2003-2004 Season

We started our 2003-4 hunting season with an afternoon dove hunt in early September with Marla's dad, brother, and cousins near Hempstead, TX.  Last year, they had had a fantastic day of shooting, with most everyone getting their limits.  Where last year was very dry, bringing lots of dove into the tanks on the place.  This year, it was pretty wet, and the birds were by-passing the ponds for the most part.  I was able to shoot 2 out of 5 birds I shot at, including one "lucky BB" shot on a white-wing at ridiculous heights, and Marla shot 1 mourning dove.

Once October came around, Marla, Cheyenne, Mom, Dad, and I all packed up to head to Bannister WMA east of Lufkin for some squirrel hunting.  Dad actually was mostly just sitting in the woods, because he ran off and forgot his 22!  I had also made the mistake of not checking the sight-in on my 22 WMR and couldn't figure out why I was missing so much (I later found that the base on my scope was loose).  Marla was really anxious to try out her new custom 17 HMR Contender from Bullberry. We had put a 3.8-12x44 Simmons Aetec scope on it, and it was a real tack-driver at the range. The first morning, the squirrels really weren't moving all that well, and the ones that were were feeding in really leafy beech trees, making getting a clear shot difficult. That evening, squirrels were moving even less, and neither of us got shots.

Sunday morning was about like Saturday morning. I quickly killed two squirrels, and then was unable to get any more shots. Marla & Dad sat in a spot that historically has proven to be very good for squirrels, and Marla scored a perfect 4 for 4 on her shooting.  She and Dad were actually passing the gun back and forth, and Dad failed to get shots because he tried to fire the Contender with the hammer-safety on.

Dad and I ran out to Goldmine Canyon in mid-October to fill feeders, etc.  We were excited to see that the high fence that had been put in on the north side of the property was compromised - a flood had washed out the fence where it crosses the canyon.  We also almost got stuck on the property - the Dry Devils River came was running wall to wall water in the canyon, and there was 75 yards of water across the road at Red Bluff Creek!  I barely made it through the creek (it was really a mistake to try to cross it, but I thought it was pretty shallow).  Unfortunately, however, neither of our feeder timers worked.  So instead of going back to East Texas to squirrel hunt in late October, Dad & I came back out later in the month.  I also decided to add a 3rd feeder in the 1st canyon at that time.

The first weekend of deer season, we decided to hunt the East Texas rut and we dropped Cheyenne off at Grandmas on our way to Bannister again.  Opening morning, I heard a deer, but didn't see it.  I did get a squirrel with my 17 HMR Contender pistol.  Dad joined us that afternoon.  We saw no deer in the afternoon.  Sunday morning, Marla saw two 4-points and Dad saw a doe.

The second weekend of deer season, Marla, Cheyenne, and I went out to Goldmine Canyon.  It was misty and wet all weekend, and Marla & Cheyenne sat in the box.  The first morning, I saw a doe and fawn, and stalked a band of sheep, missing a big Corsican ram with the 30-30 Contender pistol.  Marla & Cheyenne saw several small bucks coming to the feeder.  I sat the back canyon both Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.  Hiking back Sunday morning, I spotted a big ram, and executed an 800 yard stalk, circling around and above him, only to screw it all up at the end - misjudging where the sheep would be on the slope.  I missed the first shot at him, then hit him at 75 yards - way too far back.  I then missed the 3rd shot, and was out of bullets.  I had to finish him off with my 6.5x284.   Meanwhile, Marla & Cheyenne insured that we'd have deer meat this year, taking a nice doe.  Cheyenne wanted to count points, and Marla explained to her the difference between bucks and does.

The third weekend of deer season, I took off Thursday and Friday from work and went out to the Guadalupe Mts in New Mexico to hunt Mule Deer.  I had a great time hunting, but deer numbers were really down, and I saw 2 does on Thursday before the season opened, and then only saw 2 other deer (sex?) at last light on Saturday.  I did enjoy the wide open spaces, no fences, and mountain air.

The fourth weekend, we went back to Goldmine Canyon (all 3 of us).  I sat with Cheyenne in the box Saturday morning, while Marla sat in the tripod in the bowl.  I saw a few small bucks and does.  Shortly after sunrise, Marla spotted a big, wide-racked 7 point under the feeder.  She quickly determined that it was an older deer, and took it.  The buck was an 18 1/8" wide, was blind in its right eye, and was missing all or parts of 5 teeth, with the remainder very worn. The buck was at least 8 1/2 years old, maybe older.

She put 2 120gr Barnes XLC's out of her .260 Rem. through him. The first shot was a bit far back, but still got the lungs. When the deer didn't die fast enough to suit her, she shot him through the lungs again, clipping just a bit of meat on one shoulder. She said that the insides looked like they had been hit with a blender, but as far as the meat went, the wounds were "eat up to hole".

