HuntingNet.com Forums - Vacation ends with a bang.

I have been on vaction all week and this morning was to be my last opportunity to hunt. I have hunting almost every day for the past week ,passed on many deer holding out for a good buck to justify a weeks vacation. This morning was worth all the wait a trouble. I got to the stand right at shooting light and settled in for the chilly 28 degree morning hunt. About thirty minutes into the hunt three does came running past me from my down wind side I had told myself I was done passing up meat and if a doe presented a shot I was in a killin' mood and I wouldn't pass up another on. But these girls didn't give me a shot and they escaped unharmed. I sat for another half hour when a fourth doe popped out of the woods in front of me, I pulled my gun up but the sun was glaring to bad and I couldn't get a shot at her. I am glad I couldn't because a spike jumped out behind her and ran her across a 400 yard rye field and for the next 10 minutes I watch 4 other bucks come out of the woods and try to catch her trail. One of the bucks was a small seven point that I put the crosshairs on but decided to pass on because even though the land owner wouldn't have minded I wanted to honor his wishes to let them grow. After all the bucks had ducked back into the woods it was quiet for about 30 minutes until a doe popped out of no where. I watched her for about a minute and a half as she walked the tree line toward me closing the gap form 150 yards to 20 yards hoping maybe she to was hot and would bring in a buck. At 20 yards though she go down wind of me and went on alert I thought "Well I can't have her blowing and telling all the other deer where I am can I?" so I let her have a 168gr TSX from my 300 Wby, three bounds and she was down for the count 15 yards from my stand. I decided to stay for another hour since the morning had been so good and see if anything else showed up.

About 20 minutes after I shot the doe I hear something in her direction and a spike is standing over her. I figure she must be in heat and may attract another buck. The spike catches my movement and slowly walks off blowing I grunted and snort weezed at him to calm him down and he disappeared into the brush. About five minutes later I hear something in the brush thinking its the spike again I turn and barely make out a deer deep in the brush and see antlers. I ball at him like a doe and he turns I see a good rack and what looks like eight points and a 12" window for a clear shot right on his shoulder so I put the crosshairs on him and pull the trigger of the Wby again and see him hit the dirt. I go down to see him hoping my eyes didn't deceave me and he is a decent buck. I find him dead in his tracks and his antlers hidden from my view behind a tree. As I get closer and the antlers become visable I begin to shake as I see his beautiful rack turn from a decent eight point turn into a magnificent 10 point. This is the biggest deer I have ever killed maybe even seen in the wild. A rough score gives him an 18" inside spread and about 134" gross.

Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it.