Idaho Deer Hunter Magazine Fall 2012, Issue #2 | Page 22

When we arrived the deer were not in the fields we had been seeing them in . So we split up and began to look in other areas nearby . My buddy went to a different area thinking they might be hanging out somewhere different due to the pressure we put on them a few nights earlier . Sure enough , my buddy spotted a few bucks and thought he may have located the buck I had missed . I quickly drove over to where he was and got the spotting scope out to take a look . Once I had the buck in the scope I was pretty sure it was the same buck .
With only 30 minutes of light left before shooting hours were over I made my plans and began the stock . I followed a fence line out to where the buck was laying in the corner of a field . As I approached , a couple of does spotted me moving closer to my target . They got nervous and began trotting across the field alerting all the other deer . I quickly made the decision to jump out and get the buck in my scope . I stepped out into the field he was laying in and saw him standing up staring right at me . I settled my cross hairs on him once again , but this time I decided to wait for a broadside shot . He finally turned and started to walk away as I squeezed the trigger . The shot rang out , but the buck didn ' t go down . He flinched , but I don ' t think I hit him . I chambered another round as the buck slowly turned the other direction and started walking away again . This time I took my time and settled in right behind his shoulder . I squeezed the trigger again and the buck hit the ground . I did it ! I shot the buck I had missed just days before . As I walked up to him I could not believe how big the buck really was ! We knew he was a good buck , but there was no ground shrinkage on this guy ! In fact , it was quite the opposite . He got bigger the closer I got . He was a big 3X3 with eye guards ! He ended up taping out at 27 " wide and grossed 165 " with 35 " of mass ! An awesome buck for sure ! To say the least , I was extremely happy that I stuck it out .
Thanks to my good friends for getting me on this buck and helping me fill my tag in 2012 !
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