After the morning hunt, Marla & I carefully stalked back down the canyon towards the herd. I had already picked this ram out as the biggest of the bunch. As we approached, the herd was bunched up feeding in a shallow side canyon - amazing how many animals can "dissappear" into a shallow depression. When they started stepping out, this guy was near the front of the bunch, and I told Marla "there he is" and she asked "should I shoot him?" and I said "if you want to". She cocked the hammer back on her encore and let him have an XLC through both lungs. He only ran about 30 yards before piling up

The rest of the weekend was relatively uneventful - the deer seemed pretty spooked with the number of hunters in the area (every scrap of land to our south had hunters on it).  Marla did see a nice 8 point come up to the fence, but that was it.

The first weekend of December, Marla, Cheyenne, Dad & I went back once again.  Saturday morning, I saw several deer, including a young buck chasing a doe.  Marla and Dad also saw some deer, but Dad was more or less overwhelmed with sheep.  When he got down out of the stand, they ran over the hill and past me at a range of about 20 yards.  One was extremely wide-flaring, but I didn't want to shoot him (enough sheep meat in the freezer!). 

Since Dad was out with us, I decided that it was time I tried hunting one of the back canyons on the place (i.e. I would have help if I shot something back there). I also figured there there was a good chance that the hot doe I'd seen that morning might still be there - and I hoped that there would be better than a 4 point with her. So I built a chair out of 2x4s and plywood and carried it back to the 2nd canyon. As soon as I overlooked the canyon rim, I spotted the band of sheep from that morning . . . and a single fawn feeding. So I carefully eased my way down into the canyon without spooking the deer - in fact, it bedded down shortly after I spotted it . . . some of the sheep spotted me, but I wasn't hunting them and they didn't spook bad enough to push out the deer. I got settled in at a good vantage point and sat down to read a book and enjoy the canyon. About 30 minutes before sundown, the doe and fawn stood up and started feeding, then a mature buck stood up. All deer were about 225 yards away, and the deer began to walk down the canyon away from me. I readied my 6.5x284 (shooting 120 gr XLCs pushed by 48 gr of RL22), and when the buck turned to hook his horns in a juniper, I could see that he was a 10 point. At this point, he was standing about 250 yards out. I didn't have a lot of time to decide to shoot or let him pass, and I estimated he'd go 125" or so. As it turns out, I misjudged him by a bit (I thought each of his tines were about 2" better than they turned out to be). He was slightly quartering away (I thought he was quartering more strongly than he really was) and I sent one shot down range hitting the liver and the back of one lung. He then ran back towards me about 25 yards and stopped, slightly screened by some acacia. I thought I could shoot over the brush, but I held off on the follow up shot for a few minutes. I could tell he was hit hard, but when he didn't fall within a few minutes, I shot again, and missed (bullet probably deflected by the acacia), then shot a 3rd time and hit him (as it turned out, low in the leg - probably also deflected by the acacia). The deer moved another 25 yards closer, this time completely screened by mesquite. When he began to move again, he moved into an opening and I shot a 4th time, hitting him in the shoulder, anchoring him. He had a 14 2/8" inside spread and grossed 117 2/8, netting 115 0/8. Depending on how you measure such things, he's either my 3rd best (gross score) or 2nd best (net score) buck to date. We was also fully mature, with a 26" neck. Now it was time for work, and I hiked back to the cabin. When I got back to the box where Dad was hunting, he told me that Marla had also shot a big buck. So now we had two bucks to get out. Fortunately, hers was relatively near the jeep road - it took Dad and I an hour and a half to haul mine out of the canyons with the cart.  He said that he thought I was trying to cause him to have a heart attack and that I wouldn't get any inheritance if HE died - that Mom had all the money. LOL.

Marla's buck was a magnificent mainframe 8 point with 3 (scorable = 1" or more) kicker points.  Actually, it has 4 kickers, 2 on each G2, but one is under and inch.   Although he only has a 12 5/8" inside spread, he has 4 tines at 10" (ok, one was 9 7/8").  The buck's gross typical score is 133 6/8, it nets 126 6/8 as a typical or 138 0/8 as a non-typical (adding in the 5 5/8" on non-typical points). Its absolute gross score (no deductions at all) is 139 3/8. Although the kicker points knock it out of the Texas Big Game Awards program (too many inches of deductions for a typical, not enough inches of nontypical points to make it as a nontypical), she says she wouldn't want to trade the kickers for a certificate any day. Marla  and Cheyenne were sitting together in the double boat-seat stand in the bowl, and had only been settled in for about 15-20 minutes when the buck stepped out and Marla let him have an X bullet through the ribs at about 100 yards.  I haven't aged the deer yet (I will once I get it caped), but I figure it was either 3 1/2 or 4 1/2 years old. It was shot less than 100 yards from where she shot the old 7 point back in November.

Here are the two bucks side by side - you can see that Marla's is considerably better than mine.

