We’ll start off with Bryant…
Bryant had been watching a particular group of bucks for a couple years,
but has been unable to connect during a hunting season. Yet…
This group of bucks had two that he had his eye on, but they lived in an
area that was very tough to hunt, so luck was going to have to be a huge
factor. These deer resided in an area
that was flat and very thick making glassing them up impossible. The only option was to get in and bust the
brush and hope for the best, so it was no surprise when Bryant found himself in
some more favorable country the first few days looking for a couple other bucks
that he liked. This more favorable
country was full of hunters, and the two bruisers were eating at the back of
his mind, so he decided to see if his luck would be on his side.
The day that his luck finally came in, Bryant was working an
area that he knew the deer liked to feed.
Bryant always said “You have to put yourself in a position to get
lucky”, and that’s just what he decided to do.
As he slowly worked his way through the feeding area, a buck began to
bound off just yards ahead! A second
buck joined him, then a third! Bryant
threw his rifle up but the thick trees made the decision difficult, he didn’t
want to end up shooting one of the smaller bucks. Just as the deer started to disappear over a
small rise, Bryant realized one of the bucks was one he was looking for, but it
was too late. Two more bucks began to
bound of to his left and as he swung his rifle, he realized the back buck was
another of the two monsters. All the
deer disappeared over the small rise, but hey appeared to be slowing to a
walk. Bryant regained himself and began
to sneak toward them. This time when he
jumped the group, he knew one of the two biggest bucks was to the far left. He raised his rifle, confirmed that it was
one of the bigger bucks and pulled the trigger.
A split second later all the deer were gone in the thick brush. Thinking he missed, Bryant walked over and
began to follow the tracks of the buck he shot at. Blood!
A short tracking job turned up his buck!
The buck had 4 points on his right side and 8 on his left! Taping out at just over 204”, this was Bryant’s
best buck to date!
Now its Cole’s turn…
Not wanting to go back to work, Bryant jumped in with Lee
and Cole to help out. A couple days
later, a good 4X4 was glassed up bedded under a cedar tree at the top of a high
ridge. Paul Carter had shown up to do a
little hunting of his own, and jumped in to help Cole get a shot. Lee stayed on a knob to watch Cole, Paul, and
Bryant work within rifle range. The plan
was, Bryant was going to film the hunt, Paul was going to help Cole sneak in,
and Cole was going to come out with his first buck. As the three popped over a ridge directly
across from the bedded buck, Bryant made the decision to stay put and film from
there while Cole and Paul tried to work their way up the backside of the ridge
and pop up at a better angle for a shot.
Part of the way to their new location, Paul and Cole jumped up a small
bunch of does and fawns which ran directly over the ridge and just under the
bedded buck. As Cole’s luck would have
it, the buck watched the does go by, but never got up. As Paul and Cole peaked over the ridge, they
knew they were at a good angle, now it was time to set Cole up for a shot! Anyone that has ever hunted deer probably
remembers their first buck. Cole’s
symptoms were much the same as the rest of us as we were about to get our first
shot. The adrenaline was high, rapid
breathing took over, a little shakiness moved in, and as Cole settled in behind
his rifle, Paul gave him words of encouragement, reminding him to get solid and
squeeze the trigger. The first shot hit
the deer in the back half of the front shoulder and the deer stood straight up
out of his bed. Now the first shot was
probably going to be all that was needed, but Paul and Cole weren’t taking any
chances. The second shot hit the ribcage
just behind the front shoulder sending the buck end over end!
Bryant could hear the two shouting from his location, and as
he walked up on the two, a normally not very talkative Cole was smiling and
jabbering a mile a minute. Cole’s first
buck was a solid 4X4 and taped out just over 170”! Great first buck!
You can watch Cole's hunt on MuleyBull Outfitters "Just Hunting "Volume 1" found at:
Amazon.com
Bryant and Cole still didn’t feel like heading back to work so they stayed to help Lee on his hunt. The three had headed up a ridge to help a friend look for a buck that he had shot a few days before. Things weren’t looking good on recovering the buck so they split up to glass some of the canyons and drainages. Late in the morning, a buck was located across a canyon bedded under a thick clump of cedars, now the hunt for Lee had begun. When Lee was located watching a small group of does in the bottom of another canyon, the three headed back to where the bedded buck was located. The buck was positioned just right. Everyone could tell it was a buck, but they just couldn’t tell how good a buck he was. Lee decided to work around the finger ridge to a location just above the buck to try and get a better look. The wind had begun to pick up as Cole and Bryant watched Lee sneak into position. As they watch Lee set up for a shot they though, “must be good enough”! The buck came rolling out of his bed at the sound of Lee’s shot, and for the first time Cole and Bryant could see what kind of buck he was. Lee had just shot a great 4X4 that taped out at just over 175”! Congrats on three great bucks in just a few days!
You can watch the video of Lee's hunt on MuleyBull Outfitters "Just Hunting Volume 2" found at:
Amazon.com
Coming August 2014!
