king' s outdoor world - Index

king' s outdoor world - Best of 2007 Feb-March 2008 - Index

and downs and rollers that would
give a hunter a chance to see, shoot
and kill a big buck. Now, I know that
a big buck doesn’t get big by being
stupid; all the stupid ones are dead,
so I know that where I walk is vital.
If I jumped these bucks, I must have
them to my left (on the side where the
deep wash is). If I could get one buck
to run down and up the other side, I
could kill him as he climbed out. I
knew that I must always walk so that
I was not too far from the rim because
I needed to be able to make it to the
rim of the wash quickly so that I could
catch the buck climbing out before he
made it over the top of the other side.
If I walked too far away and jumped
him and pushed him over the top, he
would beat me down, up, and over
the other side before I could get to the
rim to make the shot. Remember my
fi ve to thirty rule. I only had one hour
of daylight left and I was a long way
from my truck. Because I was alone, I
had to calculate sunlight and distance
to my truck a whole lot differently. I
knew I had to jump and kill one of
those big boys soon! As I followed
their tracks I was on auto-pilot. I
had to cover ground more quickly,
but still not fi ve-up my advantage.
Fifty yards around a little roller and
I lost their tracks. I knew that they
had to be back to my far left where
a sharp turn put me on a straight line
to the deep wash. I was fi fty yards
from the rim when, like a ghost, I
got a quick glimpse at one of the big
bucks. He was a big buck, so I made a
run to the rim of the deep wash. The
buck was in full bounce, doing his
very best to make it up and over the
top. I could see that his horns were
good and that he was a big, mature
buck. However, he was not what I
would call a monster buck…but,
after all my time and money...my
three seconds had fi nally come and I
decided to shoot. Two shots and two
good hits and the buck was mine. At
that moment, I heard another deer
off to my left trying to climb up the
bank. He stopped for just a second
and then he was up and over the top.
He was another good buck, a narrow
20 HUNTING ILLUSTRATED.com
After multiple hunts throughout the year,
Dennis fi nally connected on this buck deep
in a canyon and far away from the truck
but quite heavy 4x4. But, after climbing
up to my big buck, I knew I had killed
the best one of the two.
There was only half an hour of
daylight left, so I quickly cleaned him
out, cut off the two hind hams, and threw
them up onto my shoulders and headed for
my truck. I knew that daylight was now
a real issue. I planned to bring my back
frame and meat saw so I could put the
rest of the meat in meat sacks and pack it
back out the next day. I was around two
miles from my truck and the only road,
so I knew it would be very dark before I
could make it back to the road. Because I
was alone, I knew I had to be very careful
not to fall and hurt myself. I walked slow
but steady; only stopping a few minutes
to catch my breath and push myself up
to the task that I had to accomplish. I
was wringing wet with sweat and I had
to hold the fl ashlight in my mouth so I
could see because my hands were full just
trying to pack the meat. My mouth was
so dry that I could hardly spit. I fi nally
made it back to the road. It was so dark
that I couldn’t make out any landmarks.
I walked up the mountain road hoping
to fi nd my truck, but couldn’t fi nd it. I
though that perhaps it was down the road,
so I walked back down but still couldn’t
fi nd it. I didn’t have the energy to walk
buck up the road, so I decided to walk
5MULE DEER5
off a big rim and then up towards my
camp. I knew where my camp was,
but I just couldn’t fi nd my truck. One
bottle of water and two Gatorades
later, I changed into dry clothes and
fell into bed. My feet hurt so bad
that I had a hard time going to sleep,
but exhaustion fi nally took over and
I drifted off. At daylight, I started
walking back up the road to fi nd
my truck. It was easy in the light. I
walked back to my big buck, fi nished
skinning him out, and put all the
meat, head, and horns on my frame
and once again headed up and out to
my truck. At 12:00-noon, I made it
back to my truck and drove back to
camp. I had to cut the meat up and
put it on ice because it was still 7575degrees during the day. I broke camp,
cleaned everything up spic and span,
and headed home.
As I was driving home, I
began thinking again about all the
things I do to be a hunter. I thought
about all that it takes to kill a big
buck and hopefully get those ‘magic
moments’ once in a while. After all,
that is what all of us hunters hunt for
isn’t it? Nah, it’s still the hunt, it’s still
being out in Mother Nature, sitting
on a rock in the middle of nowhere
and looking out over all the wonders
of this beautiful world that God has
created for each of us. It’s still the
friendships we have and the renewing
of them. It’s still the challenge that is
put before us to see what we are made
of. It’s still the teaching of patience,
persistence, and knowledge and all
those important lessons that we learn
as we experience life. It’s fi nding
out that sometimes we need this time
alone just to be able to re-think the
things that really matter in our lives.
It’s being thankful that we can still
walk, run, and climb to the top. It’s
making memories with our friends
and family that last a lifetime and a
hundred other things that those that
never hunt will never know or feel.
Would I still hunt if I knew I would
never have another ‘Magic three
seconds’? Would you? I would in a
heartbeat - when do we leave on the
next one?