A zone success

Hntndux · Sep 15, 2022

Well, I finally got to be "that" guy..you know the guy that gets to camp and goes out and gets one right away. My oldest was up a day early and said he had only seen a couple does. Once we got the tent up about 4pm I told the wife let's go down the hill from camp and check things out. Within 20 minutes I had a small bear at 80yds that wasn't sure what I was so he sat down on log and stared me down for a few before walking off. I told the wife he was too small and I really didn't feel like messing with a bear right at the moment. We hunted for a bit more and then headed back to camp, had dinner and then went back out about 6:30pm. Right at sunset I caught movement walking up the hill and a quick glance in the bino's showed me he was a decent buck. He saw me moving to get a clear shot and turned to look directly at me about 125yds away. I got the rifle up and forgot it was on 3x, but I felt steady enough and with the excitement pulled the trigger. I swore I saw him go down, but then saw a deer run up hill. I asked the wife "did I miss"? She couldn't see the deer from where I was and it was quickly getting dark...with no flashlight. Luckily we had enough service to text my son for assistance and I set off with my phone light to look. I got to the spot and didn't see anything and was now starting to doubt my shot. As I was deciding whether to wait for help or keep looking, I looked down at my feet and saw a drop of blood on a stick. Relief! I wondered how well he was hit, but the next blood told me it was a good hit since it looked like someone was splashing red paint out of a paint can. I found him about 60yd away and I had him cleaned just in time for my son and his girlfriend to help with the drag. It never gets old, I just wish neither did I!

Hntndux · Sep 15, 2022

Hntndux said:
Well, I finally got to be "that" guy..you know the guy that gets to camp and goes out and gets one right away. My oldest was up a day early and said he had only seen a couple does. Once we got the tent up about 4pm I told the wife let's go down the hill from camp and check things out. Within 20 minutes I had a small bear at 80yds that wasn't sure what I was so he sat down on log and stared me down for a few before walking off. I told the wife he was too small and I really didn't feel like messing with a bear right at the moment. We hunted for a bit more and then headed back to camp, had dinner and then went back out about 6:30pm. Right at sunset I caught movement walking up the hill and a quick glance in the bino's showed me he was a decent buck. He saw me moving to get a clear shot and turned to look directly at me about 125yds away. I got the rifle up and forgot it was on 3x, but I felt steady enough and with the excitement pulled the trigger. I swore I saw him go down, but then saw a deer run up hill. I asked the wife "did I miss"? She couldn't see the deer from where I was and it was quickly getting dark...with no flashlight. Luckily we had enough service to text my son for assistance and I set off with my phone light to look. I got to the spot and didn't see anything and was now starting to doubt my shot. As I was deciding whether to wait for help or keep looking, I looked down at my feet and saw a drop of blood on a stick. Relief! I wondered how well he was hit, but the next blood told me it was a good hit since it looked like someone was splashing red paint out of a paint can. I found him about 60yd away and I had him cleaned just in time for my son and his girlfriend to help with the drag. It never gets old, I just wish neither did I!