I finally was able to get my fist buck! A few previous unsuccesful hunts and learning from others experiences on this site finally culminated this year and I was able to harvest my fist large game animal besides javelina. Thanks to all of you.
My brother, cousin, and friend did not get drawn for our first choices but decided to get one of the left-over permits for 36b. We all spent some time scouting and had high hopes as we had seen bucks on every trip. We settled in on a primary area and got familiar with a couple others in case. The first two and a half days of our hunt we saw mainly does with fawns and javelina. My friend did get a shot at a small forkie but missed and never did get another chance before having to leave on Sunday. Saturday evening after heading into Aravaca to make some calls to family, my brother and I took a little side-trip to another area we had not previously scouted but looked good. We did see one good buck which was more than we had seen up to that point. So Sunday we hunted that area and my brother spotted a decent 3x and since my cousin could not stay the whole hunt he let him take the shot. unfortunately he missed and ended up a missed opportunity .
On Monday it was just my brother and I and that morning was spent sleeping in, moving camp to this new area, and deciding on exaclty where we wanted to devote our efforts.
Tuesday put us in a good area and even though it was quite windy it was a steady wind and it was in our favor. About 11:15 I glassed up this forkie with eye guards at 380 yards and was able to get to 325 to take the shot. I got my Browning A-bolt in .280 Rem setup and put the cross hairs a few inces over his back and the first shot missed. He stood still so i quickly cycle another round and re-think the shot. I deducted the wind must have been stonger than I thought and this time held a little further back and let it fly. He darted down the hill and I was'nt totally sure after missing once, but I felt confident with the shot. I marked the spot I shot from on my GPS and slowly worked my way up to where the buck once stood. When I got there I did not see any sign of blood but after following his tracks I was able to see more and more blood and by 30 yards he had gushed. 10 yards down the hill he lay. then the moment of emotion realizing I had just taken my first deer and all the hard work had finally payed off.
We continued to hunt together to try and get my brother a buck, but even though we did see bucks every day, the opportunity for a shot for him never happened. I must say I could not have done it without him nor would I want to. Thanks Bro!
Sorry for the long story. Even though he isnt the size buck I am ultimately after, he is my first.
