Sometime Thursday afternoon we realized that we were going to be stuck with a stinky wind for practically the entire time we were going to be in Kansas – SE. Not only did that mean warm afternoons, it meant some of our best spots were going to be unhuntable.
By early afternoon we decided to chase this buck for the evening.
We thought he was hanging out in a 30-40 acre patch of thick brush and then walking one of two funnels towards a food plot (where he has his picture taken above) and a giant bean field you’ll see in a second. Dad sat on the corner of the food plot and I sat at the corner of the bean field.
There was a dry (almost) creek running directly below where I hung my climber with a nice little waterhole that was pock-marked with tracks.
Plenty of clear lanes back into the hardwood funnel.
Another sexy bean field corner over my back.
And the grand daddy bean field itself. Not sure how many acres, but BIG!
Isn’t it funny how you can get set up with confidence oozing thick and juicy and the deer absolutely laugh when you think you’ve got it figured out? That’s exactly what happened to me. Actually the deer didn’t even come by to laugh at me, just 2 possums. That’s all I saw – I was floored.
Dad on the other hand…drum roll please…only saw 1 stinkin’ deer…(disappointing sigh)
BUT, it was the right deer. After a couple minutes of playing cat and mouse, standing up and sitting back down and standing back up and sitting back down trying to get a shot. He got an opportunity, took the shot, and drilled him!
A little bit back, but dead center up and down and right in behind the last rib on a quartering away angle. We decided to play it ultra-safe and wait until morning.
Fast forward 10 hours, a very sleepless night for dad, and 100 yards of blood trailing.
We found a great photography background of an English ivy covered tree trunk and old rusty barbed wire fence and post to conduct the photo shoot.
Scores of pictures, plenty of high fiving and hugs, soaking in the moment, does it get any better?
Dad’s best buck ever with any weapon. 11 pointer with split G2. If his left brow tine and right G4 had matched, the buck would have been a solid 140. 3 year old Kansas buck weighing at about 235 pounds. We are just simply not used to looking at deer that large in the Southeast. What a pig – and he was just an average body-sized buck for out there.
Day #1 was complete and dad put the smackdown on the very first buck he lays eyes on in Kansas. Sometimes they just read the script.
Congrats dad! We could have ended the hunt right then and there and the trip would have been a huge success. What memories!
Aaaah, but there are 4 days left. Stay tuned!
