Jmoore
Lil-Rokslider
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2020
- Messages
- 125
My son pulled a muzzleloader tag on his last year as a youth. We had a couple spots and he decided on this buck. When we started we had no idea what we were about to get into.
Opening day was spent cat and mouse trying to get close but not spook him. He had 5 does and 1 day had played the game before. She made it so hard to close the distance.
Day 2 we got on the glass and watched til they went to bed. They were on a ridge and as the sun came up they eased over the back side, so we made a big loop around and eased up the backside. We would ease up and peek over in the different drainages and finally on the 5th one we found them. The buck was bedded at 113 yds with a cholla between him and us. My son eased up and got settled in prone. That doe I mentioned earlier somehow had fed up even with us and as I helped him get settled in she was across the draw watching us. She stomped and snorted and the buck popped up facing right at us. He told me he was solid and I gave him the green light. As the gun reported we heard the bullet impact and the goat rolled down the hill just out of sight. We gave him a few minutes, reloaded the gun, and started easing down the hill. As soon as we spotted him he stood up with quite a bit of blood behind his left shoulder. My son took a free hand shot at 75 yds and it was a miss.
The buck took off and I told him to reload. The look on his face said it all, as he told me. Dad I left my extra loads at the truck when we started the stalk. Oh man. Ok you stay here and keep an eye out and I’ll run back to the truck, literally. The truck was just over a mile away so I took off. When I got back my son was gone. Not knowing which direction to go, I called him. He told me that he’s watched the buck moving through more draws and he’d been slow trailing him. He also said it looked like his first shot had went in in front of his shoulder and came out right behind it.
As I made my way to the bright orange vest and cap waving at me like 10 miles away he called and told me the buck was bedded down under a cedar. When I got to him he showed me where the buck was bedded. We reloaded the gun again and eased up to about 75 yards. This time the shot was true and the old buck piled up. We celebrated and started breaking the goat down.
Onx had us down at just over 6 miles from start to finish and we it was about 5 hours from the first shot to the last.
On a side note. We ran into town to get a bite and he started laughing as we were walking up to the restaurant and said dad you have to put your cap back on. Why? I asked. He couldn’t stop laughing and said well I guess you’re getting a hamburger for your hamburger. I was still confused so he took a picture and showed it to me. I definitely put the cap back on
Opening day was spent cat and mouse trying to get close but not spook him. He had 5 does and 1 day had played the game before. She made it so hard to close the distance.
Day 2 we got on the glass and watched til they went to bed. They were on a ridge and as the sun came up they eased over the back side, so we made a big loop around and eased up the backside. We would ease up and peek over in the different drainages and finally on the 5th one we found them. The buck was bedded at 113 yds with a cholla between him and us. My son eased up and got settled in prone. That doe I mentioned earlier somehow had fed up even with us and as I helped him get settled in she was across the draw watching us. She stomped and snorted and the buck popped up facing right at us. He told me he was solid and I gave him the green light. As the gun reported we heard the bullet impact and the goat rolled down the hill just out of sight. We gave him a few minutes, reloaded the gun, and started easing down the hill. As soon as we spotted him he stood up with quite a bit of blood behind his left shoulder. My son took a free hand shot at 75 yds and it was a miss.
The buck took off and I told him to reload. The look on his face said it all, as he told me. Dad I left my extra loads at the truck when we started the stalk. Oh man. Ok you stay here and keep an eye out and I’ll run back to the truck, literally. The truck was just over a mile away so I took off. When I got back my son was gone. Not knowing which direction to go, I called him. He told me that he’s watched the buck moving through more draws and he’d been slow trailing him. He also said it looked like his first shot had went in in front of his shoulder and came out right behind it.
As I made my way to the bright orange vest and cap waving at me like 10 miles away he called and told me the buck was bedded down under a cedar. When I got to him he showed me where the buck was bedded. We reloaded the gun again and eased up to about 75 yards. This time the shot was true and the old buck piled up. We celebrated and started breaking the goat down.
Onx had us down at just over 6 miles from start to finish and we it was about 5 hours from the first shot to the last.
On a side note. We ran into town to get a bite and he started laughing as we were walking up to the restaurant and said dad you have to put your cap back on. Why? I asked. He couldn’t stop laughing and said well I guess you’re getting a hamburger for your hamburger. I was still confused so he took a picture and showed it to me. I definitely put the cap back on