# December Buck-Walker County-Long Story



## Scotsman (Jan 16, 2008)

Sorry for posting this so long after this hunt happened, but here is a story.  I hope you enjoy it.

The first week of December, my 11 yr. old son, Harrison, shot at a 6 point buck that turned out to be much farther away than I thought. 320 yards.  It also turned out that he missed.  He'll get another chance--next year.

Then, a few days later, Matthew, my 14 yr. old son, shot at a doe with his .30-30.  She acted like nothing had happened, so he shot at her again and she walked off.  Clean misses on both shots...of course he was holding dead-on at 225 yards so I'm thinking the bullet never got there.

So, we started researching .30-30 loads and ballistics and went out and got some of those Hornady Leverevolution cartridges with the soft rubber tip and I went and sighted in his rifle with that 160 grain ammo. Three inches high at 100 yards. I did this on a Friday after I hunted in the morning.

Well, that morning, the temperature was 29 degrees and I saw 9 deer, but couldn't get a shot at any of them...I was looking for a fat doe.  Two little button bucks have been hanging around one of my stand locations for a couple of weeks now, and I saw them at about 25 yards, but they were safe with me.  

The next morning, December 8, we got to the lease well before first light, dressed lightly for the 70 degree foggy weather.  Matt and his friend, Warren, wanted to hunt a freshly plowed field along the creek.  The oats, clover and rye-grass that had been planted there were sprouting and looked nice and green, and there were plenty of fresh deer tracks so it sounded like a good choice.  They were going to set up in a ground blind.

I wanted to hunt what has turned out to be my favorite stand location for this season. Right on the RR tracks in the corner of a big hay field that has some good thick woods on one side and some light woods on another, and a funnel from one patch of woods to the other out front.  Directly behind the stand below the RR tracks is another field that is surrounded by woods and a creek on two sides, a brushy fence row on another, and the RR tracks at the end near where I was located.

As we were set up, Matt and Warren were only 300/400 yards from my location, but the stands were good and would not interfere with each other.

Around 8:30, I heard some loud grunts coming from behind me and turned to look and saw two bucks chasing a doe at top speed.  Man!  It was a sight.  In and out, up and down, all over that field and surrounding woods.  I watched this go on for 20 minutes.  They were running flat out, and grunting like a bunch of hogs.  The buck directly behind the doe was a rack buck, but I couldn't tell what he was, although I thought he was a tall 6-point.  The other buck was a spike that got separated from the other two after they went into the creek-side woods.

I called Matt on his cell phone and he said he could hear the grunts and wheezing and carrying on, but couldn't see the deer.  The spike continued to cruise the field back and forth for the next 15 minutes or so, at one time coming to within 40 yards of my stand. 

Anyway, after things had quieted down for about an hour, Matt called me and asked what I wanted them to do.  I told them to come down below me and set up on the ground in a big oak blow down so they could watch the field where all the chasing had been going on.  I stayed up in my stand and watched the field through my binoculars as they walked down and got set up just about 70 yards below me.  

After 20 minutes of nothing, I called Matt and told him I would get down out of my stand and do a slow walk down the fence line to the creek and back up through the woods along the creek to their location.  I thought those deer would be in the thick woods along the creek, but they weren't there.

As I got to where Matt and Warren were waiting, they stood up and walked out 10 yards to me where we stood and talked and laughed about the grunting we had heard and what I had seen; carrying on without any regard to how loud we were being, I mean the hunt was over....right?

As we were talking, Warren says, "Hey!  Look right there," and points to the fence row 150 yards to the left of our position.  On the other side of the fence, through the brush, we could see two deer running down toward the creek.  I was there only a few minutes before.

Matt says, "It's only those two silly button-heads."  He had some shooting sticks I had made from some hickory saplings and set them up and sat on the ground.  We were looking down toward the end of the fence-row and the creek when one of those deer came through the brush and out into our field, running toward the creek.  I bleated at it twice and it finally stopped when I whistled.  I put my crosshairs on its neck.

