A a few years ago I was hunting an area in which I had killed several mature bucks in previous years. I had noticed a change in a couple of trips to that area. There were several young bucks in the area hanging with the does but as the main part of the rut got into full swing the young bucks vanished. There were 3 distinct groups of does and they altered their travel paths in the area. I started checking field edges and found some unfamiliar giant buck tracks that led to several ground scrapes. In the past I had learned that when the young bucks left , it was usually due to a mature buck moving in. I put a blind back about 30 yards into the woods and cleared a shooting lane to the field edge where I found the large tracks. SInce there was a bedding area to my left nearly 200 yards away that tons of does moved in and out of, I was better off staying away from them to keep from spooking them. The field went uphill in front of the bedding area before ending in a large wooded area. If the buck retraced his steps while headed to the woods I would have a shot. Mature bucks don’t get old by accident. They work the wind and rarely do they put themselves in a situation in which cover is not accessible. The only way to get a crack at this one was patients.
I returned to the blind 6 or 7 times in about 3 weeks. I saw a few young bucks but it was obvious that they were nervous. As long as I had plenty of does I considered them to be live decoys. One evening I was in that blind and just caught a glimpse of a large framed buck heading into the bedding area. I felt sure it was him. He flicked his head towards me for about a second. It was enough. I could tell that the rack was about 18” inside and was pretty tall. It might not be a record book deer but it was good enough for me. This glimpse also made me realize that the buck had changed his travel route. OUt from that bedding area was a strip of cedar trees about 200 yards long. Apparently one of the groups of does had started bedding down on the north side of the bedding area and were traveling that tree line. The buck must have picked up that one or two of the does was in estrus. If he was hanging out with that bunch I would have to rethink my setup. I repositioned the blind and set up a Trigger Stick Tripod with a Trifecta rest on it. I set things up for a shot that potentially could be close to 300 yards. I always carry an open sighted gun and scoped gun out together. This has worked well for me. If the deer came down the trail just inside the woods I would have a 20 to 30 yard shot. If he crossed the field it would be anywhere from 50 to 300 yards. This new set up would let me cover all of the bases.
The gun I started carrying every trip for the scoped option is an Encore in 260 Rem. It features a MGM full bull barrel with a 1:8 twist rate. I installed the forend with a Stratton hanger bar and Tony Gettle made a forend for it that fit like a glove. I did a trigger job on it and used one of Mike Bellm’s spring kits. The trigger breaks like a glass rod at less than 2 lbs. The load I worked up for it uses 140 grain Partitions just under 2500 fps. It consistently shoots sub MOA groups. I was ready and the gun was ready. I just need the buck to offer a shot. The next Saturday morning I was in the blind. It was pretty cold and I had a thermos of coffee to knock off the chill. The wind was blowing towards me constantly in that blind so I didn’t worry about the buck smelling the coffee. About 2 hours after day break I caught movement to my right coming up out of the back of the bedding area. I pulled up my binoculars and as soon as I got them pointed in the right direction I realized it was him. He was traveling behind cover but was heading towards an opening that would mean I had to reposition myself in the blind. As soon as I got in position he stepped into the open. A quick read from the rangefinder told me he was 107 yards in front of the blind. I settled the crosshairs on his aorta and squeezed the trigger. In an instant he was down. As soon as I realized he wasn’t moving I started getting a bit excited. I poured another cup of coffee. By this time the sunlight was bringing out the colors of the corn stubble and the rack was illuminated. It was a super dark chocolate color and very visible in the early morning light. I have killed a lot of mature bucks but it never gets old. I still get excited.
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