Better lucky than good

[andrew_in_idaho]

After 4 days of backpacking in rough country and finding mostly does and small bucks my buddy and I decided to pull up stakes and move down to lower elevations for the last day of the hunt.

We both had agreed with significant others to be home for trick or treating with our kids so we really only had half the day anyway. We hunted through several ravines and draws, finding lots of does but no mature bucks to speak of.

As we left the last small draw and started walking across the vast open sage flat to the truck we began to talk at full volume, theorizing if the spot we were would be better early in the season or late, about 300 yds from the truck a giant buck exploded from the low sage and took off across the flat, I sent a “Hail Mary” shot his way as he neared the edge to drop off into some bluffs. I should’ve tried to whistle him to a stop. We gave chase on foot, lost sight of him and suddenly a doe went running from my right to left, as she took off my buddy said, there he is. I said, no just a doe. He said he saw his antlers moving to the right. We continued and found another doe, again going from my right to left. We go left along the top of the bluffs looking for the buck to no avail. Made a loop back to the truck, defeated, how could I make such a rookie mistake. We fired up the truck and drove out the 2 track to the main road, if the buck went right he would’ve crossed the main road down in the canyon so we head that way on a last ditch effort.

We round a bend and a doe is skylined, right at the edge of a cut, 100 yds off the road. As we continue to pull forward the buck appears, bedded in the cut, clearly visible to the naked eye. Slam the brakes, shift to park, grab my gun and out the door. Chamber a round, off the road, hit a knee, find his throat patch in the crosshairs, too much sage in front of his body, squeeze the trigger

Sometimes it truly is better to be lucky than good. We did almost everything wrong in the final hour of this particular days hunt, but it ended up working out and my persistence paid off with my best buck to date. Bonus points for loading him up whole




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[Alchase]

Nice story, and great buck 

[Griiz]

Awesome rack with lots of character. Thanks for sharing.

[pd]

Ha!!  You're lucky.

Actually, no, you are successful.  You do realize it was your talking on the way out that caused the buck to move?  Some times you just have to switch it up.

Congratulations.

[7mmfan]

Always better to be lucky than good! And some of us have to carry a golden horseshoe around in our back pocket for extra insurance! Great buck, good work!

[Fatherof5]

Nice! Great story, Great buck! 

[andrew_in_idaho]

Ha!!  You're lucky.

Actually, no, you are successful.  You do realize it was your talking on the way out that caused the buck to move?  Some times you just have to switch it up.

Congratulations.

Oh we definitely realized that, if not for our conversation that buck lays there and we walk right on by, sometimes the biggest mistakes can turn into the biggest blessings, and that is true across all of life, not just hunting.


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[Karl Blanchard]

Great buck man congratulations!!!

[trophyhunt]

Great deer, congrats.  Now would you please get that blood off his antlers!!!!     


  Drives me nuts to see that   

[jae]

Awesome Buck!
Congratulations!

[andrew_in_idaho]

Great deer, congrats.  Now would you please get that blood off his antlers!!!!     


  Drives me nuts to see that   

I’m sure the taxidermist will take care of that. Sorry my hands were bloody when we went to drag him.


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[Pathfinder101]

That's awesome.  A little bit of luck to make up for all the hundreds of time you did everything right and got nothing...

[buckfvr]

Stud buck, luck is good.   

[dvolmer]

thats a good one for sure!!!!

[andrew_in_idaho]

Apparently my buddy had a few other pics on his phone he hadn’t shared





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