Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting MT Youth Hunt 2022

...Continued

I didn't sleep well that night. I was kicking myself for messing up but also thinking about the best play to try to find the big buck again. The rules are very different for hunting a specific buck versus simply hunting bucks. We were lucky in that the buck had ran off the bench he was feeding on and down into the creek bottom where he would stay on our permission. We had one more day to hunt and we wanted to make the most of it.



The decision was made to be at a glassing spot near the creek bottom at first light to see if we could catch any movement up or down between the hayfield on the bench and the cover in the creek bottom.

We were in a good position and were looking at deer from the moment it was light enough to see but we never saw the big one.



These are prairie deer and there was a very good chance he had made it back to the feeding area in the dark and simply found a grassy swale in the prairie to spend the rest of the day. I didn't want to risk bumping him so we decided to spend the middle of the day on a different section of the ranch where we might catch a deer passing through.

That plan worked and we did manage to lay eyes on a few deer but nothing that got Trevin even remotely excited. He was getting pretty bored and I was lucky enough to find a knowl with some cell coverage so we watched a little youtube before it was time to start the evening hunt.

I wanted to repeat our morning and focus on catching deer moving from the creek to the field. If we didn't see the bigger buck within the last hour we would drive up to the bench and sneak out to the field in hopes he had bedded somewhere else and was up and feeding.

Our timing was good and we were once again watching deer constantly. Mostly does and fawns and a few smaller bucks. When it felt like our daylight budget was about spent we made the move up to the upper fields. We were cresting out to an area I had planned to park the truck when we noticed some deer in a small coulee right in front of us. I noticed two nice bucks bedded. "I think that is our buck!", I blurted out and immediately backed up the truck so we could make a move.

I grabbed Trevin's little .243 and told him to get out and get out QUICKLY! He did as instructed and told me to put a bullet in the gun!

Thanks son.

The bucks had moved but were still on our permission about 150 yards away. I setup the bipod and told Trevin to hold on him and shoot when he felt good. The buck was quartering hard away and looking right back at us. I knew that he was not "The" buck, not even close to the same caliber, but he was most definitely in the "damn-fine" class.

Trevin did not hesitate.

At the crack, the buck immediately dropped and rolled ten feet down the hill; his neck broken when the 85 TSX pierced the crease in his neck. He kicked a bit and locked a front hoof into his antlers. Within a few seconds it was all over.

Trevin had made a fantastic shot under pressure and he was all smiles.



A few more pics for posterity and then we decided there was just enough light to fill Trevin's doe tag if there were any deer in the field on top of the bench.



We made a quick walk to the rise where we could just see the field. There were deer out in the field and we made a long belly crawl toward the closest doe. She was exiting the field into the grassy area where we were located. Everytime she would put her head down we would gain a few yards. When her head came up and we would stop. Rinse, repeat. Eventually we were within 150 yards but she was obscured by tall grass. She saw us and was concerned but wasn't sure exactly what we were. She got nervous and started trotting, her line of travel bringing her a few yards closer and in full view.

She stopped just shy of a barb wire fence and I didn't even have time to give the green light before..."Boom!!!"

The deer took the shot through both shoulders, flopped backwards and hardly twitched.

"Dad, did you see that? She flipped over backwards! I kept my eyes open. That felt reeeaaallyy good!"

He was visibly excited and enjoying the moment.



Almost 24 hours earlier, and less then 300 yards up the fenceline we were having a rough night after a tough loss. Tonight it was nothing but smiles as Trevin was able to make two fantastic shots and fill both his tags for the year. It was a huge confidence booster for him and a great evening to share with my two boys.

To be continued...