Post by Yankee Bill on Dec 13, 2015 21:41:39 GMT -5
To date, this is the best deer I've ever been able to cross paths with: aka "the deer that almost got me divorced".
I'd never seen him before but knew there was a good buck working a ridgeline on a WMA that abuts some of the timber company land that we lease in the VA Mtns.. During the 2004 ML season I was up on the ridge in a Portable Climbing stand on the last day, a Saturday, of my annual 2 week ML hunting trip when it started pouring buckets & lightening about 2:00. I figured I'd call an end to my hunting season as it wasn't going to let up.
I had lowered my gun down, came down the tree, and was kneeling at the base untying the gun from my rope when a movement caught my eye (couldn't hear squat cause of the storm). I looked up and saw the buck sneaking up over the ridge 25 yds. away. By the time I could finish getting my gun untied and fish a primer out of my pocket he was gone.
I drove the 250 miles/ 5 hrs. back home and my hunting season was supposed to be over at this point. But when I put my clothes in the washer, swapped my ML gear for Rifle and loaded the truck (rifle season was coming in that Monday). My wife asked what I was doing and I explained that I'd just seen the biggest buck of my life and was going back and try to kill him. After all the pleasant reminders and exchanges about all I had to catch up on at home, work, etc. I was finally able to "escape" from my house and head back to the mtns.
I was able to catch up with the buck again that Tuesday A.M.. He came across the ridge from the opposite direction this time, and was 60 yds. out and walking away from me in a laurel thicket, I could only see his rack. I was able to turn him with my grunt call and he came stiff legging it back towards me looking to lock horns with "the rival buck".
After what seemed like an eternity, I was finally able to pick out a spot in the thick Laurel and get a good shot at him with my Rem. Mod. 7 / 7mm-08 / 140 gr. Win. Super-x (wasn't reloading back then). 25 yd. downhill broadside shot took out 1 lung and top of the heart. He staggered about 10 ft. and piled up.
Thanks for listening to all my rambling.
YB