Dangerous Dave
New member
Three of us did an old school push down the steep ridge directly behind camp.This ridge is so steep that it's fairly easy to lose your footing and slide for quite a distance. If you don't break your fall, the fall could break you. This little hunt was pretty memorable because of my badly smashed left big toe. I was stumbling around in the dark after hitting the can trying to hop back into bed in my pigsty of a cottage 2am in the morning and Whack! I walk full speed into two of my bass guitar cases propped up against the wall. I went down like I was shot. So here I am 2 days later hopping down this ridge on one good foot.
Luckly I found a decent cow trail and used the thick brush to slow me down. I found a point directly overlooking a deep creek to sit down on -felt good to get off that foot. Suddenly I hear the thump -thump of a deer running directly behind me and right at me. 5 seconds later I see antler tips waving around not 10 feet to my right. The buck was spooked earlier by my scent, snuck downhill and was standing on the same dinky point I was sitting on!! I make it a rule to never have a bullet in the chamber when I'm brushbreaking with other guys -so I'm sitting there with an unloaded rifle. The instant I opened the bolt the buck took off further to my right.
I got up, tripped on some scrub holly and went down flat on my face. Yeah, the rifle by now was loaded -but I kept it above my head as I faceplanted. I bounced up and hobbled around to the edge of the point... the buck was long gone. I stood there listening and watching and directed my attention to 2 or 3 openings below me. A minute or two later, I spotted him sneaking though the closest opening about 150 yards away. Offhand, I got the dot on him, slowly swug through to his shoulder and fired - and MISSED!! In all the excitement I had forgotten to hold low to counter for the steep angle of the shot. At this point I figured it was all over and I'd never see this buck again. Blacktails are masters at sneaking away and using cover; even after being shot at.
My partner Jeff was covering the bottom and the creek where this buck should be heading. I told him not to move or say anything so as not to alert the buck about his position. I also told him that if he heard the buck escaping down the creek, he'd have to charge in there commando-style and hope to get a shot. Suddenly a couple of minutes later, I saw his antlers flashing on a steep ridge at the begining of the last clearing I could see about 275 yards away on my side of the creek. Talk about luck -I'd though I'd never see him again. Why he didn't use the thick brush and trees to slip undetected into the creek and sneak away is anyone's guess.
By this time I'd layed down on my side and had a perfect rest and had the scope cranked up. I didn't want to "cheap shot" Jeff, so I kept glancing over at him wondering why he hadn't shot yet... the buck was 30-40 yards away from him just across the creek. Then I saw Jeff pointing his rifle at the buck frantically pacing back and forth... HE COULDN'T GET A CLEAR SHOT! The buck had paused and was just standing there deciding what to do next. Everthing told me this buck was going to get away after all.
Somebody had to do something so I put the dot on his head, slid it low on his neck -and this time remembering to hold low for the steep angle- lower still and fired a shot. I heard a satisfying Whump!, the buck did a spectacular forward summersault and a dramatic, mountain goat/ bighorn ram death-slide and crashed into the creek 50 yards below. I yelled, "Buck down, big buck down!! I got him!!" Jeff said, "Waddaya mean? I shot too!!" We had shot at exactly the same instant.
The Deer Camp SSI Team later decided after the skin job the shot had come from behind and from above -my shot. Jeff's had missed.
