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This took place first season in IL, Sat Nov 18. After having a thoroughly frustrating morning... I went back out to a small piece of property that is the "if everywhere else fails go here" honey hole.
Wind was not perfect, NW, but went out anyway. It was not perfect because where this ground is at on a NW wind anyone that drives by will see me. I am set up on a ditch that has woods on either side of it... it goes through the ground in the shape of an L...
Got in there about 1pm sat in tall grass... the corner of the L is clear cut so I can see to north side of the ditch as well as see the southern side of the ditch to the north and southwest. Set up a little wall blind toward the clear cut and waited.
At 4pm a small doe steps out of the S side of the SW strip... dear are starting to move now. I am waiting on a big boy that has been seen consistently at this time in this strip of land... 4:15pm I see a 7pt buck appear on the N side of the ditch on the left side of the cut and proceeds to walk to the other end of the cut. He does not spot in the grass until he reaches the end of the clear cut. I had already decided to let him go to wait on the big guy... he looks me over and decides to go down into the ditch and disappears
Thinking I may have made a mistake letting him go I call my friend who farms this property to tell him what I passed on... before he can pickup the buck pops up in my side of the ditch and starts walking straight at me... looking at me the whole time! I close up the cell and lay it down. I get my monopod up and the gun on it, hoping that he will turn north and not mess up my hunt! He doesn't... at 20 yds I decide to shoot him because at any moment he is going to figure out what I am, blow and go bounding off and the hunt for the last ten minutes of the day will be done.
I don't know how it happened but Murphy now takes a hand in the proceedings... my cell RINGS!!! I had it on silent mode... I know I did because I had already received calls on it earlier... but that doesn't matter because it RINGS! It was the funniest thing you have ever seen that buck went from relaxed to all stiff legged and ready for light speed... before I can get a hand on the phone it rings a second time. I get it shut down and quickly snap a shot off... how can I miss at 15 yds... I didn't because at the shot I saw hair fly off the buck.
How did I see hair fly you ask? It is called smokeless muzzleloading my friend! What a way to hunt! I saw the hit and where he went... recoverd him about 80yds away... dbl lunger.
Here are the pics, 2nd one is with the Siberians... they couldn't figure out what it was...
Wind was not perfect, NW, but went out anyway. It was not perfect because where this ground is at on a NW wind anyone that drives by will see me. I am set up on a ditch that has woods on either side of it... it goes through the ground in the shape of an L...
Got in there about 1pm sat in tall grass... the corner of the L is clear cut so I can see to north side of the ditch as well as see the southern side of the ditch to the north and southwest. Set up a little wall blind toward the clear cut and waited.
At 4pm a small doe steps out of the S side of the SW strip... dear are starting to move now. I am waiting on a big boy that has been seen consistently at this time in this strip of land... 4:15pm I see a 7pt buck appear on the N side of the ditch on the left side of the cut and proceeds to walk to the other end of the cut. He does not spot in the grass until he reaches the end of the clear cut. I had already decided to let him go to wait on the big guy... he looks me over and decides to go down into the ditch and disappears
Thinking I may have made a mistake letting him go I call my friend who farms this property to tell him what I passed on... before he can pickup the buck pops up in my side of the ditch and starts walking straight at me... looking at me the whole time! I close up the cell and lay it down. I get my monopod up and the gun on it, hoping that he will turn north and not mess up my hunt! He doesn't... at 20 yds I decide to shoot him because at any moment he is going to figure out what I am, blow and go bounding off and the hunt for the last ten minutes of the day will be done.
I don't know how it happened but Murphy now takes a hand in the proceedings... my cell RINGS!!! I had it on silent mode... I know I did because I had already received calls on it earlier... but that doesn't matter because it RINGS! It was the funniest thing you have ever seen that buck went from relaxed to all stiff legged and ready for light speed... before I can get a hand on the phone it rings a second time. I get it shut down and quickly snap a shot off... how can I miss at 15 yds... I didn't because at the shot I saw hair fly off the buck.
How did I see hair fly you ask? It is called smokeless muzzleloading my friend! What a way to hunt! I saw the hit and where he went... recoverd him about 80yds away... dbl lunger.
Here are the pics, 2nd one is with the Siberians... they couldn't figure out what it was...
