Hunter: Leslie Burns
Points: 9 (5L, 4R)
County: Dade
Season: 2016-2017
Hunt Story
My dad and I were going hunting as we normally do on my days off, and we had been hunting this property for the last couple years. We knew there were some good bucks in the area, and I had a good feeling that morning because the fog had set in, and as the fog was rising I saw a 6-point buck. He was out in the shooting lane to the left of me around 250 yards long, and I watched him for a minute or so before this buck walked out into the shooting lane. I watched both of these bucks walk up the shooting lane grazing and watching their surroundings as they closed in on me. I was nervous but was trying not to let it get to me. I had texted my dad, who was up above me on the side of the mountain hunting and told him that there were two bucks under me. He told me to concentrate, so I watched them carefully. The 6-point acted more cautious than this buck. He acted like he was the dominant buck. As they closed in on me, I prepared myself to get the best shot possible. I was set up just waiting on the best shot, and the 6-point started acting like he knew something was out of the ordinary, like he might have smelled me. But he didn't spook this buck as they closed the distance within 15 yards of me. Then he showed me the best shot I could have gotten at him, so I took my safety off and picked me a spot out and I squeezed the trigger. The arrow hitting the buck sounded solid, and I knew I had hit him good. The fog was still there and could only see so far, and he ran straight down the shooting lane in front of me out of sight. But I knew he was hit solid so I wasn’t worried about him going too far. I texted my dad and told him I shot the buck. We sat there before we came out of our stands to make sure he had enough time to die and not be pressured. So after an hour and a half went by, I finally got down and went straight down the food plot in front of me. He had ran around 200 yards down the food plot, and when I saw his rack laying there on the ground I knew the hunt was over and that I had a buck to be proud of!
