Posted: 10/24/2007 6:20:08 AM EDT
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12 point buck shot on October 20th. For those that care about the score....it was 142 2/8. The is a LOW-FENCED ranch. All fair chase. The buck was in rut, and I had put out Tink's 69 in his scrape that morning, then made a trail towards my stand. He did exactly what I predicted he'd do. He came out, and since there were does in the area, I didn't need to call. He came over to the scrape and became very agitated! He started thrashing the bushes and trotted around in circles because he couldn't find he doe that was in estrus. He must have thought "well, which the hell one of you just pissed in my scrape??" He then walked right along the trail I'd laid out for him, and as he came into range I grunted so he'd think another buck was in his territory challenging him, and chasing that doe. He stopped and put his ears back....PERFECT! The call worked and he even behaved the way I expected. He turned sideways to look for his challenger....and splash it was done. Amazing, since that is not usually what happens. I don't rely on feeders, I have food plots here, but I usually fool these big bucks with scent and grunt calls or antler rattling. Everything was so perfect that I decided to take him, and that, rather than the size of his antlers is what makes this a trophy. I had come to know this deer. I watched and scouted him all summer and I knew his habits. He didn't know mine well enough....  Hokie asked about .308 loads? I used the Federal Power-Shok 150grain soft point, and I have recovered the bullet. It performed beautifully. The deer was quartering away slightly at 150 yards, and was hit right behind the shoulder (the best kill shot IMHO).....the bullet traveled through the aorta, and both lungs and lodged in the off side shoulder, under the skin. He went, oh, maybe 35 yards and there was a very obvious blood trail. I consider myself an adept tracker (even better when my eyesight was 25 years old  ) but finding him was a breeze.The bullet is at the ranch, and I will take a picture of it this weekend, then post it here, so you can see how well it mushroomed and held together. I do not believe that these are bonded, but you will see that the weight retained was around 85-90%. Until then....talk amongst yaselves.....   |
Thanks! BTW, I forgot to mention that this deer weighed 160 lbs, live weight, and he was aged at 5.5 years old. It is pretty obvious from the picture that he is a mature deer. He had a pretty good gut on him, as you can see. |
Very good buck!  The rut is just getting ready to heat up here in Indiana. People are claiming that we'll have an early rut here this year, and I've heard that it should start getting good October 25, which is tomorrow. It's archery season here until November 17 though. I went out for 3 hours today, and had one young buck come past my tree. I thought that the Texas rut was around January. 
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In my area of the state (coastal mid-south Texas) the season usually starts on the first Saturday of November, so as to coincide with the peak of the rut. Daylength stimulates rutting activity more than does temperature, so the bucks start rubbing and making scrapes in mid October. It appears that a very wet, cool summer is stimulating early activity and one biologist told me it was because "...well there wasn't much sunlight there when it rained every single day for 7 months!!" It really did, too...it was awful. I was watching these deer with trail cameras, and some of them had rubbed all the velvet off their antlers by the last week of August...that IS early for us! In very deep south Texas (a few hundred miles south of here) some hunters mistakenly think the rut starts in January. Unfortunately, they often miss the early or "pre-rut" activity through which almost all deer transition in fall. I have friends who shoot huge bucks near the Mexican border during bow-season, in early November using "pre-rut" tactics. Things are not always as they seem....  ETA: Good luck on your hunt! Are you going to take the .458 SOCOM with you? |
I am a little disappointed I don't see your AR in the pic?!?
You guys must have had the exact opposite of us. We have had probably the worst drought on record here. I bet we only mowed our grass a half dozen times this year. Up until the rain we've had the last couple of days, it's been 80-100 degrees for months now. It was close to 90 degrees last week! It has caused a very bad breakout of EHD in the deer here. Luckily, I haven't heard of any dead around my hunting areas.
Yes, I'll definitely be carrying it come November 17. I've been carrying the bow for now, and already took a doe the first week of November. I've passed up 4 small bucks already. This afternoon, with the very high wind, I took a "speed scouting trip" behind the house, and walked right up on a huge bedded buck. He stood up right about the time I saw him, and we had a stare-off before he trotted away. I'm pretty sure he's the former owner of the shed antler I found backin March. If so, he should score about 150" and dress out over 200 pounds. |
I totally understand. I waited 3 years (and probably let 40-50 bucks walk in that time) to kill a deer with antlers....other than spikes. As for the AR....well, I have to admit, I was pretty sure I would see this deer, and I just didn't have my 6.8 SPC really dialed in enough to be 101% sure of it, if the time came. I just couldn't chance crippling such an awesome animal. So, instead, I took my "can't fail rifle." It is a custom .308 built on a Remington action, trued by the gunsmith, with a Mike Rock 5R barrel, and a Zeiss 3-12 X 56 scope with Jewel trigger set at 2 lbs. It has been known to put 7 or 8 shots into one ragged 3/4 inch hole at 100 yards. I promise, I will be carrying my Ko-Tonics 16" superlight on a Colt Sporter lower for the rest of the season, and I will shoot either a doe or a spike with it. Otherwise, I am done for bucks this season. This one is my only trophy for the year and yes he is going on the wall. glocktex, hope you get to come to the ranch to kill some hogs with us! They're definitely here. |
