Kansas 2007... Story and Pics.
01-17-2008, 08:33 PM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wilmington,NC
Posts: 183
Kansas 2007... Story and Pics.
>>>> November 27,2007 in north central Kansas.... The day before the Deer opener greeted us with 50 degree temps,but the rut still appeared to be going strong! Saw two nice bucks chasing does while driving from KC.... Our friends had been seeing three shooters within a mile of the house,and seemed pretty encouraged about the next morning!
After unpacking, we headed out in different directions for some last minute scouting. I did'nt see anything worth getting excited about,but my buddy "roosted" a buck he thought would score in the high 150's.... After a great meal,I settled in for the night.
Spent 5 hours on the stand opening morning,and saw a total of four does and a small eight point..... After lunch we took the shorthairs out,and killed a limit of Quail in about an hour! I went back to the river and sat in my stand untill dark,and saw the same eight point and two poachers who told me they got "turned around".... We have a box blind in a wood lot that is sandwiched between two cut corn fields,and I was sitting in it about a hour before sunrise . Just after dawn,I was pretty sure I heard a buck fight about a hundred yards down the dry creek bed,but never saw anything untill about an hour later when a very heavy horned buck eased through the edge headed back from the corn field. The cover was very heavy,and a shot never presented itself......
After lunch,we put on a drive and pushed a very high eight point across a canal and I missed a running shot at about 125 yards. If I'd been standing where I was suppose to be,that buck would have practically run me down! We put the dogs out again and limited out on Quail again in less than a hour! This was the best wild bird hunting they'd had there in several years........At 2:45 I walked down to the box blind again. The wind was in my face,and I practically stepped on a buck that I thought would have been 180 class! He whirled,and ran over a hill before I could get my 7mm Mag shouldered. I was so disappointed that I started to head back to the house,but settled in to the blind,and tried to forget about the giant!
About 3:30 I rolled out a real hard rattling sequence along with some agressive grunts..... About 10 minutes later a small six point came running down the creek along with two does..... I was pretty sure I heard a buck fight from the same area as the afternoon before,and my spirits soared..... About 4:30 I rattled a final time,and told myself that magic could occur at any moment! At 10 minutes to five I thought I saw some movement across the creek. Straining to see through the cover,I picked out the glint of an antler.... then a really BIG body! There stood a very mature whitetail buck rubbing a tree for all he was worth! He appeared to be a mainframe ten point,but it was his body size that really took my breath away..... Without knowing it,I already had the Browning ABolt out the window. Heavy brush covered his torso,and I was really getting nervous when he simply raised his head. At that instant,I had a basketball sized site window,and setttled the crosshairs on the big bucks neck. At the shot he piled up,and it was then that I really started getting nervous. Through my Nikons, I watched for what seemed like 15 minutes to make sure the buck was dead,and then grabbed my camera and walked the eighty yards to where my prize lay shining in the fading light.... A quick phone call and within a few minutes I could hear my buddy coming with the MULE......
Net score is 164 2/8 and estimated live weight was right around 300 lbs,and the neck shot luckily shattered the spine leaving the cape in perfect condition....He was'nt the monster I'd seen while hiking to the blind,but pretty nice just the same! Finally,I am convinced that my buck was one of the bucks I heardfighting both days,and I'm equally sure that he was coming to the horns!Already dreaming about next year!
After unpacking, we headed out in different directions for some last minute scouting. I did'nt see anything worth getting excited about,but my buddy "roosted" a buck he thought would score in the high 150's.... After a great meal,I settled in for the night.
Spent 5 hours on the stand opening morning,and saw a total of four does and a small eight point..... After lunch we took the shorthairs out,and killed a limit of Quail in about an hour! I went back to the river and sat in my stand untill dark,and saw the same eight point and two poachers who told me they got "turned around".... We have a box blind in a wood lot that is sandwiched between two cut corn fields,and I was sitting in it about a hour before sunrise . Just after dawn,I was pretty sure I heard a buck fight about a hundred yards down the dry creek bed,but never saw anything untill about an hour later when a very heavy horned buck eased through the edge headed back from the corn field. The cover was very heavy,and a shot never presented itself......
After lunch,we put on a drive and pushed a very high eight point across a canal and I missed a running shot at about 125 yards. If I'd been standing where I was suppose to be,that buck would have practically run me down! We put the dogs out again and limited out on Quail again in less than a hour! This was the best wild bird hunting they'd had there in several years........At 2:45 I walked down to the box blind again. The wind was in my face,and I practically stepped on a buck that I thought would have been 180 class! He whirled,and ran over a hill before I could get my 7mm Mag shouldered. I was so disappointed that I started to head back to the house,but settled in to the blind,and tried to forget about the giant!
About 3:30 I rolled out a real hard rattling sequence along with some agressive grunts..... About 10 minutes later a small six point came running down the creek along with two does..... I was pretty sure I heard a buck fight from the same area as the afternoon before,and my spirits soared..... About 4:30 I rattled a final time,and told myself that magic could occur at any moment! At 10 minutes to five I thought I saw some movement across the creek. Straining to see through the cover,I picked out the glint of an antler.... then a really BIG body! There stood a very mature whitetail buck rubbing a tree for all he was worth! He appeared to be a mainframe ten point,but it was his body size that really took my breath away..... Without knowing it,I already had the Browning ABolt out the window. Heavy brush covered his torso,and I was really getting nervous when he simply raised his head. At that instant,I had a basketball sized site window,and setttled the crosshairs on the big bucks neck. At the shot he piled up,and it was then that I really started getting nervous. Through my Nikons, I watched for what seemed like 15 minutes to make sure the buck was dead,and then grabbed my camera and walked the eighty yards to where my prize lay shining in the fading light.... A quick phone call and within a few minutes I could hear my buddy coming with the MULE......
Net score is 164 2/8 and estimated live weight was right around 300 lbs,and the neck shot luckily shattered the spine leaving the cape in perfect condition....He was'nt the monster I'd seen while hiking to the blind,but pretty nice just the same! Finally,I am convinced that my buck was one of the bucks I heardfighting both days,and I'm equally sure that he was coming to the horns!Already dreaming about next year!
