The rest of the story

[Jersey Len]

My N.Y.S. WhiteTail HUNT  2014

Opening day of the New York State Buck season was Nov. 15, . The hunting conditions was just about as good as it gets.  I was hunting at a friends camp in Andes N.Y. as I have for the last 38 years . Which is located in the Catskill Mountains. Two inches of fresh snow had fallen the the night before , the wind was calm with tempertures in the twenties. The rut was in full swing.

Not being as young as I used to be after 55 years of hunting , I used my 450 Yamaha Grizzly 4x4 atv to get to my tree stand. The first thing I did upon arrival was to hang up three scent wicks soaked in Special Golden Estrus, on some near by scrub trees, it was about 6:oo am. and still quite dark out. I was situwaited in my tree stand at 6:10 am. ,visability improved quickly with the snow covered ground and just at about  sunrise I noticed some movement to my right , sure enough it was a deer coming out from the Hemlocks and behind a lot of brush. It did not take me very long to see it was a shooter buck with my naked eye, upon raising my scoped Remington

Model 7 , I confirmed it was a legal buck with at least 3 Points on one side . He now took few more steps and clearing a big tree , the first thing I saw was a good shot at his neck which was swollen , he was only 50 yards away from me at that point, the rest of his body was still hidden behind the tree and brush. I set the crosshairs of my scope just in front of his front shoulder and at the base of his neck and took the shot. He never knew what hit him , his front legs went up and he fell over backwards never taking another step, he was mine.

I hit him with a .308 cal. Hornady 150 grain bullet from their American Whitetail series. That bullet did an excellent job , it took out its lungs and never touched his heart or liver.  They made a great meal the next day sauted in bacon and onions. 

The buck turned out to be a 7 pointer and dressed out at 185 lbs. , making it the heavest whitetail buck I Ever shot.

I know I could have waited for him to walk out a little more and maybe taken him behind the shoulder, but  he also could have busted out of there at 40 miles an hour as I have had happen to me years before. I was not going

to chance that again. It was a great hunt

Edited November 19, 2014 by Jersey Len

[Fish Hunter]

185 lbs dressed weight is a big 'un.