So here's the story with the pics. Sat. morning 'bout 7:00, I was up near Drew's stand. I saw an absolute monster tending a doe about 100yds away. I did everything right- broadside shot, had a rest, steadied the shot, squeezed the trigger- but the buck didn't even flinch. After a second or two the doe took off with him in tow. I looked for blood but didn't find any. No clue what happened...
Anyway, Sunday morning I figured I might as well go back to the same location, thinking maybe there's a chance the doe will be back there with the buck again. I waited till light, then went in, crossing over the new bridge put in on the creek. I walked up the fenceline to the S.E. corner of the property, and noticed a decent 8pt up on the hill, almost exactly where the big buck was the day before. The fence corner offered decent cover, so I stayed there and ranged him at 170 yds. I stayed put thinking of what I wanted to do, when he started walking towards me. Then about 40 yds in front of me, this doe pops up out of a little swail left by the strip mining operation. I didn't even realize this little swail was there until she came out of it. Behind her was a bigger buck than the 8pt. I only saw him from the side, but I could tell he was a shooter. I shot once at 50 yds, and saw him flinch, so I knew I hit him. He continued after the doe, then she turned and ran toward the top of the hill by the 8 pointer. My buck stayed put, so I figured I hit him good, but I put another slug in him for good measure.
I have a theory about the two mornings. I wonder if it was the same doe, but a different buck . Someone else shot the Booner on Sat., and this buck was next in line, so he was with her Sun. morning and she went back to the same hillside. If anyone went out there this morning, maybe they would've seen the 8 pointer with the doe in the same spot... Note to anyone who hunts middlegrove-don't shoot the doe that likes to bed on that hillside in the morning. Maybe she'll bring someone luck next November.
He's not a beautiful buck, but he looks like he could inflict some serious damage on an opponent. I scored him myself and came up with 143 gross, and 135 net. He only had a 13+ inches of inside spread-but pretty nice mass. G2s and G3s were both about 10 inches long. His g3 on his left side (looking at him) would have had two stickers, but they were both busted off. He dressed out at 160lbs, but he barely had any fat on him. Looks like he'd lost considerable weight chasing does for the past few weeks. It's my biggest buck to date (out of two), so I'm taking it to Justin to get it mounted. Sorry the pics aren't great. I didn't have my good digital on me.
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