SDBugler
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I haven’t posted stories or pics for a while so thought I would catch up and post up some bucks from our past couple seasons here in SD.
In 2018 my family didn’t fare very well in the draws and I was the only one to pick up a tag for a mule deer here in SD. My middle son Spencer picked up a whitetail tag as a second choice in the same unit and was able to carry a rifle along on the hunt in case we bumped into a good one, although the area that we chase mule deer doesn’t have much for the whitetails. My youngest son Kyle hadn’t filled his archery tag so he had his bow along in case we found a good buck that I didn’t want to put my tag on.
We split up opening morning to cover more area but it was pretty slow. Spencer however, did get a glimpse of a pretty decent buck just as it was getting light enough to see but the buck was bird dogging some does and didn’t stick around long enough to get a good look at him. The afternoon wasn’t much better as the temps were warm and we were dealing with a full moon.
On day two we decided to see if we could locate the buck Spencer had seen the prior morning. Just before sunrise we found him with a doe on one of the open hillsides behind us. We watched him for an hour as he hung out with his doe at 400 yards away. My sons were telling me to take him but I had set my goals on 180+. The buck had some extra character points that made him tempting though. I passed on him in the hopes that we would be able to stalk in closer and Kyle in on the buck for a chance with his bow. The buck and doe eventually went up over the hill and that was our chance to close the distance to get in range for an archery shot but there ended up being more deer on the other side and the buck ended up chasing does and smaller bucks around in the thick stuff and we lost them. The afternoon of the second day was pretty slow.
Day three was the last day that Spencer and Kyle would be able to hunt with me as they had to go back to college. We decided to head back to the same area of the buck from day 2 as we were seeing decent numbers of does in that draw and hoped that the bucks would eventually filter in looking for a hot doe. Just before sunrise we located the buck from the previous morning and my sons tried to convince me that I should shoot him. The buck was staying in the draw so I told them we would watch him throughout the early morning and if we didn’t locate anything bigger, that I would go after him. A couple hours later we hadn’t seen anything bigger and the buck was feeding up the far side of the draw. I decided I would go after the buck since the boys were still there with me and able to be a part of the harvest (and also there to help with the pack out!!). We made a plan to get in closer. Spencer would stay back and watch the buck through the scope and provide hand signals if he moved while Kyle and I would sneak in for a stalk. The plan would be to sneak in as close as possible and try to get Kyle a shot with his bow but I would take him with the rifle if necessary. As we were getting about 200 yards away the wind switched and the buck got a sniff of us and started heading over the top of the ridge. I got prone on the bi-pod and took a shot just as he crested the ridge. It sounded like a hit but the buck never flinched or gave any indication of a hit. We waited for Spencer to gather his stuff and join us before heading over to where the buck was last seen. We didn’t find any blood but I was pretty positive of my shot even though it was rushed.. We decided to give him another half hour before following his tracks up over the top and see if we could find some blood or relocate him again. As we got up on top we located one small speck of blood just prior to his tracks dropping down into the next draw. Just as we peeked over into the bottom of the next adjacent draw the buck spotted us and got up about 300 yards away and started trotting away. I got down prone again Spencer got a quick range on him and yelled 345 yards. I put the cross hairs a few inches high and lead the buck slightly and my second shot dropped him in his tracks.
(looking down from where second shot was taken from)
In 2018 my family didn’t fare very well in the draws and I was the only one to pick up a tag for a mule deer here in SD. My middle son Spencer picked up a whitetail tag as a second choice in the same unit and was able to carry a rifle along on the hunt in case we bumped into a good one, although the area that we chase mule deer doesn’t have much for the whitetails. My youngest son Kyle hadn’t filled his archery tag so he had his bow along in case we found a good buck that I didn’t want to put my tag on.
We split up opening morning to cover more area but it was pretty slow. Spencer however, did get a glimpse of a pretty decent buck just as it was getting light enough to see but the buck was bird dogging some does and didn’t stick around long enough to get a good look at him. The afternoon wasn’t much better as the temps were warm and we were dealing with a full moon.
On day two we decided to see if we could locate the buck Spencer had seen the prior morning. Just before sunrise we found him with a doe on one of the open hillsides behind us. We watched him for an hour as he hung out with his doe at 400 yards away. My sons were telling me to take him but I had set my goals on 180+. The buck had some extra character points that made him tempting though. I passed on him in the hopes that we would be able to stalk in closer and Kyle in on the buck for a chance with his bow. The buck and doe eventually went up over the hill and that was our chance to close the distance to get in range for an archery shot but there ended up being more deer on the other side and the buck ended up chasing does and smaller bucks around in the thick stuff and we lost them. The afternoon of the second day was pretty slow.
Day three was the last day that Spencer and Kyle would be able to hunt with me as they had to go back to college. We decided to head back to the same area of the buck from day 2 as we were seeing decent numbers of does in that draw and hoped that the bucks would eventually filter in looking for a hot doe. Just before sunrise we located the buck from the previous morning and my sons tried to convince me that I should shoot him. The buck was staying in the draw so I told them we would watch him throughout the early morning and if we didn’t locate anything bigger, that I would go after him. A couple hours later we hadn’t seen anything bigger and the buck was feeding up the far side of the draw. I decided I would go after the buck since the boys were still there with me and able to be a part of the harvest (and also there to help with the pack out!!). We made a plan to get in closer. Spencer would stay back and watch the buck through the scope and provide hand signals if he moved while Kyle and I would sneak in for a stalk. The plan would be to sneak in as close as possible and try to get Kyle a shot with his bow but I would take him with the rifle if necessary. As we were getting about 200 yards away the wind switched and the buck got a sniff of us and started heading over the top of the ridge. I got prone on the bi-pod and took a shot just as he crested the ridge. It sounded like a hit but the buck never flinched or gave any indication of a hit. We waited for Spencer to gather his stuff and join us before heading over to where the buck was last seen. We didn’t find any blood but I was pretty positive of my shot even though it was rushed.. We decided to give him another half hour before following his tracks up over the top and see if we could find some blood or relocate him again. As we got up on top we located one small speck of blood just prior to his tracks dropping down into the next draw. Just as we peeked over into the bottom of the next adjacent draw the buck spotted us and got up about 300 yards away and started trotting away. I got down prone again Spencer got a quick range on him and yelled 345 yards. I put the cross hairs a few inches high and lead the buck slightly and my second shot dropped him in his tracks.
(looking down from where second shot was taken from)