I didn't get back out to hunt again until right before Xmas.  I went from Marla's parents to Val Verde on Sunday the 21st.  Dad was already there, but hadn't hunted all day because he was sick.  I saw a few young bucks on the 22nd and only a doe the morning of the 23rd, before I had to go home.  Dad only hunted one afternoon (the 22nd) and didn't see any deer on our side of the fence.

After Xmas, I went out to Goldmine Canyon for an end of season hunt. I only had plans to actually shoot something if I saw a buck that was really big - in the 130" class or so. I was hunting by myself, as Marla and Cheyenne were over at Mom and Dad's new place in Camp Wood, and Dad had a list of honey-dos to work on. I arrived Saturday afternoon (the 27th) and sat in a stand over looking what we call the bowl. I had very little deer activity nearby, but you can see forever in that country, and I did see some does and a small buck feeding off towards the fenceline. I also watched a mature buck walk the fence (on the other side) for about 20 minutes. Since he was headed for the hole in the fence, I got up and stalked over that way. I had a (later lasered) 340 yard shot, but he was moving and I really couldn't judge his rack well in the low light, so I let him walk.

Sunday morning, with the wind out of the north, I sat on the seat amongst the rocks overlooking the hole in the fence (at about 200 yards). I saw 3 bucks - 2 young 8 pts and a mature buck - chase a doe on a hillside across the fence at about 600 yards. Then the buck from the night before walked past at about 90 yards. He was a very pretty 8 point, but missing one brow tine, and the other was very shot. I estimated he'd score about 115, and let him pass. Then I had a doe and a fawn head for the hole in the fence. Finally, near 10:00, a band of sheep came by . . . one ram had one long fully-curled, wide flaring horn on one side, and nothing at all on the other. At 10:30 or so, I decided to head back to the cabin. I moved slowly - in no big hurry, and trying to be quiet. About 200 yards from the cabin, I heard rocks rattle as a very wide, very tall buck jumped up out of the purple sage to my right. The deer hesitated. I didn't have a shot due to the brush. A doe and a fawn jumped up (I saw them out of my peripheral vision), and the buck started to run. I didn't think about score, I just thought "shoot that deer" . . . the deer ran to the fence, turned and was across the first opening before I could shoot. I picked out the next opening down the fence through the brush, and when he crossed it at a trot, I fired. The buck paused, looked around, then disappeared over the hill. I circled around to try to get another shot, but couldn't find the deer. I walked up towards the fence, and the doe and fawn raced across in front of me. Still no sign of the buck, and the amount of cover in front of me could (seemingly) be covered by a postage stamp. Time to check for blood. I took a few steps towards where he'd been standing, and the buck jumps up from behind a sotol and runs off. I fire a shot into him at about 20 yards, with the buck at a dead sprint, then he goes over the hill and into a side canyon. I reload, sit with the rifle on the shooting sticks and get ready for him to emerge on the other side - I know he's hit, just not how well. I watch for a few seconds, then the buck starts up the slope opposite me. I can tell he's about to go down. He crawls into a thicket of purple sage and lays down. I watch for about 5 minutes, then go back to the cabin to get my gear. When I walk back over, I approach carefully, not wanting to spook him, but find him dead. I'm still not entirely sure what I've shot, I just know he's a big-framed 8 point. When I spot the heavy main beam sticking up, I relax and get excited all over again. Amazingly, my first shot at 125 yards, with the deer trotting away from me, was the only one that hit - the 120 grain X-bullet hitting the deer in the front of the right hip and penetrating through 26" of deer to lodge under the skin just behind the left shoulder, destroying the left lung entirely. 

He's not the biggest buck I've shot, but he may be the most impressive, particularly when viewed straight on. He's very wide (19 3/8" inside spread) and has both G2s at 11 1/8". He's not built to score well (G1s and G3s are too short) but he is beautiful and tall and wide.  He grosses 128 1/8" and nets 125 7/8".  I aged him at 5 1/2 years old, and I had never seen this buck before.  Below is the recovered XLC.

For the New Year, Marla & I went back to Bannister for a late season squirrel/deer/hog hunt.    In other words, we went squirrel hunting, but carried a little extra "muscle" in case a deer or hog showed (in my case, my .44 magnum Encore, and in Marla's case, her .260 Encore).  I have never seen so many squirrels, and if my shooting had measured up, I would have shot a limit on Friday.  I only had 21 rounds of 22 WMR ammo, and I shot it up killing only 8 squirrels.  I haven't taken my 22 to the range (I sighted it in at Dad's place) and I'm not sure why I was shooting so poorly when I've shot much much better in the past with the gun.  After expending my 22 WMR ammo, I converted the Contender to a 12" 17 HMR and was able to shoot 5 more squirrels (Friday afternoon and Saturday morning).  Saturday morning, Marla shot a 140 lb hog, and I jumped up one that must have run over 300 pounds, but couldn't get a shot, juggling the 17 HMR and pulling out the 44 magnum.  But we had a great time, and came home with some tasty squirrels and pork.