king' s outdoor world - Index

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

able to hunt the next evening as I had
to stay after school to turn in football
gear. This turned out to be an even
more frustrating day as we were
unable to go out to hunt and I just
kept thinking about the one that had
gotten away.
The next evening was
starting to look better as dad’s work
schedule was going to allow us to
get out and hunt that evening. Dad
called me and said he could pick
me up as I got off the bus. We could
quickly get geared up and head out
to hunt. Then, my luck changed
once again - and not for the better.
There were medical problems with
another student on the school bus.
This delayed me in getting home.
As I got off the bus and into dad’s
pickup, he stated that there would
only be an hour and a half left once
we drove over to our unit. His plan
was to drive out on the forest roads
and see what we could see.
As we returned home,
dad told me that his work schedule
would allow him to come home
early the next day. He would be able
to get me before the end of school so
we could start our hunt earlier. The
next day, Dad picked me up from
school around 2:00. We hurried
home, got ready and headed out
on the 35 minute drive to our unit.
Dad said that we were going back
into the “honey hole.” As we were
driving, Dad said he had a very good
feeling that we were going to get
one tonight. My stomach fi lled with
butterfl ies. I had the feeling that
Dad might have known something
that I didn’t or seen something on his
way home. I had a feeling that there
was a surprise waiting for me. He
told me that we were going to have
to move quickly and quietly up the
drainage. This time we were going
to go up the drainage where we had
jumped the buck three days ago. But
this time, we weren’t going to go up
any of the ridges to take a peek. We
would follow the drainage all the
way to the head where Dad believed
the bucks would be at the base of a
large stone wall. So, we made it to our
“honey hole” and quickly and quietly
maneuvered our way up the drainage
though the tangled mazes of burned
timber that littered the drainage up to
the base of the mountain. This was a
good three-mile hike. As we started to
top out at the head of the drainage, the
hillsides began to become more visible.
Dad paused for a moment and pulled
up his glasses to look ahead while we
still had the cover of the drainage. He
quietly whispered that there were two
young does up ahead. We snuck around
to their left and, as we did, the does
spotted us. We paused for a moment to
see what they were going to do. The
excitement was starting to build. We
were so close to them that it felt like we
had stepped into their bedroom. This
was the moment that we started to get
luck on our side. The does curiously
started walking to us, discovered that
we weren’t more deer, and quietly
trotted off. Dad’s plan was to go away
from the does towards a steep hillside
that had lush green vegetation on it. As
we turned to start towards the hillside,
dad stopped and looked ahead again. It
was then that my dad said, “Kyle, there
is a good buck looking at us.” As dad
continued looking through his glasses,
he told me that this was defi nitely a buck
that we should take. Dad was standing
next to a burnt tree and as he stepped
around it he told me to rest my gun
against the side of the burnt tree to
take the shot. As I got my fi rst look
at the buck through the scope, the
buck appeared to be just what dad
had said. He was facing us looking
in our direction with an intense stare.
As dad continued to look through
his glasses he said, “Kyle, I don’t
believe this buck is going to give us
a broadside shot. He will run away if
he does.” Dad instructed me to place
my crosshairs on the white patch on
his neck directly under his nose and
to squeeze the trigger. I steadied
my breathing, let out my breath and
squeezed the trigger - POW!! That
buck jumped a mile high as the shot
went off. As he turned in mid-air
and did the “old bulldozer,” as my
dad calls it, he collapsed out of sight.
Dad exclaimed, “You got him Kyle,
good job!” We hugged as Dad’s gut
feeling of me getting one tonight
came true. We gave the buck a little
bit of time (that seemed like hours)
before we went to fi nd him. I was so
excited, but I tried to collect myself.
The adrenaline was fl owing. Dad
told me to get another round ready
as we took off to go see the buck.
As we arrived at the spot where we
had last seen the buck standing,
The amazing rack is legendary and is the largest non-typical buck taken since 1987
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