The Perfect Ending
This year was one of those rare years where lady luck smiled upon me.
I resolved to hunt hard, long and often, and to pass on meat bucks in the faint hope of harvesting a good buck. All this despite having several years of failing to connect and going home with tag soup. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend several days in the field throughout November and I passed on numerous whitetails over the course of the season. As the season drew to a close I wondered whether I would regret not shooting one of the many "decent" whitetails that had passed by my blind. On the final day of the season it was cold, windy and nothing was moving. At noon I texted my buddies that in many ways this had been the best season ever, hunting frequently, seeing lots of deer, holding out and continuing the quest. The only way to improve on the season would be to finish it off with a bang on the last day. At 330 pm it was looking pretty bleak as I hadn't seen a hair since opening light. I decided to leave my blind for the last hour and enjoy the final moments of the season trying some still hunting instead of sitting. I slowly ambled along a ridge bordering a bog when I caught a glimpse of something flashing in the bog. Antlers! Sure enough a "decent" buck was walking out of some thick willows in the bog! Unfortunately he has seen me at the same time I saw him and he was onto me. He stared at me (from 400 yards) but didn't bolt, just stood there unsure as to what I was. I stood there frozen for what seemed like an eternity (probably only 5 minutes) when he heard something close to him and turned his gaze away. I took the opportunity to drop down out of sight and contemplated my next move, Based on the wind direction and ridge alignment I guessed (hoped) that he would circle around to my left and possibly offer me a shot. There was a small gap in the bog about 275 yds from me that he would walk through if I guessed correctly. I laid my pack on the ground, assumed a prone shooting position and waited. 15 minutes later his head entered my field of view, followed by shoulders and finally a full broadside. I aimed for just behind the front shoulder, took a deep breath and squeezed off. The familiar "kawump" echoing back told me it was a good hit. I walked down the ridge and found him laying there, dead in his tracks. The perfect ending to perfect season, hunt all year, see lots of deer, pass them up for more hunting and shut it down in the last hour. Maximum hunting! He wasn't my biggest buck by a long shot but he is an interesting one. Narrowish rack, not much mass but 6 points on one side and 7 on the other. Colour me happy.
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