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IHunt2live

Luck: when preparation meets opportunity.

By IHunt2live, in Rifle hunting for Coues Deer

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IHunt2live   

IHunt2live
Posted

I don't post on here much but like most of you I get on just to see cool pics of cool bucks. I feel this is a buck many would enjoy to see. 

Luck: when preparation meets opportunity. That’s the best way I can describe this hunt. Due to some life events I didn’t not have time to scout much this year. I actually missed the first day of the hunt and the second day committed to helping a friend fill his tag on the one day he had free. We had some luck filling his tag with a nice 90ish buck then it was game on for me and my tag. It would be a solo hunt for the rest of the season which I mostly do and prefer in most ways.

I decided I would hunt a spot that I nicked named “The Hole”. It’s a spot I have looked at in previous years, one years was covered with decent buck, then some years I have a hard time turning anything up. I had never taken a deer there but knew it could hold a good one since it was a “hole”. This spot is not hard to access but I knew it’s a spot hunters overlook and I call it “The Hole” because, while it’s not that hard to access and not that far of a hike, it’s a pain in the butt to hike in given the brush and terrain. The only good glassing spot is pretty uncomfortable and with an all-day sit during an early season you WILL get burnt.

I get to the glassing spot with a good 30min sit to cool down before its even light enough to start glassing. This is done for a reason as while most of what I glass from here is a good 1000 yards away, one of the better bucks I had seen in years prior was on a small ridge just in from of the glassing point about 350 yards away. As most of you know that darn close to get to Coues especially just to glass so I knew getting in there in the dark was a must. I sat there and set up the glass on the tripod and started glassing before there was much light to even see anything, thinking ‘Well it’s about that time when lots of hunters are just waking up and the deer are the most active’. Through the low light I make out the form of a deer’s body on the ridge just in front of me at 375 yards. I make out some antlers and continued to watch as the light began to make it easier to see. Due to the subdued light I couldn’t tell exactly what he was and being the first deer that morning I began looking around to see what else may be out. For about 15-20 min I looked around for more deer and not seeing any other and I kept going back to the buck I saw. He was slowly feeding uphill as I was getting a better look. I could not see his main beam on one side so I thought he was a big 2 on one side and a 3 on the other. To be honest I still wasn’t sure it was a buck I wanted to shoot to end my hunt so quick. Finally got an angle seeing it was, what I thought, a good 3x3. This look was just after coming back to him and I thought well that looks like a good buck maybe another one showed up.

The decision was made at this point to shoot but it took a bit to find a place to set up, the buck only being 350 yards now. While getting the gun set up the deer disappeared on me. It was now maybe 15 min before sunrise, yes that buck was on his feet for just a short while in the daylight. The last spot I saw him was on the edge of a large brushy patch so I figured he was in there somewhere. The wind was howling to and he was on the shaded side from the wind so it made no sense for him to leave, my gut told me hes still there. I watched the brush for about 45 minutes and I catch the buck up for just a few seconds as he shifted in his bed. No shot before a bedded back down, but now I knew where he was and could make out bits of his antlers through the brush.

I made sure the gun was ready and got the phone scope set up to film the shot and the wait began. I waited for about 45mins and at was getting back on the gun to make sure it was ready. Well I looked in the scope and there he was standing. He was now looking over his shoulder and looked uneasy. Not knowing if he was about to bolt I decided to bag the filming and take the shot. At 350 yards I felt 100% confident on the hit but watch to see if anything runs off the ridge and nothing showed up. I gather my gear, make the short hike across the small canyon and find this.41719347_IMG_7214-Copy.thumb.JPG.3d110adcf08a82dc2741a2229f5657b0.JPG

When I pull him out of the brush he just got bigger. I did not see all the mass, extra points, and thought how stupid I was in thinking I may pass. I was gitty for a while and got to work. The pack-out was heavy and sucked but I loved every minute of it. Yes, luck had a lot to do with it but my preparation, previous knowledge and opportunity all aligned for this hunt. I've had the privileged to take some great buck, working a lot harder to do so, but this is my best. Sorry for the long read that did.

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