Yee Haw!!!!!

Sandi is very proud, 150 yards with her TC Encore 50 cal muzzleloader.  We saw a couple real hawgs but she had to have the droptine!

Take care Rich

i would've taken the drop tine, too, given the option! much congrats to her!

how did the hunt unfold - spot and stalk, or stand, or??

It was our 3rd stalk of the hunt. We worked to 120 yards of a similar sized buck with no dropper after an hour and half stalk opening morning. I told her to pass and she muttered that she better not regret passing on that buck as we walked away from it. I told her she never would, big words! That night we worked in on a herd with two gaggers in it - upper 180's to low 190's for the one. We were on a road allowance and the bucks 82 yards away were on land we didn't have perrmision for. Everything else in sight we did have permission for, you know how that goes! They never crossed the road allowance and we backed out after light was done. Finally found the owner and his words were "shoot all the crop thieving #$@!?&^%!" Wouldn't ya know it!

Next morning saw us 3/4's of a mile away down wind prepared to sneak the same herd. Instead we have 6 bucks out in the wheat in our way. I was glassing them and telling her they were all "just bucks" when she asks what's up with the horns on the one. He turns and his rack is skylined and we see the dropper. As soon as Sandi saw the droptine, it was over, she only had eyes for him. They were in standing wheat and it took us 3 hours of indian walking to cover the 3/4 of a mile and get into position on the bedded bucks. Once ready I bleated a couple of times and they all stood up. The wheat is really tall this year and only the head and necks stick out, too boot the bugger was facing straight away. Sandi waited until he turned sideways and guessed at where to hold. The smack was thundering loud and he was gone. Turns out she was a tad high and spined him, still a great shot. I got to hunt that night and the next morning and passed on a couple of very good bucks in a couple of stalks. The season has just started and I want to shoot a good one. Going back Friday.

you know... i hunt mostly public land here, and i generally do as well as anybody for getting ahold of good bucks... but damn, i have to hunt for a couple weeks and spend a couple months glassing ahead of time to just see one buck like what you are talking about seeing and filming... and then you pass on them because they aren't big enough.

big kudos to everybody involved in your qdm program - it is obviously working very well.

luck to you to better your wife's buck - it is a helluva deer.

dakotasin wrote: you know... i hunt mostly public land here, and i generally do as well as anybody for getting a hold of good bucks... but damn, i have to hunt for a couple weeks and spend a couple months glassing ahead of time to just see one buck like what you are talking about seeing and filming... and then you pass on them because they aren't big enough. big kudos to everybody involved in your qdm program - it is obviously working very well. luck to you to better your wife's buck - it is a helluva deer.

It takes me 2 years to draw a tag in these zones, so I'm pushing for a real gagger. Having said that I've been reviewing tape this morning and I may have screwed up. I thought Sandi's buck was smaller than it actually was, in-fact i missed on the ground score by 10 inches. I still can't believe I didn't have a tape measure with me. But, knowing what I know now and looking at the video tapes I'm a little sick to my stomach right now. One perfect 4x4 I figured at 170 to 175 when i passed him is probably a solid high 180's and just a pair of browtines shy of B&C. The 7x7, while not overly tall is 195 to 200 NT points and has a couple of stickers we couldn't see with all the deer milling around.

URK!

Omega,

I'm not as good at judging big bucks as you are.  Just don't see many really big bucks in PA.

But my first rule is: 

When the rack hits the dirt is shrinks considerably!

BEAR

Rockydog wrote: Omega, Congrats to Sandi. What a nice buck! Isn't it a great feeling when a stalk works out regardless of buck size? RD

There is nothing like a stalk! We did 5 in 4 days and could have killed a buck at the end of each one. It really gets my mojo going!