retrieverman
Member
I am not much of a bow hunter, but I bought a crossbow last year and killed a buck and a couple of does on my place here. I generally hunt the muzzleloader season in Oklahoma but decided to go earlier this year, and I killed two does on opening weekend. I took my youngest son back with me this weekend with a particular buck in mind, and on Friday morning for 30 minutes, I watched my intended target and couldn't bring myself to shoot him. I am confident he is only 4 years old and will gross score really close to 160, and with that kind of genetics, he could be a monster next year.
I went on a shed hunting/scouting expedition in September and got a buck on my game cam that was pretty impressive and looked like an older deer. He really didn't have the rack I had hoped for, but when I actually "saw" him on Saturday morning, I knew he was the "right" buck to shoot.
I watched him come across a field for about 150 yards that took 45 minutes, and he sparred with two other buck in the process. It was obvious by the way he carried himself that he was the senior member of the group and was given respect by the other bucks. I had noticed in Fridays game cam pictures that it appeared he had a wound on his left shoulder, and I could now see it through my binos. There were several deer in front of me, and it took a while to get my crossbow up and into position to shoot. The buck was standing broad side at 25 yards, and I took the shot. He spun around and dropped. He died within three yards of where he was hit.
I have killed nearly 300 deer in my life and have killed a few with bigger racks, but being able to really watch this buck, it made the experience more memorable for me. Kind of sappy, but here he is.
I went on a shed hunting/scouting expedition in September and got a buck on my game cam that was pretty impressive and looked like an older deer. He really didn't have the rack I had hoped for, but when I actually "saw" him on Saturday morning, I knew he was the "right" buck to shoot.
I watched him come across a field for about 150 yards that took 45 minutes, and he sparred with two other buck in the process. It was obvious by the way he carried himself that he was the senior member of the group and was given respect by the other bucks. I had noticed in Fridays game cam pictures that it appeared he had a wound on his left shoulder, and I could now see it through my binos. There were several deer in front of me, and it took a while to get my crossbow up and into position to shoot. The buck was standing broad side at 25 yards, and I took the shot. He spun around and dropped. He died within three yards of where he was hit.
I have killed nearly 300 deer in my life and have killed a few with bigger racks, but being able to really watch this buck, it made the experience more memorable for me. Kind of sappy, but here he is.
