Disappointing Day.....Well, not really.....lol

[ilovesprig]

Didn't get a single dove or quail.....But, Jacob & I got limits of roosters and Stefanie shot the old "Hat rack" buck, I've watched for years (5)......

The pheasant hunt was of the "Adult Easter Egg Type" (Heritage fields).....Although, these guys flew great and were quite challenging in the mud.....

Got up to Santa Ysabel and met up with Stefanie......She's had high hopes, but every time she's gone, it's been no bucks.....This time was different.....At about 3:00 pm, a really nice 3x2 comes down the hill with about 6 does & 2 spikes.....The problem was, he just wouldn't clear the oak thickets and never offered her a shot.....He kept chasing the spikes off and one doe headed back up and he followed her.....Never saw him again.....For the next hour and a half it was pretty dead (well except for the 12 longbeards that came by....

)......Then at shoot time the woods came alive with deer.....1st buck was a spike, then a forky, then a bigger forky.....I'm watching those when Jacob says, there's "Hat Rack".....Sure enough....He starts chasing a doe and is at about 105 yds.....Not much of a shot, but it was 10 minutes after sundown and getting dark.....Told her, take him if your angle is OK.....It was....The little .243 barked and he went about 10 yds & flopped.....

Great day with my favorite hunting partners.......

.

 

[TRICER]

Wow. There is already so much winning I think we are gonna start getting tired of winning. The guy has only been president elect for 5 days and it seems like everyone is just winning.

Congrats to all of you great day with the family. Great buck Stefanie. Planted birds are better than sitting on the couch. Always fun to see one of those roosters take off planted or not.

 

[ilovesprig]

Drew,

We actually worked our ass off for the 1st two birds.......Field was super muddy and Jacob doubled on them into the worst mud......Fortunately, there was a friend near by with his dog to find them (Trigger was left at home because of deer hunting).

Still can't believe we couldn't find any dove or quail......lol

 

[NBK]

Well done Steve. Is the shotgun a Smith & Wesson 1000?

 

[The Deer Guy]

Trig,
Sounds like an awesome day! Glad to see someone finally got that buck before he started to regress.

 

[SurfNHuntSD]

Congrats.. cool buck for sure.

 

[Kellendv]

Can't beat a day like that.

 

[ilovesprig]

Well done Steve. Is the shotgun a Smith & Wesson 1000?

John,

It's a Remington 11-48......I've looked for a 16 gauge auto for a long time......Finally found one......And like all older Remingtons, it has the low comb and points/shoots straight down the barrel......

 

[Muledeerhunter]

Nice, congrats.

 

[TRICER]

Drew,

We actually worked our ass off for the 1st two birds.......Field was super muddy and Jacob doubled on them into the worst mud......Fortunately, there was a friend near by with his dog to find them (Trigger was left at home because of deer hunting).

Still can't believe we couldn't find any dove or quail......lol

Just left the valley it was rough for dove just were not flying. I have some incredible spots and they just were not flying.

 

[ilovesprig]

Trig,
Sounds like an awesome day! Glad to see someone finally got that buck before he started to regress.

I've always been of the opinion that once a buck got to a certain age, he did not grow more points.....This old guy proved me wrong......Because of his unique antlers, I was able to follow his growth thru the years.....He has always been a forky till this year. When he added a 3rd point on his left side.

.

 

[NBK]

John,

It's a Remington 11-48......I've looked for a 16 gauge auto for a long time......Finally found one......And like all older Remingtons, it has the low comb and points/shoots straight down the barrel......

Nice little rig. I should have known it was a Rem. The S&W receivers are aluminum.

 

[ilovesprig]

John,

As your probably aware, the 11-48 has the barrel that moves like the Browning Humpy......It's solid as a rock......Now, if I can just find some 16 shells that don't break the bank......lol

ps.....When I got the gun, they threw in some steel loads.....That's what I used yesterday.....Killed 'em pretty dead.

 

[NBK]

16 Ga. rocks. It is proof that Americans are dumb! I have two...

 

[ilovesprig]

John,

In my grandpa's era, they were very popular......He had 2......Rem 870 & a very cool Fox Model B.....When he passed, my uncles got them......

 

[Prime]

Those are great pictures showing his growth over the years.

 

[Sigalert2012]

Great job Steve! Love the pics.

 

[Irvine]

Nice Steve,
I have only been out for deer once because of our remodel. An evening hunt. Hope to call in sick this week and get out maybe Thursday.

 

[ilovesprig]

Brian,

They're in full rut.....Your timing should be good.....We killed 5 bucks this week and all stunk like no other.....Probably saw 20 bucks in different places, including public.....In fact on Thursday, at 1:15 pm, I saw 6 bucks chasing does on MCC, all in one spot.....Yesterday, with the full moon, everybody was late (4:30 pm).

Good luck

 

[Vermonster]

Wow, congrats across the board!!!