wyrmzr
10-12-2014, 07:34 PM
I was out last night trying for my archery buck, and as I pulled into the parking lot of the public area I decided to hunt, another hunter was just heading out with his muzzleloader. He'd gotten the luck of the draw, as early muzzy is pretty limited here.
Turns out he had just gotten a job in the area, scoped this place out, and set up a tree stand one or two nights before.
We went out separate ways, and I saw nothing whatsoever. After getting somewhat irate at a few locals running around on ATVs, apparently looking for something else they shot while goose hunting, I headed back to the parking lot. I was just debating going after some squirrels, when here comes the other guy, who says he shot a 10 point buck!
He was unpacking a hand cart, and I was thinking there was NO way an average sized guy was going to haul a 10 point buck back up to that parking lot (it's all uphill once you get in there), so I offered to join him.
We got down there, and he'd gotten this:
118989
I asked him which direction the buck came in from, and as I feared, I knew right off that if I'd been sitting where I usually sit, that buck would have walked right by me. But, I got lazy, and that was the price I paid.
Anyway, we tried using the cart to get the 100 yards to the main trail, but seriously bent up the cart in the process. Fortunately, help showed up, in the form of my nephew, who lives just 2 miles away, and I let the two younger guys (probably half my age) drag the buck, while I hauled the damaged cart the half mile up the trail.
While it does suck knowing that buck could have gone by me, I'm glad it wasn't taken by a poacher, and the guy who bagged it wasn't just a decent guy, but it was the biggest he'd ever gotten to boot.
He said the buck was within 25 yards of him, he pulled the trigger, and it ran 30 feet, straight into a tree, and that was it. There were lots of congratulations and thanks all around last night. A little jealousy, but it's early in the season yet.
Turns out he had just gotten a job in the area, scoped this place out, and set up a tree stand one or two nights before.
We went out separate ways, and I saw nothing whatsoever. After getting somewhat irate at a few locals running around on ATVs, apparently looking for something else they shot while goose hunting, I headed back to the parking lot. I was just debating going after some squirrels, when here comes the other guy, who says he shot a 10 point buck!
He was unpacking a hand cart, and I was thinking there was NO way an average sized guy was going to haul a 10 point buck back up to that parking lot (it's all uphill once you get in there), so I offered to join him.
We got down there, and he'd gotten this:
118989
I asked him which direction the buck came in from, and as I feared, I knew right off that if I'd been sitting where I usually sit, that buck would have walked right by me. But, I got lazy, and that was the price I paid.
Anyway, we tried using the cart to get the 100 yards to the main trail, but seriously bent up the cart in the process. Fortunately, help showed up, in the form of my nephew, who lives just 2 miles away, and I let the two younger guys (probably half my age) drag the buck, while I hauled the damaged cart the half mile up the trail.
While it does suck knowing that buck could have gone by me, I'm glad it wasn't taken by a poacher, and the guy who bagged it wasn't just a decent guy, but it was the biggest he'd ever gotten to boot.
He said the buck was within 25 yards of him, he pulled the trigger, and it ran 30 feet, straight into a tree, and that was it. There were lots of congratulations and thanks all around last night. A little jealousy, but it's early in the season yet.