I've seen small spike, 4pt and 6pt bucks every day since Saturday. Since I tagged a 6pt with my Micro as my archery season ended, I've raised the bar so only something bigger will do. Yesterday morning I spotted a spike early. Around 8am he wandered through again. About 8:30am I saw something bigger passing through a thicket to my right, but could never make out what it was. Shortly after I could hear an occasional grunt coming from across the ravine about 150 yards in front of me. Whenever the wind would die down, I would let out a few grunts on my Wabi special to try to entice whatever was over there to come my way. Every ten minutes or so I would alternate between a buck grunt and a few doe bleats.
Just before 9:30am I caught movement to my left front slipping along the edge of the ridge weaving in and out of the thicket. I immediately saw antlers with the naked eye about 100 yards out. I didn't really focus on the antlers to see how big he was. I just knew he was a shooter from being able to see bone that far off through the thickness. As he was slipping closer along the ridgeline that passes about 60 yards to my front, I kept following him in the scope waiting for a clear shot. After following him for more than 20 yards, he finally stepped into a small gap between saplings. I settled the crosshairs behind the shoulder and let the CVA Optima v2 do its job. After the shot, the buck ran about 20 yards and stopped directly in front of my stand about 50 yards away and stood there for at least 15 seconds acting as if it wasn't hit. Suddenly he turned around to retreat and I could tell at that moment he was hit because he stumbled slightly. He proceeded to run about 25 yards getting lower with each step as he piled up within sight. Only when he fell did I notice the width and mass of his antlers.
After a good five minutes of shaking from a combination of adrenaline and the cold, I was finally able to reload and climb down and make my way over to him. The closer I got, the bigger he got. What he lacked in tine length he more than made up for with mass and palmation on both main beams. This is the first time I have seen this 10pt, so he must have just been up cruising for doe.
Getting this bruiser up the ridge and down the mountain while preserving the cape proved to be a challenge for one person. Getting him loaded into my Jeep by myself was about all I could handle. I'll be feeling this buck in my back for the next week.
Be careful with your prayers. You may get exactly what you asked for.DuckHunt
