One of the goals we've been discussing here is better 'buck management' on our farms. Due to several factors (one of which is I'm getting older and don't spend as much time out poking around) it seems we've allowed several 'under achiever' bucks to live here. This is further enabled by MDC's 'four point rule' (four points on at least one side of the rack) which ensures those under achievers a free pass. I decided that if I failed to tag a big buck within the first few days of rifle season, I would use my buck tag to remove one of these inferior bucks. Uncooperative weather and work schedules prevented much success for us but I've been trying to put meat in the freezer while watching for one of those 'cull bucks'.
A couple of Geezer Goofs and muffed shots let the lucky ones walk away but last evening, I got it right. With about 30 minutes of shooting time left, I was watching a secluded soybean field when a deer walked out at about 100 yards. At first, I thought it was just another large dry doe but a look through bino's showed tiny stubs of antler. First thought was an antlered doe but the body language didn't agree. Logic said either way it's a good sized meat deer so I waited for a perfect broadside and sent a Hornady 123 grain SST from the Ruger Rancher 6.5 Grendel through the ribcage. Deer ran 50 yards into some heavy timber and toppled over. As I approached, I realized that this was a really big bodied deer--much bigger than originally thought. The 'antlers' were basically what one would see on a 'button buck' but the body and teeth indicated more likely 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 years old. The 'boy parts' were intact and developed for this age buck, also. The deer was heavy enough that I couldn't drag it out by hand so I had to crawl the UTV out through some nasty stuff and use all the winch cable to drag him into the open.
Somewhat of a freak of nature that I've not encountered before. Anyhoo, he's headed for the meat cutter this morning. This makes 3 for the freezer so maybe one more and the rest will be donated to Share the Harvest.
FWIW, my rifle has been feeding my family for 50 years and lately, I'm feeding ?? other families also.
A couple of Geezer Goofs and muffed shots let the lucky ones walk away but last evening, I got it right. With about 30 minutes of shooting time left, I was watching a secluded soybean field when a deer walked out at about 100 yards. At first, I thought it was just another large dry doe but a look through bino's showed tiny stubs of antler. First thought was an antlered doe but the body language didn't agree. Logic said either way it's a good sized meat deer so I waited for a perfect broadside and sent a Hornady 123 grain SST from the Ruger Rancher 6.5 Grendel through the ribcage. Deer ran 50 yards into some heavy timber and toppled over. As I approached, I realized that this was a really big bodied deer--much bigger than originally thought. The 'antlers' were basically what one would see on a 'button buck' but the body and teeth indicated more likely 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 years old. The 'boy parts' were intact and developed for this age buck, also. The deer was heavy enough that I couldn't drag it out by hand so I had to crawl the UTV out through some nasty stuff and use all the winch cable to drag him into the open.
Somewhat of a freak of nature that I've not encountered before. Anyhoo, he's headed for the meat cutter this morning. This makes 3 for the freezer so maybe one more and the rest will be donated to Share the Harvest.
FWIW, my rifle has been feeding my family for 50 years and lately, I'm feeding ?? other families also.
