I took this big buck on Oct 29, 2010 with crossbow at 8:15 a.m. I was headed to a spot where I had seen a lot of rubs. I didn't quite get to where I wanted when he came through the brush headed my way. I was out in the open, and wasn't exactly prepared. He spooked when he hit the edge of the bush, and bounded back about 30 yards or so. I used the grunt tube and he started back out., got to the same point and snorted and made a short bounce. He was just a few feet off of the edge of the old road when I gave 3 more short grunts. He cam up on my left side, and I just followed him with the crossbow ready for the shot. He wouldn't offer a broadside shot when he stopped in the little opening. All I had was a neck shot. It is a risky shot for a crossbolt, especially if it hits a branch. I have made a shot siimular to this before on a 5-point and felt confident enough that I didn't hesitate. I knew if the buck spooked again, he would not be so dumb the next time. I let the bolt fly and knew the shot looked good. I reloaded the crossbow and went to the spot he had been standing, and just about 3 feet from point of impact I found a good size spo of blood. I had no problems tracking him, but he went into a ravine and traveled about 80 yards before piling up. That was when the work began....I had a long drag ahead of me for sure. I couldn't get the hubby on the phone and the boy was at home and couldn't find a way out to help. Finally after an hour and a half or so, i was able to get hubby on the phone to bring the truck and help me get him the rest of the way to the top of the ravine and then to the truck. Not bad for a public land buck. I got him 5 days after our first muzzle loader season ended.
