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Took off early from work today to go chase Odocoileus virginianus in the hills of Rapahanock County, Virginia.
Was hunting a friends farm, where he placed me next to a brook, in a ground blind tent, with a view across a field and up a hill out to about 350 yards.
Not 10 minutes after sitting down, a group of three ladies come strolling over the hill, stopping for a second to eat at about 175 yards from me.
I pull out the .280 Rem Remington 700, put the hairs on the middle one, and fire - off hand and uphill. And see a cloud of dirt above the doe on the hill behind her.
Dang!
Meanwhile, these three ladies stare dumbfounded in my direction as I start cursing myself, and then a few seconds later chamber another round, the sound of which (I assume) sends them running off.
I get out, walk up and look around on the off chance I hit her (I knew I didn't) and think about packing it up, certain I blew my chance today.
I head back to the blind, cursing myself while sitting there and just not paying attention when 45 minutes later (and 15 minutes after sunset but still during legal shooting light) as I'm about to pack up I notice a dark spot all the way up on the top of the hill. I pull out my bino's, and sure enough it's a single deer grazing.
Certain I'm not going to let myself miss again, I adjust myself and steady the shot, when the deer disappears behind a rise I hadn't noticed from that distance (the light was very flat).
I wait a minute, thinking it will graze back in view, but then realize it won't and am convinced that my my second chance opportunity at meat in the freezer has come and gone. And I figure, it's getting dark, so I might as well just pack it up and walk back to the road.
But then I look harder and remember that the hill has a low point that funnels around to the top of the field.
I leave the blind (and zipper it up) and start running up the hill. Covered 150 yards or so in 45 seconds quietly and as I crest the hill I see the deer grazing.
I drop my binoculars and fall to the ground and crawl into a prone position. The deer stops and looks my way, but doesn't see me. But I'm out of breath and and the scope's cross hairs are flying all over and I can't get a shot. But he still doesn't see me.
And then a gust of wind blows my cap off - and the deer starts moving quick in the rapidly fading light as I'm having a tough time seeing him. I'm about to give up again, when the deer walks up behind a tree, into some tall grass, and as it emerges on the other side just as the last of the legal shooting light is fading . . . BANG I shoot the deer 100 yards away across the ravine in the left front shoulder. It jumps, it spins, it comes toward me and falls to the ground and rolls down the hill.
And it's a fricken spike buck. But not a yearling, this is a massive, full bodied buck. Probably 3 or 4 by the look of his size and teeth but with only short 3 inch spike antlers.
He'll be good eaton, and an improvement to the genetic pool. A good harvest that almost didn't happen as I was ready to give up on the afternoon hunt 3 different times.
Let that be a lesson, you never know what's going to come out next. No matter what has happened before.
Was hunting a friends farm, where he placed me next to a brook, in a ground blind tent, with a view across a field and up a hill out to about 350 yards.
Not 10 minutes after sitting down, a group of three ladies come strolling over the hill, stopping for a second to eat at about 175 yards from me.
I pull out the .280 Rem Remington 700, put the hairs on the middle one, and fire - off hand and uphill. And see a cloud of dirt above the doe on the hill behind her.
Dang!
Meanwhile, these three ladies stare dumbfounded in my direction as I start cursing myself, and then a few seconds later chamber another round, the sound of which (I assume) sends them running off.
I get out, walk up and look around on the off chance I hit her (I knew I didn't) and think about packing it up, certain I blew my chance today.
I head back to the blind, cursing myself while sitting there and just not paying attention when 45 minutes later (and 15 minutes after sunset but still during legal shooting light) as I'm about to pack up I notice a dark spot all the way up on the top of the hill. I pull out my bino's, and sure enough it's a single deer grazing.
Certain I'm not going to let myself miss again, I adjust myself and steady the shot, when the deer disappears behind a rise I hadn't noticed from that distance (the light was very flat).
I wait a minute, thinking it will graze back in view, but then realize it won't and am convinced that my my second chance opportunity at meat in the freezer has come and gone. And I figure, it's getting dark, so I might as well just pack it up and walk back to the road.
But then I look harder and remember that the hill has a low point that funnels around to the top of the field.
I leave the blind (and zipper it up) and start running up the hill. Covered 150 yards or so in 45 seconds quietly and as I crest the hill I see the deer grazing.
I drop my binoculars and fall to the ground and crawl into a prone position. The deer stops and looks my way, but doesn't see me. But I'm out of breath and and the scope's cross hairs are flying all over and I can't get a shot. But he still doesn't see me.
And then a gust of wind blows my cap off - and the deer starts moving quick in the rapidly fading light as I'm having a tough time seeing him. I'm about to give up again, when the deer walks up behind a tree, into some tall grass, and as it emerges on the other side just as the last of the legal shooting light is fading . . . BANG I shoot the deer 100 yards away across the ravine in the left front shoulder. It jumps, it spins, it comes toward me and falls to the ground and rolls down the hill.
And it's a fricken spike buck. But not a yearling, this is a massive, full bodied buck. Probably 3 or 4 by the look of his size and teeth but with only short 3 inch spike antlers.
He'll be good eaton, and an improvement to the genetic pool. A good harvest that almost didn't happen as I was ready to give up on the afternoon hunt 3 different times.
Let that be a lesson, you never know what's going to come out next. No matter what has happened before.
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