Posted By: B-Man
Mule Deer hunt with my buddy in Terrell County - 12/07/14 11:59 PM
Just returned from a trip to central Terrell County with my buddy, Desert Hunter. He owns 10 sections right in the middle of Terrell county and has his MD population going up so the biologist recommended him taking 2 MD bucks. We were skunked all day Friday as we were fogged in the morning, went riding around the rest of the day to spot & stalk but only managed to locate nice WT all over. So Saturday came along and we sat in the same place as we did Friday morning and only WT came into the High Road area where he had been spotting them all week prior to my arrival. We then switched plans and made a short drive and got off on foot. As soon as we made it around a bend, we spotted a young MD buck on a rock ledge eyeing something across from us. We make another 15-20 feet up the road and notice a WT doe bust up the tree line and over the ridge. The young MD buck kept on his stroll and made it over the ridge where we lost sight of him. Then a Nice main frame 8 pt WT buck spotted us and then the stare down ensued. He got bored after about 10 min and left exit stage left where the MD buck disappeared, followed by 2 other REALLY nice Mature WT bucks that we didn't see at first all trailing a hot WT doe. That was really cool to watch. What happened next was a heart stopper to say the least, we continue our walk and came around another bend in the road to be spotted by a nice MD doe and then joined by another MD doe staring right at us. We decided to back out behind a cedar tree to re-group, all of the sudden the larger MD doe dropped her head and began leave, but not in a hurry. What we didn't and couldn't see was a MASSIVE MD buck that fell in behind her as she walked out and that's what pushed her. They began to trot and then run up the ridge and crested it very quickly. Once Steve put his eyes on the buck, he quietly yelled at me to "GET MY GUN, HURRY!" I rushed up behind a cedar tree to hopefully see them as they passed by but they ended up going up and over the ridge out of my view. The ARMY in Steve came out immediately and said, "Let's take that ridge now!" So there we go running up a ridge line at a rapid pace that made me suck wind hardcore when we reached the top. We took 5 min. before we topped it to catch our breath and then peeked our heads over to see if we could spot them, nothing.....Then the trapper in Steve came out and he backtracked to where he saw them top the ridge and we followed their tracks for a good 1/2 mile. We decided to back out, bait the water trough area and pack in and sit the rest of the day on a ridge that overlooked that water trough and a feeder that is frequented by multiple MD he has in that area. We sat/glassed, sat/glassed, sat/glassed until around 5:00 pm when WT doe popped out joined by a couple WT bucks. Finally Steve gave me the green light on a nice 5 yr old WT buck at 200 yds. Unfortunately after sitting since 11:30 am all day, I was frozen and hands were shaking. Hindsight I should have respectfully passed, but buck fever took over and I decided to take the shot. First shot reported back, good hit. Second shot we weren't sure of. The buck didn't run off, he hunched up and turned and we lost him behind a cedar tree right off of the feeder. We were sure he just laid down and expired, but when we got down there, NOTHING!. Searched for an hour in the dark with no signs of blood or scuff marks. Amazing day to have a disappointing ending. But all in all, great memories for sure with a really good man.
