Had a great opening day (pic)

[mtmiller]

Hey folks. Had a great evening and got the buck I was hoping for. It is too late, but thought I would throw you a photo. The digital shows up a little dark on my screen, but this is a starter. I will post details later.

Man am I tired, but very happy.

Here is the same buck two days earlier.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 09-18-2003 07:50: Message edited by: mtmiller ]</font>

 

[kiwi hunta]

Wohoo way to go mate was it rifle or bow, will the velvet peal off what'it weigh ??

 

[sm]

WOW! nice deer. congrats. gets me to itchin for nov.

 

[MEATHEAD]

Nice Deer mtmiller Congrats to ya.

Now ready for the story.

 

[Elkhunter]

WOW!! Nice buck mtmiller. Congrats to you on such a nice deer.

 

[1_pointer]

Congrats!!! Can't wait to hear the story.

Let's go find another that size next weekend!

 

[JoseCuervo]

Wow!! And even better, is to have the picture of THAT guy on the hoof. Before and After are always fun....

Congrats...

 

[Delw]

WTG Mt Miller

Very nice buck.
Delw

 

[Oak]

WTG, mtmiller! I had a good feeling about your hunt yesterday. Are you going to have him mounted with the velvet on? I want to throw out a guess of 27.5 inches wide, for my own practice. Congrats on your first archery deer!

Oak

 

[AZHUNTERR]

nice ......WTG

 

[crapshoot]

Now thats a Dandy! The things dreams are made of.

 

[mtmiller]

Pretty close Oak. He taped out at 28.25" after I removed the velvet. Inside main beam is just a tad over 25"

 

[Nut]

WTG mtmiller!

That is a awesome deer for sure. I am glad you was able to get the one you wanted.

Could you come here and get one tied up for me also?

 

[Steiny]

Nice buck ! Good job !
What's the spread of that bad boy ?

Looks like you got your chit together, photographing him one day & killing him a few days later.

 

[mtmiller]

Alright, after work on friday I met with the landowner to make sure I would be able to cross a small portion of his private land. What a joy, he was a great guy and even told me where he had seen some nice bucks. I was aware of the bucks, but I played it off.

Anyway, I set up camp and was up early the next morning. I ended up blowing it in the morning, as it was difficult to slide in between a group of smaller bucks and the bigger boys. The big boy was with a sharp-eyed doe and she led my buck away in haste.

Afterwards I grabbed the pup and we shot a few grouse, but I was back to the spot by 3 pm. I sat for quite awhile waiting for some action. Finally about 6 I saw the high-hat that I have pictures of on the other thread. He was leading the way and looked to be heading for the trail I had seen him on a few days prior. I decided if given the opportunity, I would take him since he was larger than anything I had shot with my before.

Ends up he got on another trail and I missed him. There were some other bucks headed down the same trail and I noticed they were using a trail about 300 yards away. I could now see the big boys on top of the ridge about ¾ miles away. They were focused on the deer that were closest to me.

Finally the last of the smaller deer passed and I hustled over where they had crossed. I had to climb out of the ravine to get a better view of the trail and at the same time I saw the big buck at only 30 yards. I stayed low and drew when he was at 25 yards, but he froze when I drew. I could not take the shot because of the sagebrush, but I held out.

I thought about letting off, but instead I held on and thought about other things. After about a minute, he continued down the trail. At 20 yards he stopped broadside and all I could think of was this is a dead buck. The shot felt and sounded good. He ran about 20 yards and stopped to see what had happened. It was at that point I saw the blood. I was crushed, it was way too far back. I quickly nocked another arrow and sent one at 40 yards. Because of the wind the arrow hit in front of the shoulder, but it looked to be a mortal shot.

I regained myself and backed up about twenty yards and collected my back pack. I then grabbed my video camera and got a shot of the other big buck at 60 yards. He was not as wide, but had better front forks and maybe a small kicker.

After 10 minutes (too soon), I went after the buck. I knew where he went, but I followed the blood anyway. Along the way I found an arrowhead, which was pretty cool. Right after that, I saw him at fifty yards and he got out of his bed. I was kicking myself for pushing, but decided to put the fifty-yard pin on him. I had sighted in the pin last week, but I did not shoot well. At this point, I decided to take the shot since I was busted. The arrow took him right behind the shoulder and he went maybe 100 yards before he went down.

Well, that’s my story. I felt a did a great job putting the sneak on the buck, but I was disgusted with my shot placement. I also should have waited longer before I went after him. I am fairly certain he would have died in his bed if I had given him an hour. Luckily things worked out in the end.

Well I definitely did not pull off the perfect hunt, but in the end I did collect the animal even though it should not have been as much work as it was.

 

[Ithaca 37]

Congratulations! I'm glad you got him!

 

[Mntman]

Great buck and nice story for your first archery killed buck.
I hope this weekend I have the same type of luck as some call it.
You did your work scouting and it paid off, dont worry about the shots now that you have him. You should only worry if he had gotten away and died slower. You were wise to put that 3rd arrow into him.
Post more pictures soon, please.

 

[mtmiller]

Thanks Mtnman. This is my biggest buck with a bow, but not my first.

 

[ds]

top pix and great read, well done..ds

 

[Bwana]

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?!?! A very nice buck for a rifle kill, but even more of an accomplishment with a bow. Congrats on doing your homework, it obviously paid off and I am green with envy.

Way to go!!