I climbed into that stand we had called "sniper stand" on our map back at the cabin. I have since renamed the stand "oh $hit!"
It's in a tamarack swamp that has been growing & uprooting tamarack for thousands of years so the whole thing is a crater field with tall dry grass that lays over & hides the craters like pit traps. Plus it's recently been logged so along with the natural nastiness there are stumps & logs that add to the treachery. I think I told Ryan in a txt message from the stand that I was renaming it the "oh $hit" stand because of what you would have to go through to get a deer out of there.
Anyways, I'm facing south on the north edge of this tamarack cut with Ryans stand spot a 1/4 mile to the east of me. It's around 4:30 when I hear this deer blowing over by Ryan's spot. She'd blow about 5 times then stop. I know she didn't wind me or see me so it must have been something else that had her upset. She kept on like that so I decided to get on the grunt tube a little. I gave a few grunts & she stopped blowing. Well I think she worked through that cedar woods on the north side of that cut all the way across from Ryan's stand to mine to find this buck. (me )
She came out behind me, she never came out of the cedars but she was just working the edge & watching out into the cut. I was turned around to my left as far as I could twist & I still couldn't shoulder the rifle to get on her. I had to anchor the 264 against my bicep & really reach with my neck to get a sideways peep through the scope. I made her out in the scope & I could barely reach the trigger with my fingertip. The rifle & scope were canted, it was just goofy. When I made her with the scope she was looking right at me so I was going to have to make a shot work without moving any more. There was just enough shoulder clearing a big tree to where I could burn one in tight to that tree & still get a good shoulder hit.
I touched it off, I can tell you the morning after that the .264 is best fired from the shoulder, not the bicep
It was a good clean take, pass through forward on both shoulders, busted stuff up pretty bad. I don't think she went 20 yds & she was done.
Cycled the bolt nice & slow, slipped the empty into my pocket & chambered another. Went to the spot I last saw movement with the scope & couldn't see anything. I waited a while then lowered my rifle on the string, climbed down & walked over to find her. She's a pretty good doe, I was happy to find her & for the first time ever I remembered that I had a pair of rubber gloves in my pocket. those gloves are great!! I did however forget to bring my sagen saw for the pelvis so I had to palm hammer my knife through the pelvis which ended up tearing the gloves on both palms but they still really kept ny fingers clean.
I took my belt off, leashed her up with a choker & started dragging across that horrible tamarack swamp. I got her to where I knew I could get to with an ATV then I left an orange stocking cap on a stick next to her so I could find her when I came back later.
I went back to the cabin & got bangflop's ATV & went in & got her, she's hangin nice & cool on the pole now. I can taste the backstraps already
