Father Forkhorn

Addendum: As I've thought more about this deer, I realized that he was in a near-perfect bedding spot (there was a lot of matted grass). He overlooked a valley and the entrance of the property and the behind him was nothing but woods and another crop field that very few people cross, even hunters. He could see virtually everybody approaching him from three directions, and the prevailing winds would have made him able to detect most scents (especially coming from behind him from the prevailing west and south). It was the sort of spot he could lay in season after season, get bigger and bigger, and be rarely vulnerable to a hunter. An added plus is that he was near a spot where the does congregate. Prevailing wind would have instantly alerted him to a hot doe.

Here's where luck comes in. While I chose my route thinking a buck might bed in that area, it happened to be in the one circumstance that left him vulnerable. That wind that altered my plans at the beginning was an east wind and that's very unusual here. I wasn't hunting from a stand, snuck in from a direction that few people do, and that unusual east wind was in my face. It was the rare circumstance that the wind direction worked against him. Add to that the morning thermals were taking my scent up and away from him as well. In short, it was the one unusual moment when his back door was open, and for once someone was there to come through.

One thing I remember when I first saw this buck was the sense that he was surprised. Maybe that's nonsense, but it's definitely true that deer was in a place where he wasn't likely to be busted very often. I happened to be the lucky guy whose decision to hunt back to the truck put him in the right place at the right time for a shot at a wonderful deer.

zcilahim

Always good when a plan comes together! The broken tines may indicate some other big ones in the area!

Father Forkhorn

Their most likely are. A couple of years ago a bowhunter took a significantly bigger one from the same property. We have big deer here in Kansas, and the whole area is a creek valley loaded with cropfields and hard mast. Plenty of nutrition. There certainly aren't deer like mine behind every tree here, but he's by no means a freak for these parts.

zcilahim

Sounds like a nice piece of property. Plenty of big deer up here in SK. It’s nice when you can get on a nice piece of land that holds plenty of big deer! Put out some cameras and you will be amazed what you see. We just started putting cameras out over the past few years. I get as excited going to check cameras as I do on opening day as you get to see the progression of the deer year after year.

Rollingblock20

Very nice buck!!

Father Forkhorn

It's a great piece of property and the owners are wonderful people.

I understand our subspecies is one of the few that approach your Saskatchewan deer in size, yours a bit bigger. Not many places can say that.