Posted By: JH117
BUCK DOWN! (PICS ADDED) - 11/04/17 12:40 PM
Still sitting in my box blind. Target buck down! Came within 20 yards of the blind to run a buck off! Still shaking.....
Pics to come shortly
Here he is! My best buck to date! I'll add a little more about the experience later.
Ok so here's how it went down. I got in the box blind around 6:30. The winds were not favorable but I just had to do it because I wouldn't be able to hunt him for a few more weeks. Since the trail cams were indicating that he was coming from the west i figured there was a chance I could get him before he winded me. And the last thing I wanted was for him to disappear or get shot by someone else. I bought that dead downwind kit and washed my gear and took a shower to keep the scent to a minimum. I'm assuming it worked pretty good because by 7 I could see a group of does in the moonlight about 30 yards in front of stand. By 7:15 I had a nice 8 point dogging the does in front of me. He was bigger than anything I had shot before but I waited patiently for the one I wanted to show. About 15 minutes later and there he was! He came from the west all pigeon chested up looking to fight that buck! I could see the fur on the back if his neck standing he was so close! I expected him to be about 150 yards away so I had my scope dialed up to ten. (Another mistake to learn from) Surprisingly he didn't wind me. Even if he could smell me I don't think he would have cared since he had other things on his mind. At this point he was about 30 yards in front of me. I lifted my rifle up and struggled to find him in my scope all while trying to control my breathing and shaking. When I did find him I let a 30-06 180 grain federal bullet fly. When I saw him go down I was ecstatic! When I got him to the processor I also had him caped so i could get him to the taxidermist. He measured 18 1/2 inches wide and the taxidermist estimated him to score about 140 and gross 130. I still can't believe it actually played out the way I wanted it to. This is my first mature buck in my 4 year hunting career and by far the my best hunting experience! Hopefully there will be many more to come. Now its time to get my boy on a good buck! Thanks everybody and good hunting!
Pics to come shortly
Here he is! My best buck to date! I'll add a little more about the experience later.
Ok so here's how it went down. I got in the box blind around 6:30. The winds were not favorable but I just had to do it because I wouldn't be able to hunt him for a few more weeks. Since the trail cams were indicating that he was coming from the west i figured there was a chance I could get him before he winded me. And the last thing I wanted was for him to disappear or get shot by someone else. I bought that dead downwind kit and washed my gear and took a shower to keep the scent to a minimum. I'm assuming it worked pretty good because by 7 I could see a group of does in the moonlight about 30 yards in front of stand. By 7:15 I had a nice 8 point dogging the does in front of me. He was bigger than anything I had shot before but I waited patiently for the one I wanted to show. About 15 minutes later and there he was! He came from the west all pigeon chested up looking to fight that buck! I could see the fur on the back if his neck standing he was so close! I expected him to be about 150 yards away so I had my scope dialed up to ten. (Another mistake to learn from) Surprisingly he didn't wind me. Even if he could smell me I don't think he would have cared since he had other things on his mind. At this point he was about 30 yards in front of me. I lifted my rifle up and struggled to find him in my scope all while trying to control my breathing and shaking. When I did find him I let a 30-06 180 grain federal bullet fly. When I saw him go down I was ecstatic! When I got him to the processor I also had him caped so i could get him to the taxidermist. He measured 18 1/2 inches wide and the taxidermist estimated him to score about 140 and gross 130. I still can't believe it actually played out the way I wanted it to. This is my first mature buck in my 4 year hunting career and by far the my best hunting experience! Hopefully there will be many more to come. Now its time to get my boy on a good buck! Thanks everybody and good hunting!
