king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Hunting Illustrated - October/November 2007 - Index

sagebrush facing the spot where the bucks had been feeding
earlier that day. As the day rolled on, I played out every
possible situation in my head trying to prepare for what I
was hoping was going to happen. Soon it was 3:30, then
4:00, 4:30 came and went, and at 5:00 I was thinking that
the day was over. I told myself to just be patient and that
this buck was worth the wait. At about 5:30, I spotted the
smallest of the three bucks coming out to eat and my heart
started racing once again. I waited and waited, but nothing
came out behind him. I couldn't believe he was alone. As
I watched the smaller buck eat, I thought I heard something
behind me. My initial reaction was to dismiss the sound
as hopeful thinking, but after the third time of hearing the
sound, I couldn't take it any longer. I slowly looked over
my shoulder and, through the sagebrush, there he stood.
The monster buck was fifty yards away from me with the
other buck. My heart was now pounding so hard and I was
shaking so bad, I didn't know if I could even function.
I slowly rolled over onto my stomach, trying not
to alarm the buck that was standing in front of me so that
I could get a good shot on the buck behind me. As I laid
there on my stomach looking through the sagebrush at this
giant, I figured that it was now or never. I slowly got to
one knee and, while remaining hunched over, I pulled back
the hammer on my Pro Hunter and very, very slowly rose
above the sagebrush. As the old buck looked up at me, still
chewing on a mouthful of grass, I made a perfect shot. The
buck went a few steps and collapsed. I could tell by the way
he went down that I had made a very clean harvest of this
old giant. The buck that was behind him stood there for a
very long time not knowing what had just happened. It was
not until I came out from behind the sagebrush that the other
buck finally left. As I stood over the big old buck, I couldn't
help but reflect on what a great hunt this truly was and what
an honor it was to be able to harvest such a great animal.
Hunter: Dave Krien ? Location: Kansas ? Area: Unit 1 ?
Guide: Self ? Date: October 22, 2006 ? Time: 6:00 PM
? Temperature: 60 ? Moon: New ? Terrain: Open fields ?
Camouflage: King's Desert Shadow ? Gun: Thompson
Center Pro Hunter ? Bullets: Barnes ? Powder: Hodgdon
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