I'm tired....

[Hardway]

Pulled into the trail head around 10:30 last night, was up and on the trail by 5 this morning. I've been chasing this buck (and 1 other that I know of) for the last couple years. Some of you may remember the trail cam photos I've had of him over the last few years. Anyways, after missing him with my bow last year I've been on a mission to tag him.....I zigged...he zagged but eventually he bedded down in the wrong spot. One shot from the kimber 308 and he was toast. Boned him out, loaded all the meat and the head and hit the trail. Not sure what my pack weighed but it felt like a 100lbs...Had a crappy 750ft descent through the boulders to hit the trail and then it was smooth sailing for the last 3 miles to the trail head. For the area I hunt this is a monster blacktail/muley cross.

You can definatley tell it came from the same gene pool as the buck I killed 3 years ago in the same area.....On the 3pt side they look like twins. For reference they are only an inch apart in width....

Good luck to all.

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

 

[eldorado]

Good looking buck Hardway.

Eldorado

 

[tylercreek2]

damn fine buck ,,,, must be a mistake that couldn't have came from calif LOL C and B tags for me not going for a couple of weeks yet ,,,, oldest daughters schedule maybe I'll live not sure ,,,, LOL

 

[dingo]

Awsome buck Hardway! Great story and photos. That buck you got three years ago was a monster. Looking forward to see if next years buck shares the same traits as the other two.

 

[sageadvice]

Hardway, Outstanding!! Very glad to hear that you put the dirt nap to that big bruiser that you've been after!

How far was the shot and how did your load do? (besides killing the deer).

Really, a neat feel good hunt story, Thanks and Congrats!!

Joey

 

[kilowatt]

Ryan...congrats on the hunt, very nice buck and great pics and story.

So now which hunt is next? Good luck on it or them. 7 more wake ups and I head to NV for my Deer hunt, hope that the foot/ankle hold up, been a lousy month for me.

Brian
http://i25.tinypic.com/fxbjgy.jpg[/IMG]

 

[BuckSnort]

Awesome Hardway, Congrats!

Disclaimer:
The poster does not take any responsibility for any hurt or bad feelings. Reading threads poses inherent risks. The poster would like to remind readers to make sure they have a functional sense of humor before they visit any discussion board.

 

[Hardway]

Thank you guys for the kind words. I guess Since there is so much season left I'll grab a d3-5 tag and try that. Have a friend with a ranch in Nevada City so I may give that a try. At the end of Oct I'm off to area 10 in Nev...should be a good one.

Joey, The shot was only about 80-100 yds. He heard me and stood up and started to take off. He stopped for just a milasecond and was quartered away. The bullet went in behind the ribs on the right side and I found a perfect mushroom under the hide on the left side just in front of the point of the shoulder. I figure it traveled damn near the length of the deer and destroyed everything in between. He did'nt go 50 feet. It was a 150gr Nosler Accubond getting pushed by 46.3 grs of Varget. Chicken Azz 308's.....The rock behind the deer was lucky I was'nt carrying a RUM.


"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

 

[Wiszard]

Photoshop....

Steve
Derkha derkha Muhammed jihad hakha sherpha sherpha abakhala- Gary of Team America World Police

 

[Model_70_Guy]

That's a dandy buck.. Congratulations.

 

[6x7]

Wheres this ranch at in nevada city thats my hood?IF you give me a street name I will be able to give you an idea what to expect there.I can tell you that in NC the buck you just shot would be a decent buck but you could expect bigger in a lot of places.

 

[hunt4130]

love that last pic! congrats!

 

[Hardway]

Not sure...its a friend of my FIL. 2000 acres and they say no one has hunted it in years. The owners son and my FIL work together and he invited us....says there are deer everywhere...we'll see.

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

 

[Paul_Crawford]

Nice buck. D-7? Looks like the high country above Wishon. pc

 

[Hardway]

>Nice buck. D-7? Looks like the
>high country above Wishon.
> pc

D6


"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

 

[BOHNTR]

Great looking CA buck Hardway....congratulations!

BOHNTR )))---------->

 

[Hardway]

Here are a few more pics.... When I shot the buck he was on top of a rock pile, at the shot he jumped out of sight. I was'nt worried... I knew the shot was good, I was more worried about what kind fo hell hole might be on the other side... when I got to the top this what I saw.....

Loaded up and ready to hit the trail.... Cant brag up my Kimber enough. Cant imagine carrying anything else, weighs nil and shoots lights out. That makes 6 BG animals....

Finally back at the pickup...

And the greatest reward of all. My wife taught her to run around the house screamin " Big Buck " " Big Buck" with her arms up in the air..... Hilarious, I think she'll be a hunter... Cant wait till she's kickin rocks and breakin twigs right behind me

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

 

[eelgrass]

Hardway, I do remember the trail cam pics. That's great you got him! Beautiful buck. It sounds like that spot will produce in the future too.

Eel

 

[BuckSnort]

Very Cool Hardway, Thanks for adding the extra photo's that was a hell of a pile up on the rocks I bet... Cute lil' girl..

Disclaimer:
The poster does not take any responsibility for any hurt or bad feelings. Reading threads poses inherent risks. The poster would like to remind readers to make sure they have a functional sense of humor before they visit any discussion board.

 

[sageadvice]

Cool Hardway, Yeah, looks like that Accubond really did it's job and love the looks of that Kimber! My plumbing Contractor hunting buddy up here bought one similar, at my suggestion, in 7mm-08 and it's so light it almost feels like a toy gun. He loves his too!

I used to hunt some up in that higher country around there years ago. A good 4x, any decent buck really, was very hard to come by.

Congrats Bud!

Joey

 

[eelgrass]

Hardway, when I first saw your trail cam photos (taken during the night) I thought "probably around Turlock Lake". Boy, was I wrong!

Eel

 

[nfh]

thats a cool picture of him laying after the shot

 

[trophyhunter]

Congrat's on a nice CA buck. Looks like all your effort paid off big time. Thanks for sharing your Pics

))))-------->

 

[downhill]

That's a good one, way to stick with it, congratulations.