flemdogg
Lil-Rokslider
Was able to get my tag filled on opening day here in Idaho. Went out before sunrise up to my glassing knob and it turned out to be a slow morning. Saw a couple hunters doing some really unsafe, and unethical things; oh well some people are un-savable. Rain was on the forecast from noon on and it turned out to be spot on accurate. The weather change seemed to have chased everyone else out of the area as I was the only one out there for the rest of the day. Per usual, the deer started to feed out during the last hour or so of sunlight. I had scouted this area for 10 or so days before the season, and knew there were some decent bucks in the area for the unit and it being general season. I specifically had my eye on a 4x4 and a 4x3 I had turned up pretty consistently. Family had just come into town the day prior, and the wife issued my marching orders. Instructions read, don't hold out too long for those bigger bucks, if you see something decent just put him down and spend more time with your mom. Roger that boss.
As the afternoon began to fade to evening and sunlight fading, I turned up a 3x3 that I had actually seen in the days prior. He was feeding on a hill side about 1000 yds from where I was glassing. I looked down from my binos and gave it about a 20 second thought, decided to get after him. As I was packing my tripod and spotter away, I was looking at the terrain and planning my route into shooting range. Picked my spot that I thought would give me a sub 500 yard shot. It was raining with periodic pauses where it was dead quiet. Although I was rifle hunting I knew I had to be quiet and quick as the light faded. I made it to the closest point that I could shoot from and it ended up being 409 yards slightly up hill. I felt confident in the shot so I doped up my scope and got in the prone position. I feel that a lot of shots are missed because of a lack of proper rest. No matter what, your heart will be pumping and you will feel rushed. You can cut out massive potential for bad shots if you get a proper front and rear rest. Fortunately, this shooting position allowed for that. I put the crosshairs right on him and squeezed it off. The buck dropped in his tracks, dead instantly.
Made my way over and took my obligatory field photos. Only having about 30 minutes of light and with rain coming down hard, being on a steep hillside, and not wanting to get stuck back in there in the muddy muck, I made the hard decision to leave him overnight. I gut him, put my sweaty base layer over him to keep coyotes away, and hid him in the sagebrush. It was a rough night of barely any sleep. Next morning I hiked back in there and he was right where I left him, thank goodness. I got to work, quartered him, loaded him in the EXO, and packed him out. He aint a huge buck, but he's my buck and that is all that matters.
As the afternoon began to fade to evening and sunlight fading, I turned up a 3x3 that I had actually seen in the days prior. He was feeding on a hill side about 1000 yds from where I was glassing. I looked down from my binos and gave it about a 20 second thought, decided to get after him. As I was packing my tripod and spotter away, I was looking at the terrain and planning my route into shooting range. Picked my spot that I thought would give me a sub 500 yard shot. It was raining with periodic pauses where it was dead quiet. Although I was rifle hunting I knew I had to be quiet and quick as the light faded. I made it to the closest point that I could shoot from and it ended up being 409 yards slightly up hill. I felt confident in the shot so I doped up my scope and got in the prone position. I feel that a lot of shots are missed because of a lack of proper rest. No matter what, your heart will be pumping and you will feel rushed. You can cut out massive potential for bad shots if you get a proper front and rear rest. Fortunately, this shooting position allowed for that. I put the crosshairs right on him and squeezed it off. The buck dropped in his tracks, dead instantly.
Made my way over and took my obligatory field photos. Only having about 30 minutes of light and with rain coming down hard, being on a steep hillside, and not wanting to get stuck back in there in the muddy muck, I made the hard decision to leave him overnight. I gut him, put my sweaty base layer over him to keep coyotes away, and hid him in the sagebrush. It was a rough night of barely any sleep. Next morning I hiked back in there and he was right where I left him, thank goodness. I got to work, quartered him, loaded him in the EXO, and packed him out. He aint a huge buck, but he's my buck and that is all that matters.
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