw a few decent 130 bucks in the distance and then had "my 160' come out. I had seen this deer many times during the bow season, but he always found a way to avoid me no matter what stand I was in. He stayed out of range. It got dark and I went back home to find that my buddy had shot at a 130+ inch deer that we could not find blood, or a body to. He thought he hit it but it was nowhere to be found.
2nd morning I went out and it was very slow. Does off in the distance and a year and a half buck who walked 2 yards from my tree. Finally It was getting late in the morning and I turned around to see a nice buck working a scrape behind me, at first glance, I thought he was going to be another 2 1/2 passer buck, but as he got closer, he got bigger and looked like a mature deer. I elected to take my shot and shot him at 40 yds. He wasn't even hit as it appeared, I shot again, again, acted as nothing happened, 3rd and final shot, he walked away and stood on the other side of the hill and looked back towards me. I was out of slugs, and he waked off, and then trotted over the hill occasionally looking back at me... I was SO MAD, I thought for sure that I had missed him and that I was done, I was not going to even hunt after missing like that, because I was out of my sabots ... except one in my truck. I looked around and finally found a big trail of blood, and I was releived to know that I wasn't that bad of a shot. I went back to the house to get more slugs incase he was not dead, and went back out with my brother to track and get him. We walk over the hardwoods hill and see him laying on the next ridge, we sneak in and I tell my brother not to move, he was looking at us. I raised the gun, and he stood up. i took my last shot on him at 30 yards and made a heart shot. He ran down the hill and crashed! I was sooo pleased, he was bigger than I first guessed him, and I am sure he will be around 140" what do you think he will go?
I am very happy with the way our deer camp turned out, the other bucks are our friends from NY hunting in Brown County on my brothers lease with Golden Acres Outfitters. Our Deer camp was great this year!
PICS
Opening morning of shotgun season went great. I had 2 130" deer within range and elected to let them walk, because they were 2 1/2. I have let many er walk this season, and let me tell you, it pays! I had numerous small bucks and fawns in the field in front of me and an occasional doe in the distance. Late morning arrived and I had a doe that would just not leave me alone, she kept circling me stomping and looking at me. I finally decided that now was the time to fill my doe tag with this big mature doe, so I shot her and she ran 30 yards and crashed, and I saw her go down. My buddy and I both drug her out and to the house where I took care of the fun part (feild dressing).
That night, I went to the same stand and saw a few decent 130 bucks in the distance and then had "my 160' come out. I had seen this deer many times during the bow season, but he always found a way to avoid me no matter what stand I was in. He stayed out of range. It got dark and I went back home to find that my buddy had shot at a 130+ inch deer that we could not find blood, or a body to. He thought he hit it but it was nowhere to be found.
2nd morning I went out and it was very slow. Does off in the distance and a year and a half buck who walked 2 yards from my tree. Finally It was getting late in the morning and I turned around to see a nice buck working a scrape behind me, at first glance, I thought he was going to be another 2 1/2 passer buck, but as he got closer, he got bigger and looked like a mature deer. I elected to take my shot and shot him at 40 yds. He wasn't even hit as it appeared, I shot again, again, acted as nothing happened, 3rd and final shot, he walked away and stood on the other side of the hill and looked back towards me. I was out of slugs, and he waked off, and then trotted over the hill occasionally looking back at me... I was SO MAD, I thought for sure that I had missed him and that I was done, I was not going to even hunt after missing like that, because I was out of my sabots ... except one in my truck. I looked around and finally found a big trail of blood, and I was releived to know that I wasn't that bad of a shot. I went back to the house to get more slugs incase he was not dead, and went back out with my brother to track and get him. We walk over the hardwoods hill and see him laying on the next ridge, we sneak in and I tell my brother not to move, he was looking at us. I raised the gun, and he stood up. i took my last shot on him at 30 yards and made a heart shot. He ran down the hill and crashed! I was sooo pleased, he was bigger than I first guessed him, and I am sure he will be around 140" what do you think he will go?
I am very happy with the way our deer camp turned out, the other bucks are our friends from NY hunting in Brown County on my brothers lease with Golden Acres Outfitters. Our Deer camp was great this year!
PICS
great bucks though congrats!
