Bambistew
Well-known member
Spent the better part of 4 days trying to loacate a "shooter buck". I was hiking in about a mile to the top of a ridge just so I could glass a hill side a mile away... Saw about 15-20 bucks a day and saw a couple more that were in the 170-180" range, but I just couldn't seal the deal on them.
I spotted this buck about an hour after sitting in the snow glassing a seamingly desolate hill side, condemplating my sanity in 10 degree weather and 12" of snow...
As luck would have it, the deer showed up right on que, but this time instead of a 160" 3x3 "herd" buck this guy was in his place. I really never got to good of a look at him, only about a 3 second glance, but I saw the 4pt side and decided he was at least worth a second look... It took me a little over an hour to hike up to where I had last seen him. I got the wind in my favor and started still hunting aroud the hill side, as I had made it up to the about the same elevatoin as I last saw him and his girls, I would take about 5 steps and would stop and look and glass. after covering about 300 yards like this... the deer just materialized out of the "myst", and as luck would have it the first deer I saw had a tree on his head... I had him at about 90 yards feeding, but I had no rest and if I moved there was a chance that the 10-12 other deer that were in the bunch would see me.. So I ever so slowly I raised the gun, put the cross hairs on the chest and squeezed the trigger... At the shot, he lunged forward and all I could see was his hind end through the brush, but I knew I had hit him as the way he was standing, his back was arched in the "oh that hurts" position... then he was out of sight. Quickly I chambered another handlaoded 140 grain Nosler Accubond into the chamber of my 280 MT Rifle and slipped closer to see what had happend... No other shot was need as he lay on his chest motionless...
After a few pictures and a moderate drag I was at the base of "hell hill".
I boned and quartered him and packed two loads the 800 yards and 600 vertical feet to the top of the hill... Note the large exit hole...
And for you bullet "loonies" out there here is the recovered bullet. I was a little surprised to see the damage done by the Accubond, but really didn't care... The bullet hit a rib just before it exited the cavity, and just "blew up", the remainder was found just under the hide. Recovered weight was 99 grains.
8 hours later I had him back to the truck and the "drinking" commenced!!!
8x9 including two "devil tines" on each base, gross 208 non-typ, gross 190 Typ frame, and net 180 typ frame.
I spotted this buck about an hour after sitting in the snow glassing a seamingly desolate hill side, condemplating my sanity in 10 degree weather and 12" of snow...
As luck would have it, the deer showed up right on que, but this time instead of a 160" 3x3 "herd" buck this guy was in his place. I really never got to good of a look at him, only about a 3 second glance, but I saw the 4pt side and decided he was at least worth a second look... It took me a little over an hour to hike up to where I had last seen him. I got the wind in my favor and started still hunting aroud the hill side, as I had made it up to the about the same elevatoin as I last saw him and his girls, I would take about 5 steps and would stop and look and glass. after covering about 300 yards like this... the deer just materialized out of the "myst", and as luck would have it the first deer I saw had a tree on his head... I had him at about 90 yards feeding, but I had no rest and if I moved there was a chance that the 10-12 other deer that were in the bunch would see me.. So I ever so slowly I raised the gun, put the cross hairs on the chest and squeezed the trigger... At the shot, he lunged forward and all I could see was his hind end through the brush, but I knew I had hit him as the way he was standing, his back was arched in the "oh that hurts" position... then he was out of sight. Quickly I chambered another handlaoded 140 grain Nosler Accubond into the chamber of my 280 MT Rifle and slipped closer to see what had happend... No other shot was need as he lay on his chest motionless...
After a few pictures and a moderate drag I was at the base of "hell hill".
I boned and quartered him and packed two loads the 800 yards and 600 vertical feet to the top of the hill... Note the large exit hole...
And for you bullet "loonies" out there here is the recovered bullet. I was a little surprised to see the damage done by the Accubond, but really didn't care... The bullet hit a rib just before it exited the cavity, and just "blew up", the remainder was found just under the hide. Recovered weight was 99 grains.
8 hours later I had him back to the truck and the "drinking" commenced!!!
8x9 including two "devil tines" on each base, gross 208 non-typ, gross 190 Typ frame, and net 180 typ frame.