One look was all it took. I knew the deer and was blown away at how big he got in just two years. I quickly grabbed my camera and told Dusty to take as many pictures and video as he could because I am probably going to screw up this stalk.
On my way down the hill I looked up at the sun and realized I only had two hours of daylight left. I had to make a half mile circle around the buck to get the wind right. When I got to where I could see Dusty up on the rim I stopped to take my boots off and glass. I was much closer to the deer than I thought. As I snuck up the draw I finally caught a glimpse of the giant buck feeding straight away from me with his right antler bobbing back and forth showing off 9 super heavy points. I was only 86 yards from him and he didn’ t have a clue I was there. I snuck closer and closer.
At 50 yards I got myself ready for a broadside shot. Just then I caught some movement to the right. There was a mountain lion sneaking up on the buck I was going to shoot! You have got to be kidding me! The buck of my dreams in bow range and a lion is going to run him off???!!!
A lot of scenarios were running through mind at this point. Do I shoot the lion? Do I shoot the buck? Before I could act on either, the lion jumped on the buck. They rolled around for about 5 or 6 seconds but the big bodied buck was able to get away dragging the lion by his hind quarters. The buck pulled away but the lion was hot on his heels. They were running right at me! At 30 yards I drew my bow. I think the lion saw me at this point and stopped dead in his tracks. The buck on the other hand didn’ t and ran full speed right at me. I held my ground at full draw and watched as he got closer. Just when I thought he was going to run me over, the buck jumped right over the top of me and landed about 5 yards on the other side of me. I quickly spun around put my pin on him and shot him. Knowing there was a lion behind me I quickly turned around and got another arrow ready. He was nowhere to be found.
At this point I didn’ t care about the lion anymore. When I shot the buck he was quartering away hard and I was sure I shot him in the liver hoping I caught a lung on the opposite side. I followed the blood trail for about 60 yards and decided I better give the buck some time. I tagged the tree with the last sign of blood and headed back to meet up with Dusty.
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