king' s outdoor world - Index

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

move around the bucks, get ahead of
them to set up, and try to intercept
them in the timber.
Dennis and I made a large
loop and set up about 500 yards
inside the timber where we thought
the bucks would come through to bed
down. We were on high alert and sat
patiently for about an hour, but there
were no bucks to be seen. We got
up and brainstormed ideas of where
the bucks could have gone. As we
talked, we decided to still hunt very
slowly back to where we had seen
them last. Hopefully, we would be
able to fi nd them or where they were
bedded. We began taking a step and
then glassing for about fi ve minutes
through binoculars as to be sure not
to bump them out of their beds - it
was imperative to see them before
they saw us. Dennis and I started
moving out slowly and, for the next
45 minutes, we saw nothing.
Finally, we spotted a large
set of antlers sticking up above the
brush a good 200 yards out. The
buck was bedded down on the other
side of some brush and all we could
see were his large, velvet-covered
antlers. After looking at the depth of
his forks and his 30-inch plus spread,
we both agreed that this buck was the
one we were after. Dennis and I set up
and tried to spot the other two bucks.
We did not want to get busted by one of
the other bucks that were with this large
buck. After looking for another ten
minutes, we found the other two bucks.
They were bedded down about 30 yards
farther out and looking away from us.
Dennis told me to go ahead and make
a stalk over to the large buck and try to
get an arrow in him.
With the wind in my face, I got
a reference to where the buck was in
case I lost him during the stalk. I took
my boots off and proceeded to move
in. It was a clear day and the wind was
blowing hard enough to hide some of
my sound and movement. Timing my
movement with the wind gusts, I was
able to close the 200-yard gap down
to approximately 50 yards in an hour.
Both of the smaller bucks, which I had
made sure to keep out of sight, were still
bedded down and looking away. I now
had to move to be able to get a clear shot.
When you’re 50 yards from a 200-class
buck, it’s hard to make a step. With
Rob McKibbin holds the beautiful archery
typical mule deer that is now one of the top
archery bucks in the state with an offi cial
score of 192 4/8 net P&Y
every gust of wind, I would slide my
feet six inches or so. Finally, I got to
where I could see the buck’s vitals
and I was within shooting range at
36 yards. Unfortunately, the buck
was looking my way and I had to
wait for him to look away. I waited
for what seemed like an hour but was
probably only about two minutes.
The buck looked away to check
out something and I drew my Hoyt
Ultratec and put a Thunderhead right
into his armpit. The buck jumped
up, ran about 60 yards, stumbled,
and fell over dead. Not knowing
if he was down for good, I snuck
back to Dennis who had watched it
all in his binoculars. Dennis’ fi rst
comment was, “You just killed the
biggest deer I have ever seen.” We
sat there for another thirty minutes
to make sure he was down for good
before we approached him. While
Dennis hiked back to the truck to get
the camera, I thanked the good Lord
for this magnifi cent buck.
The big velvet buck was
offi cially scored after the sixty-day
drying period and, for a couple of
days, was the new Oregon State
Record. The buck scores 202 5/8
gross and 192 4/8 net P&Y.
February/March
47