We leave the house @ 4 AM Friday and hit the unit in the afternoon. Driving roads and glassing until its too dark. We finally spot the buck in the video with 90mins of light left. Back at camp I look at pictures of him and 1 other buck who I actually thought was bigger, however the proof was there on my phone that he was the one I should chase. There was bad news though as there was a lot of pressure around where he was. We decide to go for him anyways.
Alarm rings @ 4:25 opening morning. We drive out and park 1000 yards from where we last saw him. As the sun rises and the day progresses we start seeing other bucks/does but not him. Then, he just appears again with his herd which was reduced in 1/2 over night. He is running off challengers left and right as we try to approach and get within range. This goes on for 2 hours playing cat and mouse moving and not wanting to spook them or risk a longer shot in the wind.
As they moved into a bit of a dip a nice buck appears behind us. Perfect, we're right in between him and a challenger while only 200 yards from his does. My dad is trying to get me to shoot that new buck but I passed. About 5mins later the target buck comes back over the ridge from running off a different buck. Something about us does not look right but we are sitting still and have some bits of taller brush around us. Sure enough, he starts closing the distance ready to fight. I can see his head/neck and have the rifle on him. 2 more steps and I have a perfect frontal shot with a tripod on front rest and packframe in the rear. WHOMP! He is down and we start celebrating. Fantastic buck and a fun hunt.