Schaaf
Well-known member
I usually have a buck targeted long before the season starts but this year was different. The wife and I welcomed a daughter into the world less than two weeks prior to the opener and I found myself tied to a short leash to the house leading up to the season. I spent opening weekend with my dad and best friend and we ended up being lucky enough to get my friend on a good buck on some public land that only became public through funding from the LWCF. There is no doubt in my mind that he will cherish the hunt and be thankful for the events that allowed us to hunt that particular area.
Monday morning came and I was hiking up from the boat to gain elevation and hopefully find the buck I had seen over opening weekend that had his left horn going straight out instead of up. I seem to look for the character bucks first and foremost. After hiking around all morning I eventually found out that the last place I had seen the buck was less than a mile from a wall tent and the buck would have been in view from anyone near the camp. With hopes dwindling that the buck was still alive I turned my focus to a different area to stay away from any other hunters.
Late in the afternoon I was watching a group of 24 does coming down to water trying to figure out how it was possible there wasn't a single buck in the herd. In the FOV of the spotting scope I then watched a young buck come sprinting into view then followed by a buck that caught my attention. It didn't take me long to decide he was a buck worth pursuing. The herd came down and watered in a time period of about 5 minutes and were immediately headed back up for the hills.
We quickly regrouped and began trying to play catch up. We had last seen the herd cross over the ridge in a general northerly direction. Assuming they continued in the same general direction we decided to continue up the gumbo basin to the north before climbing the ridge for a better look. With the wind in our face we crested the ridge and saw the entire herd less than 200 yards away. I set up on a sandstone bench and waited for the buck to present a clear shot. After 10 minutes of laying down watching the tips of his horns travel back and forth in the fold of the ridge he finally began to chase the young buck around once again before stopping for a moment long enough to let me squeeze a bullet behind the front shoulder.
And back to the boat.
Monday morning came and I was hiking up from the boat to gain elevation and hopefully find the buck I had seen over opening weekend that had his left horn going straight out instead of up. I seem to look for the character bucks first and foremost. After hiking around all morning I eventually found out that the last place I had seen the buck was less than a mile from a wall tent and the buck would have been in view from anyone near the camp. With hopes dwindling that the buck was still alive I turned my focus to a different area to stay away from any other hunters.
Late in the afternoon I was watching a group of 24 does coming down to water trying to figure out how it was possible there wasn't a single buck in the herd. In the FOV of the spotting scope I then watched a young buck come sprinting into view then followed by a buck that caught my attention. It didn't take me long to decide he was a buck worth pursuing. The herd came down and watered in a time period of about 5 minutes and were immediately headed back up for the hills.
We quickly regrouped and began trying to play catch up. We had last seen the herd cross over the ridge in a general northerly direction. Assuming they continued in the same general direction we decided to continue up the gumbo basin to the north before climbing the ridge for a better look. With the wind in our face we crested the ridge and saw the entire herd less than 200 yards away. I set up on a sandstone bench and waited for the buck to present a clear shot. After 10 minutes of laying down watching the tips of his horns travel back and forth in the fold of the ridge he finally began to chase the young buck around once again before stopping for a moment long enough to let me squeeze a bullet behind the front shoulder.
And back to the boat.
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