My buck

We had a fantastic time hunting the week before Thanksgiving. The Durands came out and kept the kids A LOT (thanks guys!) so Jeff and I were able to get plenty of hunts in. We had so much fun and the weather was absolutely perfect for the kids to play outside. We thought it would be a little warm for hunting but we saw plenty of game. Tuesday was our best day because I got this big guy that morning...


My best hunting buddy

Here's the story of our hunt for those interested. Jeff and I hunted up on Parks Mountain in the tripods. We watched several does and one very nice 3.5 year old 10 point for about an hour. He was a beautiful deer and in a year or two will be a nice buck. They all wondered off around 8:00 and it seemed like the morning was about over. We thought we'd have a little fun and see if we could rattle him back in. That means using a set of antlers to mimick the sound of two bucks fighting. A few mornings before that, Jeff rattled in 3 bucks during another hunt...one charged in within 20 feet of Jeff. It was amazing. So we thought maybe we would do that again just to see what happened. Jeff climbed down from the tripod to get the antlers and just as he reaced the bottom of his ladder, I saw a doe come racing by in front of me. She was only there for about 4 seconds (I think she might have seen Jeff) and right behind her was a buck. As soon as I saw him I hoped I could get a shot at him since he was obviously a mature, "shooter" buck. I told Jeff to wait and be still---he was on the ground and could not see anything. He thought I was just putting my gun up to be ready in case he rattled in something big. He realized I was going to be taking a shot when he heard the "click" of me taking the safety off. So this big guy was just ambling through right in front of me and seemed to be walking off behind some trees to follow the doe. I gave Jeff a sign to rattle a bit and it was just enough to get the buck's attention. He started walking toward us and I just had to wait for a clear shot. It came, I shot, he fell...very exciting. As soon as I shot, I said down to Jeff "I got him!" and in a moment of doubt "I hope you like him" since usually we discuss things before shooting. Needless to say, he approved and we were proud to bring him in to camp. We didn't officially age him but we're guessing 5.5 years old. He field dressed around 115 lbs and is an 11 point. You can't see in the pictures but there is a "kicker" off the base of his right brow tine. He's not THE big one that I've been after for 2 years but I'll take him. I did see "my" big buck on Wednesday night.. He's just beautiful and I'm so, so glad I got to see him again, even if I couldn't shoot him (one buck per gun on the lease). I tried to take a picture but it was too dark and the flash did not make him happy. He is huge in body and in rack---dwarfs the one I shot to be sure. Maybe next year...?

Obviously Tuesday started off well, but it only got better. One of the other hunters shot a doe Tuesday evening and searched for her until dark but couldn't find her in the tall grass. She was definitely hit (there was blood) and its always sad to shoot something and not find it. We thought that maybe Kate could track it---a long shot, but she did track a hog one morning last year after it was shot the night before. Jeff took her out and the hunters showed him where the blood was. As soon as he set Kate on the blood, she took off with her nose to the ground, dragging Jeff behind her. It took her about 45 seconds to find that deer. Kate was the hero for the week! Here is Kate with "her" deer.