So I told you I was not in a discriminating state of mind with respect to my 2009 Missouri rifle tag. Regular readers will remember that I ate this tag last year after hunting more than half the days. It wasn’t a lack of opportunities; it was the two studs I saw early in the season. I held out hoping to get a shot at one of them, and it wasn’t to be.
So this year I knew it would be difficult for me to pass a decent buck. It might have been my saving grace that the first thing I saw as it became light enough to shoot was a decent buck. It would be too easy to shoot a 130 class 8 point in the first 5 minutes of the season. After all, I’d packed a lunch and thermos of coffee. I was prepared to sit all day and had cleared the first three days of the season off my calendar. Over the course of the morning I passed a slightly better 8 than the first, and a heavy 6 twice. Every buck I saw was either chasing a doe or looking for one to chase. From 10:30-12:00 I was preoccupied with the poachers. Around 12:30 I saw the heavy 6 yet again. As the afternoon started to heat up this deer came by:
Around the same time I saw a heavy 10 with a doe at the far end of the field I was watching. He was 600 yards away and appeared to be afraid of the half buck above. For the next couple of hours he would appear from the grass slightly closer, and then disappear again. Finally he gave me a chance at 320 yards. I hesitated, not sure of the shot, and he was gone again. With the fading light I figured my chance was gone. I watched the half buck, a spike, and various furry things fiddle around in front of me until it was almost time to pick up… then he was back. He was looking right at me at 125 yards. I didn’t hesitate this time:
Great mass, good length, character… I’m pleased… But now it’s back to work on the Kansas tag…
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