Hunter: Jimmy Laska
Points: 8 (4L, 4R)
County: Randolph
Season: 2019-2020
Hunt Story
My dear friend Glenn Hammes and I have gotten together for the last five years for the “Week of Rut Hunting Adventure”. I have practiced quality management since I purchased this small tract of land, and this year it’s really starting to pay off. This is the first year I have seen multiple 3 1/2 year olds and a couple in the 4 to 5 year old class on camera. Our quality management coupled with personal hunter restraint is starting to produce real trophies in our woods now. I had seen this buck several evenings before on camera and two days prior had seen him running a doe through a hardwood bottom. On our first evening hunt Friday, November 21, I was surprised at 4:45 PM to see a large doe appear at the feeder. I’ve known this doe for the last several years and called her Yella Legs, as her bright yellow colored legs stood out against her dark brown body. She normally had a yearling in toe and I noticed she was alone. Within a couple of minutes I noticed movement over in the hardwoods to the right. Thinking this was the yearling coming in slowly I never looked at it with my binoculars. Moments later I looked back where I had assumed the yearling was feeding and saw a large wide 8-point rack ease up out of the shrubs and look up my way. That old adrenaline rush kicked in and I started to shake! He quickly took a step backwards and disappeared behind the bush. My first thought was similar to hunts in the past, “He’s gone“. Surprisingly I saw that big rack ease out of the brush about 10 feet further down looking at ol' Yella Leg. Again, head snapped up looked up at my direction, took one step backwards and disappeared again. As they say, the third time‘s a charm. When he reappeared he was quartered away and to the left. Again, same scenario but this time he made the mistake of walking too far out past the brush. When he snapped his head up and looked back at me, I had a good quartering shot. I settled in, exhaled, squeezed the trigger on my Remington 700, 30-06 and sent a 150 grain Winchester Silvertip through his pump station. He peeled out running hard in a semi circle with his tail swishing down and disappeared back into the hardwoods. Solid hit! Ultimately he piled up 15 yards from the last place I saw him go in. Shot placement was perfect. He’s a true trophy in my neck of the piney woods. Couldn’t be prouder of this deer if it were a Booner!
