Shooter Buck
Active member
2020 Season started a little differently this year as our grandfather passed away this spring and this would be our first year at hunting camp with out him. My uncle who had been coming up the last few years mostly to cook and keep an eye on my grandfather decided he was going to hunt this year for the first time. He had trouble getting his hunters safety done with all the covid cancellations but was able to find a state where he could get it all done online. He came up for our scouting weekend a few weeks ago and was able to shoot some and get used to his GPS and everything. He would be hunting with my grandfathers or his Dads model 88. We had 8 of us in camp for Thursday to kick things off. My brother took my uncle up to one of our most productive spots and had him sit. He was going to sit for a while and then hunt back towards camp. He said he heard some squirrels that he kept thinking were deer just as a seasoned hunter would do. About an hour into his sit he caught some movement headed by him. He saw that it was a deer and it went behind some brush and when it came out the other side he saw antlers. He didn't have a clear shot for a little while then eventually the deer stepped out but it spotted him at the same time. He had a stare down with the deer and made the decision that he wouldn't get a better shot. He put the cross hairs behind his shoulder and pulled the trigger. The deer stumbled and ran about 40 yrds and crashed. One hour into his first hunt and he had an 8 point that weighed 153lbs. I told him he would never learn how to be a good hunter if he was just going to shoot a deer in the first hour.
I had followed some tracks in the leaves while this was happening. I got to a little ridge and heard some movement down below me. I figured it was just a squirrel but i better check anyway. I looked over the ledge and saw a squirrel hop out and then immediately a deer jumped up 20 yards right below me. At the same time i heard the radio chatter about my uncle shooting. The deer just stopped out of my sight so I waited to see what it would do. After about 15 mins i decided to just head back and check out my uncles deer and help drag. As soon as i turned to leave i heard the deer run off.
Friday I went to the area I killed my deer last year but saw nothing. My cousins husband who has been hunting with us the last few years was out on another mountain near camp. He just started hunting and hasn't got a deer in Maine yet just a few does back home. He had found an area with a bunch of rubs the day before and snuck back into there. He sat down and let out a grunt and he instantly heard leaves crunching towards him. He saw antlers sneaking out of the evergreens and was able to get a bullet in him. The deer ran off but died with in sight. His first antlered buck weighed 147.
That afternoon I was hanging around camp helping out with the deer and waiting a little to go out since it was so hot out. I was inside tying my boots when one of the guys asked if i heard those shots. We grabbed a radio and got the news we had another buck down. We grabbed a sled and headed off to help drag. My cousin was out a few ridges away and set out some scent. He had missed a spike the day before because he hit a tree between him and the deer. He was still trying to shake off the miss and would get a chance to redeem himself. A buck came in and made a scrape 20 yards from him but he got caught and couldn't move into shooting position. The buck finished making the scrape and made a small circle and he shot him at about 15 yards and the deer went nowhere. He had himself a 161lb 6 point and his first racked Maine deer. Two days into the season and we already had three deer down. Doesn't get much better than that.
I had followed some tracks in the leaves while this was happening. I got to a little ridge and heard some movement down below me. I figured it was just a squirrel but i better check anyway. I looked over the ledge and saw a squirrel hop out and then immediately a deer jumped up 20 yards right below me. At the same time i heard the radio chatter about my uncle shooting. The deer just stopped out of my sight so I waited to see what it would do. After about 15 mins i decided to just head back and check out my uncles deer and help drag. As soon as i turned to leave i heard the deer run off.
Friday I went to the area I killed my deer last year but saw nothing. My cousins husband who has been hunting with us the last few years was out on another mountain near camp. He just started hunting and hasn't got a deer in Maine yet just a few does back home. He had found an area with a bunch of rubs the day before and snuck back into there. He sat down and let out a grunt and he instantly heard leaves crunching towards him. He saw antlers sneaking out of the evergreens and was able to get a bullet in him. The deer ran off but died with in sight. His first antlered buck weighed 147.
That afternoon I was hanging around camp helping out with the deer and waiting a little to go out since it was so hot out. I was inside tying my boots when one of the guys asked if i heard those shots. We grabbed a radio and got the news we had another buck down. We grabbed a sled and headed off to help drag. My cousin was out a few ridges away and set out some scent. He had missed a spike the day before because he hit a tree between him and the deer. He was still trying to shake off the miss and would get a chance to redeem himself. A buck came in and made a scrape 20 yards from him but he got caught and couldn't move into shooting position. The buck finished making the scrape and made a small circle and he shot him at about 15 yards and the deer went nowhere. He had himself a 161lb 6 point and his first racked Maine deer. Two days into the season and we already had three deer down. Doesn't get much better than that.
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