"Are you sure that's one of those button-heads?" I asked.  Matt said he wasn't certain and looked through his scope at the deer.  I put my gun down and started to lift my binoculars for a better look when I caught some movement to the left.  A buck came through the fence and was running toward the doe.  I said, "Matt.  It's a buck, shoot him!" I bleated at it and he stopped and looked our way.

The shot was immediate and it looked like an invisible battering ram slammed into that deer.  He staggered and tried to run with his leg out stiff and not touching the ground.  After 30 yards, he stopped, staggered, and keeled over.

We all turned and looked at each other like, "Holy smokes!  Can you believe what just happened?"

Matt asked me what I thought it was and I said it was probably a 4 pointer like he had shot last season, but as we walked to the deer I could see that it wasn't a 4 point.

The shot was 160 yards using a Marlin .30-30 scoped with a Burris 3X9 Fullfield II






It turned out to be a 10-point that had broken both G4’s.  A pretty good deer for our neck of the woods.





Here’s a few more of the crew.

























Those Hornady cartridges did a good job on that buck.  It was also a great hunt and I feel blessed to have been part of it.

Thanks,

Scott


----------



## marknga (Jan 17, 2008)

Great story and great pictures! I know that you were excited. Thanks for posting those pics.

Mark


----------



## kbotta (Jan 21, 2008)

Awesome! Won't forget that any time soon


----------



## MCG DAWG (Jan 22, 2008)

Nice buck for your boy.  Definitely one to be proud of.  

Now, just get him to quit taking 300 yd shots! ;-)


----------



## Scotsman (Jan 25, 2008)

MCG DAWG, are you Justin's brother-in-law?  If so, you have met my 300 yard shot son, out at a dove shoot earlier this year at the church field.  He's a fair 'dead-eye' with his SxS 20 gauge.

We went shooting last week at our lease and set some milk jugs(filled up with colored water) at various distances from 100 to 425 yards.  He nailed a 350 yard jug on his 2nd attempt with that .30-30.

My wife shot one time. Busted a jug at 225 with a .22-250......and said she had no more to prove...


thanks,
Scott


----------



## kickers (Jan 29, 2008)

great story & pics. keep hunting!!!


----------



## hunter nathan (Jan 29, 2008)

where at in walker co


----------



## Scotsman (Jan 30, 2008)

We lease some property off of Broomtown Road about 2 1/2 miles SE of the Bluebird Bus Plant.


----------



## MCG DAWG (Jan 30, 2008)

Scotsman,

Yeah that's me, JK's BIL.   Didn't know you were on here.  Hate that Triple S didn't have the dove shoot this year.  Going to shoot some quail with them this Friday actually.

Sounds like your son is quite a good shot, I've just never really thought anyone but the best shooters should be shooting shots over 300 yards.  Too many variables to be reasonably assured of always putting it right where you want it and possibly just wounding the animal.   Now, when he starts busting the milk jugs 9 times out of 10 at that range I'll shut the heck up, tell him I'm utterly amazed, and admit the youngster could outshoot me on his worst day!

Hope to see you before too long.  Doing a remodel on the house right now and depending on any left over funds may want to do some outdoor lighting if you're still in the business.


----------



## Scotsman (Jan 30, 2008)

Well, glad to know that's you.  And my bad, my forgetter keeps getting better...I could've swore that dove shoot was this year, but you're right, it was year before last.  

The old saying is true...time flies.

If you need some lighting, let me know.  Maybe we can hook up and chase some turkeys...plenty of 'em where we hunt.

Good luck with the quail.  Those are pretty good guys over there at Triple S.


All good,

Scott


----------



## MCG DAWG (Feb 2, 2008)

I hope all the turkeys don't disappear before now and March.  I saw more turkeys than deer in the woods I hunt this year.  In two different locations, one just 5 min's from the house, it seemed as if I had birds all over me.


----------

