Quote:
Originally Posted by Chief RID
very nice buck! That 444 did the job. Now we need the details.
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Chief, the rut is on and I was watching a small 2x2 at 6:40 AM. He was very interested in something down the ridge from both him and me. He was acting like he wanted to go down but something was stopping him. By his actions I thought that it was another buck, probably bigger than him. I kept watching and checked all the trees and thickets with binoculars but could not see a thing. After 10 minutes this big boy stepped out from behind a 3 foot diameter oak tree. As he turned his head and I saw the width of his rack, I knew that I wanted him. I took a quick shot between the trees and he just dropped on his side and did not even twitch. He is the first buck that I shot with the 444 and I was impressed. He was quartering toward me and I shot though the point of his shoulder and it stopped under the skin of the lower offside ribs. I was using a factory lever revolution bullet. I looked back at the 2x2 and he was still standing 40 yards from me. In about 10 seconds he trotted down the ridge, jumped the fence next to the dead buck and then bred a doe 10 yards from the dead buck right in front of me. He was amazing and definitely had a one track mind. While I was standing next to my buck another spike buck came down the doe's trail with his nose to the ground following her. It was quite a morning for me. Too bad my other pictures did not turn out well.
Shawn, we do have a long season compared to you. It started with archery the first of October and ends at the end of January. It nice to be able to go so much and take your time and see many different deer though the season. We don't have the majestic scenery of the mountain states but we try to make up for it by a long and abundant season. Now we are limited to 3 bucks and 3 does and 2 extra does for primitive weapons(it used to be 10 deer a season). As you can imagine, we eat a lot of venison. There is no shortage of deer here.
The boys and I worked on the farm last Saturday and did not take lunch until 3:30. They had to leave at 4 so I told the wife that I was going to take a break and walk out back with my Marlin 444, then I would some back and finish the work. In 10 minutes this big guy came out of a thicket about 140 yards away. He right side was toward me and I saw a good rack on that side but did not see the left side well. I shot him behind the shoulder and got a double lung pass-through shot. He was knocked on to his side but quickly bounced back up and staggered for 10 yards before he fell for good. Wow, I am impressed with the power of the 444 and the accuracy. He was a 7x3. I saw the side with 7 points with a bladed forked brow tine before I shot but did not see the off side 3 points until I walked up to him. He would have been nice for next year.
Yesterday, John, one of my 15 year old twins wanted to go to my brother's farm so we took off at 4:30 AM. He got this nice 9 pointer. One shot, dropped in his tracks with a 300 Win mag at 125 yards. the pic shows a happy young man but does not show the proud dad. I am proud of him, not for killing a good buck, but because of the kind of young man he is. He is a great hunting partner. He is happier when I shoot one and I am happier when he shoots one. We have good time together.
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