I’m very grateful that things worked out the way they did. I spent a lot of time scouting this season and just wasn’t seeing the size of bucks that I wanted to shoot after putting in for 14 years. I knew that this unit wasn’t known for big bucks but I thought with enough scouting, hiking and time I could turn one up. Well, I did find one that got me excited only to find out it was killed on the archery hunt. I had been messaging with browningrage and he shared a location where he had seen a buck he called Goliath. I spent a lot of time trying to locate this buck with no success. I talked with an elk hunter in the area and he said there was a big buck killed in the area where Goliath had been seen. So I began scouting other areas, I saw quite a few mediocre bucks the week before the opener but nothing that got me excited! Fast forward to the week of the hunt.
I headed out by myself to set up camp and scout on Monday before my oldest son and a friend came down on Tuesday. The camping spot near where I had seen a few bucks and had planned on staying already had been taken, so I randomly found a spot that ended up being the only spot I had cell service. This was very helpful because I was able to let the wife know that I was still alive! ?. Monday night I decided to just hike just below my camp instead of driving all the way back to the other area. I only went about 1/2 mile and located a big wide buck, but he was a little weaker on his right side. So Tuesday morning decided to check some other areas and turned up a nice typical wide 4 point. I had a decision to make, go for the big typical or the wide buck with a cheater? I decided Tuesday night before the opener to see if the wide buck was still in the same spot, and send my son and buddy to check out a couple of other areas. After watching him again through the spotting scope Tuesday night I knew this was the deer I wanted! That night back at camp I watched the video again browningrage shared of Goliath, after reviewing his video and my pics I realized I had found him! Miracles happen!
Sorry guys, this is turning into a long story!?
Long story short everything worked out perfect Wednesday morning and after one shot at 160 yards he was down! I was super grateful to my son and buddy that were there with me, not only because they are much younger and stronger but because I hunt alone a lot and it was nice to share this awesome experience with them! I feel super blessed to have taken this old warrior, he was blind in one eye and looks to be an old deer!
I headed out by myself to set up camp and scout on Monday before my oldest son and a friend came down on Tuesday. The camping spot near where I had seen a few bucks and had planned on staying already had been taken, so I randomly found a spot that ended up being the only spot I had cell service. This was very helpful because I was able to let the wife know that I was still alive! ?. Monday night I decided to just hike just below my camp instead of driving all the way back to the other area. I only went about 1/2 mile and located a big wide buck, but he was a little weaker on his right side. So Tuesday morning decided to check some other areas and turned up a nice typical wide 4 point. I had a decision to make, go for the big typical or the wide buck with a cheater? I decided Tuesday night before the opener to see if the wide buck was still in the same spot, and send my son and buddy to check out a couple of other areas. After watching him again through the spotting scope Tuesday night I knew this was the deer I wanted! That night back at camp I watched the video again browningrage shared of Goliath, after reviewing his video and my pics I realized I had found him! Miracles happen!
Sorry guys, this is turning into a long story!?
Long story short everything worked out perfect Wednesday morning and after one shot at 160 yards he was down! I was super grateful to my son and buddy that were there with me, not only because they are much younger and stronger but because I hunt alone a lot and it was nice to share this awesome experience with them! I feel super blessed to have taken this old warrior, he was blind in one eye and looks to be an old deer!
