Friday morning Flathead County, Montana
I figured my son with me getting educated in the woods was better than sitting on his bed, not getting educated for poor grades.... so we went out to our hunting area which is on 200 acres of private land rented by my aunt and uncle. It has produced some nice deer for us over the last 12 yrs or so.
We arrived before sunrise and set up to wait for the does we had seen down in the lower pasture. Well they crossed just as it was getting light, and I almost took a shot at the largest of the 4 does. Here in Montana the first two weeks is either sex whitetail and the last 3 days same thing. We just have a high herd population that allows this.
Well a bit of time went by and I heard this buck screetch out above me in the orchard. So I got out of my truck, and waited.... as he crossed the clear cut for the power poles at 140 yards he paused to smell the ground where the does had crossed. I lowered the cross hairs on my Remington 700 ADL in 22-250 and took the shot. He went down rump first and then was still kickin. I figured that he was down for the count and my son, was just an excited bursting bubble. He kept saying, "Dad, I don't believe you nailed him, man he went down" Well after turning back from his distraction, I noticed the buck was gone, he'd gotten up and went off.
We inspected the down site and found deep red blood and a bunch of thrashing around sign, and a good blood trail. This was a smart old buck, he would round trees only to back track himself out and then off down the trail he would go. His tracks showed he was not running, but moving slowly.
We finally ran out of blood trail, but with the light snow that we had, still had good solid fresh tracks. We slowly proceeded through the woods, I put my son on the lead since he was tracking real good for me. Well over the back gate we went and there about 60 yards through the trees he got up and went another 20 yards. He placed his front shoulder even with a tree which put his head beyond, unable to see me. There he stood with a nice broadside shot at 80 yards. I lowered down the rifle putting the cross hairs on now his opposite side. I shot and down he went this time for the count.
After the thrashing on the ground was over, we arrived and found him by smell. My son could not believe how he smelled from the rut, I guess he had just wet his scent glands on his back legs. His right side antler was burried under about a 4" dia tree that was down, cut before by a wood cutter. But the buck had gotten locked in place by his thrashing around and then expired right there. As of yet I had not counted the points, here in Montana we call them a 4x4 some places use total points which this would be an 8 pointer. His rack was very nice with a 14 1/4" inside spread, and his main beams measured inside at 16" from the base to the tip. Left side tines were 4" and 4 1/4" with eye gaurd at 3" the right side measured 16 1/4" inside from the base to the tip with a 6 1/2" tine and 2 1/4" tine and a 2 1/4" eye guard (we count eye guards here for points) His neck measured 26" around and his approx weight was 250 pounds.
Then came the educational part for my son, of helping me gut and clean our catch. After which now come the inspection as to why the first bullet didn't do its job. I found the kidneys distroyed and the right side lung fully deflated so the first 55-gr NBT did a good job, but just did not nail both lungs. The second shot was located further back, and I could only figure that fragments of the round nailed a vital such as spinal etc. Meat damage was nothing. I suppose when cutting up this buck I will find fragments later.
My son and I had a great morning and didn't see anything for the rest of the day, and time was well spent and will be remembered many years to come. His grades can be caught up and fixed, but the time with him is priceless and lost time can never be replaced.
The next day, my son and I were back at it again.... after finding a group of small bucks, large bucks and does, it seemed like two bucks were getting ready to spar off for the does that were with all of them. My son got out and got so excited because he could have shot any of them. I finally pointed out the largest buck standing about 50 yards broadside in the trees. My son was breathing hard and fired.... a clean miss. He can ony figure out that he got buck feaver and with the excitement of seeing all these other deer he just went flimflam about his shot.
Well they all scattered into the woods... the herd one way, and the buck the other only to be heard later screetching to group up with the rest down the other side of where ever. We didn't see any more deer but I asked my son, well did you learn anything from that? He responded, well I guess I should calm down and take steady aim. I told him, you can't act like a breast feeding baby in a room full of naked women. He just laughed it off...... but realizes that he got buck feaver.
Before we left the area, we went back down to the upper pasture where I have a bunch of steel plates hung on hangers at differant distances. I put him at 60 yards and had him take two shots from his unscoped 30-30 Marlin 336C
He smacked two plates dead center.
His first deer ever was last year using a 35 whelen at 9 paces. This buck that he was trying to shoot would have been his first with a beautiful rack. He understands that this education in the woods far exceeds anything he'll ever learn in books or by watching a video's for hunting.
We ended the season yesterday, he had to work so Saturday was our last day out for general rifle season... it was time well spent with just him and I. It is also a time shared that if lost can never be replaced or made up.
I hope you all have a great season unlike some
