Due to the lay of the land and proximity to the field, we decided to give this spot a rest for a couple of days and I’d dink and dunk around it while dad played guide and spotter for a couple of days.
Dad had spotted a very mature deer leaving the other end of the ranch at dusk one evening and thought I should have a look at him if we could find him. We’d not have a decent wind to get back to the other spot for a few days anyway so we gave it a go.
Dad would accompany me on a few of these hunts and we found the buck in the binoculars early one morning as he crossed a hay field. I couldn’t verify the headgear as he walked straight away but know he was mature in every way possible – still, he wasn’t one of the two bucks I had my mind set on. I know pops was cursing me under his breath but I applaud his patience with me.
We did a bit of rattling in out-of-the-way places and looked at some 2.5 and 3.5 y/o bucks but anything larger was not to be found.
With a day or two of south winds, warmer weather and nearly a week of season left to go, I figured it was best to start filling some doe tags. Dad had been seeing a large group of yearlings on his patrol so we found a morning ambush site and made short work of three of the tags in about 20 minutes – with a bonus yote sandwiched in between does #2 and #3.
6mm Creedmoor – bullets 103 ELDX.
All dropped on the spot but post mortem when cutting the deer up revealed some awfully big messes despite no large entrance/exits. (all 150ish - 200 yard shots)
Several more days of hunting turned up nothing but 2.5 y/o bucks but the winds and cooler weather were about to provide the much-needed break I’d need. With the season now officially one week old, alas, a NE would wind that’d allow for an early AM sneak to the timber and a perfect pinch between pasture and river. The strong wind in south central KS that we’ve come to curse was soon to be my best friend.
There were a lot of deer using this area either to bed or using as a travel corridor to bed in close proximity. I left a full 40 minutes earlier than normal so my approach to the spot I wanted to stand would be a silent one – strongly aided by a 20mph wind. I quietly snipped some branches in the dark so I could snug up to a large cottonwood with a blowdown next to it.
I knew deer wouldn’t begin appearing back in this area until 9 or so and like clockwork, the first does and young bucks began showing up around that time. A young buck began to saunter dangerously close to my locale and I worried he’d blow the whole morning for me. Luckily I wasn’t noticed as he moved back into the timber but as he did, I began noticing antlers moving below this buck in a blowdown. Even at a mere 50 yards, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was staring at. I soon figured out it was a bedded buck but couldn’t make out what he was. As the younger buck discovered the bedded deer, he moved closer to him and the bedded deer stood– holy szchit – it’s “stickers”.
I’d been searching all over hell for this buck for a solid week, and I’d now been standing a mere 50 yards from him for the better part of 3 hours. I wasn’t worried about him seeing me through all the brush he was standing in but I was terrified the young buck would notice me as the sunlight now over the trees began illuminating everything – including me.
5 minutes passed as he stood in the same spot he’d risen when he finally, with seemingly a great deal of effort, took a step to the west, soon after another labored step. I assume he’d gotten his butt whooped in the last day or two – just one more step and I’d be easing his pain. He took the step I needed and he fell at the rifle’s report.
6.5 Creedmoor / 130 AB
“Stickers” has some history dating back to just after the first year I’d hunted the ranch. I made a mid-February trip to the ranch to possibly find some sheds and thin the coyote population. In the process, I found this shed and figured him (with reasonable spread and symmetry) for low 150’s 4.5 y/o:
Fast forward to the next rifle season and danged if I didn’t see the buck I’d found the shed from a single day before the season as he followed a doe in the brush. Just a bigger, better version than the previous year’s shed. I really wanted BobinNH to get a crack at that buck but south winds made that a difficult feat. We tried that general area a couple of times with Bob when the winds turned but the buck never showed, and Bob filled his tag on another part of the ranch. Later in the season, I actually found the buck from the other side of the river when a different buck’s appearance surprised me and I ended up with that buck instead.
Link here:https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/10765452/Re:_Kansas_adventure_-_2015
The buck was nowhere to be found two years ago and I assumed he’d found greener pastures or perhaps didn’t make it for some reason. Last year, I was elated to see him – even with no tag in hand. He’d grown in mass/width and his stickers more pronounced – a true man among boys on the field.
This year, it was obvious the buck had seriously declined – both in spread/mass, loss of muscle - spine protruding. Etc. but there’s no doubt it’s him.
There’s every reason to believe this buck is 8.5 y/o and while his score may be a disappointment to some, to me, he’s one of the coolest deer I’ve ever taken and I’m grateful he’ll share my home for years to come and not enjoyed by coyotes this coming winter.