My Finest Whitetail Buck to Date

[Highlander770]

On Friday November 25, 2016, we were out at first light watching a field that usually has some whitetail activity; nothing happening on this morning. We regrouped and decided we would go to another area, on public land, and try some rattling. I have never rattled before and didn’t know what to expect. It is now about 10 am; I picked a spot with an open field to my right and a slough bottom on my left. My partner set up in a spot about 400 to 500 yards away to watch another bush section. I sat down, leaned up against a tree, and waited for my partner to be settled. After about 5 minutes I started with a short grunt call; raked the grass and some small trees around me with some antlers. I proceeded to do a 2 to 3 minute rattling sequence. I set down the antlers to watch and wait. Within another 5 minutes I heard footsteps to my left, my heart racing. I looked over and there was a buck coming through the trees heading my way. He had his head up, looking for a fight. I raised my rifle and scoped his path. I could not get a good look at his rack, but after a long season of tactical errors and missed opportunities I was ready to fill my tag. As the buck approached, I followed him in my scope and I was going to let him clear the trees, but he suddenly stopped and looked my way. I panned my scope down his body and realized I had a perfect shooting lane at his ribs. He was quartering towards me so I squeezed the trigger; BANG!! He flinched, turned and ran away. A solid hit! I stood and listened, hearing the buck crash in the bush. At first, my partner did not realize I had fired a shot because the acoustics sounded like it came from a different location. He noticed I was getting up so he came over and I told him about the events that just happened. Still in a little shock as to how quick everything occurred, I soon realized that from the time I sat down till I shot was just a little more than 10 minutes. We waited for another 10 minutes and then decided to go and find him. I found his trail and the first blood. I knew he came out close to me, but as it turned out he was only 20 to 30 yards away. I followed his trail for only 50 or 60 yards before I found him.
I am now a firm believer in rattling and I will be trying it again next season!

[rottie]

Nice buck !! Congrats

[rcmc]

Way to go! Nothing more exciting than calling in wildlife..

[gtr]

Good looking deer.

[Scott N]

nice job

[wildwoods]

Hey that's a fine buck. Congrats.

[300magman]

Nothing wrong with that buck!

[K.J]

Nice deer and a great way to do it

[Scott N]

So what caliber / bullet weight / rifle did you shoot him with?

[58thecat]

You did it your way

[Highlander770]

Thanks for all the comments. I shoot a Ruger M77 30-06 with 150 gr bullet

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[blueice123]

Nice job

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[whitetail Junkie]

Nice....The picture with you and the nice buck says it all...well done!

[Bigwoodsman]

Nice deer! It's good to have some rattling confidence in your hip pocket too!

BW

[Xbolt7mm]

Nice buck! I can tell by your smile you think so to, congrats

[bb356]

Cool !!!

[alpineguy]

Good job on a decent whitetail. Thanks for posting

[ex811]

Congrats on an awesome buck and great Hunt.