![]() "From there, I rushed 2 1/2 hours up to Joe Meder's taxidermy studio in Solon, Iowa, to get the head professionally caped. I was so nervous that it's a wonder I didn't cut myself! Unfortunately, there was no easy way to get to the spot where the buck went down, so we had to drag him a long way across a ravine. "I was terrified about field dressing my buck for fear that I would damage the cape. ![]() Matt Boeman volunteered to go back with me to drag the buck to a place where we could get to it with the Ranger. Eventually, they realized I wasn't kidding. I almost had to plead with them to take me seriously. 'Yea, right,' is about all I could get out of them. They knew me as a practical joker, so no one took me seriously. "Back at the truck, I told the guys that I had shot a 33-pointer. The entire incident was cleared up quickly, but it came back to be a thorn in my side later on. The landowner was understandably angry and he had a few words with the fellow from our group. One of the guys walked out through the neighbor's ground, the same neighbor who had asked us to stay out earlier in the day. I tagged him and then we left the buck to make sure the drive was over and to meet with the remainder of the group. I was extremely excited, but out of respect for the other guys in the group, I didn't want to rub it in. "I started counting the points and reached 33. I wasn't even sure if I had hit him or not. He immediately lunged forward and went out of sight. He paused and I shot - all in one fluid motion. "When the buck finally stepped into an open lane about 50 yards away, I whistled to make him stop. I never looked at the antlers again because I was too busy trying to ready myself for the shot. He was walking steadily, and I started searching for a hole that I could shoot through. I couldn't tell how big the buck was because it was so thick. I looked up to see antlers coming through the woods. About 15 minutes later, I heard something. ![]() I couldn't get a shot and I was upset because I knew we still had tags to fill. "As the drive got started, some does came through immediately. As things turned out, I certainly am glad that I did that!" When I got to my spot, I noticed a wide gap between me and the hunter nearest to me, so I moved over slightly to better cover that gap. "This time the standers would have to do most of the walking to get into position, and wouldn't you know it, I was finally a stander! But I wasn't complaining, and I soon found myself heading out to my designated position.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |