king' s outdoor world - Index

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

by rOb MCKIbbIn
OREGON
BEAUTY
“You just killed
the biggest deer I
have ever seen.”
It was Friday, the day before
opening day, when I called my
hunting buddy Dennis to see
how soon he could get off of work
and go with me to scout some bucks
for the next day. Dennis fi nished up
around 1:00 and we headed out east
to our hunting area. We got set up
and were glassing for bucks by 7:00
p.m. Dennis and I were looking
in and around the sage draws that
funnel out of some farm fi elds. We
were trying to catch a bachelor herd
heading down to feed. About an
hour and a half into it, we saw two
does and three fawns moving to the
fi elds. Despite the lack of activity,
we continued to glass because we
saw a couple of very nice mule deer
46 HUNTING ILLUSTRATED.com
bucks last year in this same area, but did
not get an opportunity to harvest one.
Sitting patiently, Dennis and I waited
until dark. It was then, in the very last
light, that we made out the forms of three
bucks. However, with the low light, we
had a very hard time distinguishing just
how big they were. As we got ready for
bed, we came up with a game plan for
the next morning.
Dennis and I were awake on
opening day by 3:00 a.m. We quickly
set up on a small hill to watch the fi elds
for the three bucks as the sun rose.
When the sun is fully up, the daily high
can reach 100-degrees. Obviously, our
window of opportunity was short. As
morning dawned, we glassed a group
of fi ve bucks 500 yards out. The bucks
were moving to bed down and wait
out the heat of the day. This bachelor
group had a spike, a 1x3, a 150-class
4x4, a mid-180 class 4x4 and a very
large typical 4x4 in the 200-inch
range. Dennis looked at me and said,
“That’s the one we want.” Dennis
has harvested some very nice trophy
deer and can fi eld judge accurately
from a distance. The bucks were
making their way up the hill and out
of the fi elds. When they got to the
edge of the sage, the two smallest
bucks turned and headed our way
and the three large bucks headed
a different direction. It looked as
though the big bucks were going to
move into the timber to bed down.
Dennis and I made the decision to
Hunter: Rob McKibbin • Location: Northeast Oregon • Area: Private land • Guide: Self • Date: August 25, 2007 •
Time: 9:00 am • Days scouted: 1 (watch area year to year) • Days hunted: 1 • Weather: Sunny, warm, and windy •
Temperature: 80’s • Moon: 91% waxing gibbous • Terrain: Alfalfa, sage and timber • Bow: Matthews Hoyt Ultratec
• Draw weight: 72 lbs • Site: HHA • Rest: Trophy Taker fall away • Stabilizer: Doinker • Silencers: String leaches •
Arrows: Carbon Express • Broadheads: Thunderhead • Quiver: Hoyt 6 arrow two-piece • Binoculars: Swarovski •
Range fi nder: Bushnell Legend Pro • Footwear: Merrill Goretex • Pack: Badlands Monster fanny