Post by: 7mmfan on October 15, 2013, 07:36:43 AM
About 45 minutes later, Dad said the coffee was getting to him so he stood up and walked about 100' away down wind so he wasn't taking a leak right where he was hunting. He had made his way back to his spot and set his gun down to fiddle around in his pack (probably to get his Cadbury chocolate bar out :chuckle: ) and caught movement out of the corner of his eye. SLowly looked up and this buck was cruising by him on the trail. Dad froze. The buck passed within 10 yards of him! Again, no gun in hand, couldn't do a thing about it. Dad being the seasoned hunter and oh so patient guy he is let him pass and once he was out of the bucks field of vision, reached over grabbed the 7 mag, swung around and anchored it on the tree, and dropped the buck in his tracks with a quartering away shot at about 50 yards.
Now the fun starts. Dad bummed his hip about a month ago, so dragging this deer was out of the question. He had forgotten his deer cart at home, but did have his new pack frame that he bought for my elk hunt. Dad has never boned/packed an animal out in his life, so he told me he was excited to give it a try. He got it all boned out, into game backs and strapped to the pack and off he went into the 2.5 miles hike back to camp.
When he got to my house Saturday night to hang the meat in my beer/deer fridge, we weighed the boned out meat, tipped the scale at almost 90#! With his gun, the bucks head/horns, and his essentials pack, he hauled well over 100# of stuff off the mountain in that load! Way to be Dad!
The buck is unique. Its a fairly old deer. The guys at the game check there in Winthrop said they estimated based on the teeth that the deer was 6.5 or so years old. The picture is tough to see the character his horns have as its a self portrait. His left horn is long and has a HUGE front fork. The right horn is pretty compact and not as long/wide as the left (maybe an old injury of somekind?) The mass is fantastic, definitely the mass you find in an old buck. Would have liked to have seen him last year.
Anyway, good work Dad, I'm always proud of my Dad and happy when he is successful. He focused on my brother and I so much growing up that he rarely killed animals. Now that we're grown and doing our own things, he's killed 4 bucks in the last 5 years and harvested his first elk last year. He's a tough man and gets it done. He's the man I strive to be as I get older :tup:
Post by: pashok23 on October 15, 2013, 07:50:57 AM
Post by: Seatown5 on October 15, 2013, 08:03:34 AM
Post by: h2ofowlr on October 15, 2013, 08:05:59 AM
Post by: elkoholic1 on October 15, 2013, 08:29:39 AM
Post by: X-Force on October 15, 2013, 08:36:48 AM
Post by: blackveltbowhunter on October 15, 2013, 08:37:21 AM
Post by: ShaneTyTrey on October 15, 2013, 08:39:09 AM
Post by: FordGuy on October 15, 2013, 09:31:40 AM
Post by: boneaddict on October 15, 2013, 09:36:53 AM
Post by: huntnphool on October 15, 2013, 09:45:11 AM
Post by: hntrspud on October 15, 2013, 09:52:52 AM
Post by: 7mmfan on October 15, 2013, 03:11:25 PM
Post by: coachcw on October 15, 2013, 05:19:06 PM
Post by: Natures Way on October 15, 2013, 05:31:27 PM
Post by: turbo on October 15, 2013, 07:46:49 PM
Post by: Pathfinder101 on October 16, 2013, 04:46:54 PM
Post by: CAMPMEAT on October 16, 2013, 05:01:46 PM
Post by: gunboats on October 16, 2013, 05:08:38 PM
Post by: skidynastar33 on October 16, 2013, 05:21:38 PM
Post by: buck man on October 16, 2013, 05:32:42 PM
Good job! Why didn't he shoot the bear in the background of the pic?
Does look like a bear :chuckle:. Good job dad. On a side note. Tell dad to pee right where he hunts. Human urine does not spook deer. I piss right off my tree stands. You would be amazed at how many deer come and lick the ground right where I peed. Doesn't phase them at all.
Post by: Titan-1 on October 16, 2013, 06:21:18 PM
Post by: dscubame on October 16, 2013, 08:26:04 PM
Post by: 7mmfan on October 17, 2013, 08:15:41 AM
Good job! Why didn't he shoot the bear in the background of the pic?
LOL thats what I said when I saw the pic for the first time. It wouldn't suprise me, I've seen plenty o bears in that area. There were a lot of cattle running around too so it was probably just a heffer.
Post by: MLBowhunting on October 17, 2013, 08:32:08 AM