wadeocu

I don't think your going to see anyone around here answer that one differently. Of course I have a 3 buck limit too, so maybe if it was the one buck for the year or if it was a scrubby little spike it would make it tough. It's the right thing to do though, so I think most would.

Howdy folks - These are the bucks I killed on 12-29&30-2011. I didn't kill any bucks this year (3 doe in the freezer though) and I don't think I posted these last year so I figured I'd share them now. There is a really long story behind these deer; I'll post a link to it when I get it published. - Best regards, Jack

I have a similar deer rifle that I love. A Ruger M77 in 250-3000 with one of the new Redfield Revolution 2-7x33s on it. You and I have similar views on matters it appears. I also have a Paul Jaeger 30-06 with a Kahles 2-7x36 that I love just as dearly. The M77 has a shortened stock (3/4 of an inch) and a muzzle break that can be screwed off and replaced with a cuff; it is set up as a youth gun. The trigger and safety were also customized by a Paul Jaeger gunsmith back in the 80s. It was a gift to me from my dad and was my first deer rifle. I killed two deer with it last year for the first time in 20 years. I had forgotten how much I love it. I hope to have my sons kill their first deer with it. Great gun you have there! Sounds like you can shoot it well!

The rifle season in MS ended in the thrird week of January with a muzzle loader season that ran to 1/31 this year. There is legislation on the table to move it to 1/31 for rifle and 2/15 for muzzle next year! Thanks for the compliments guys!

I am a firm believer in the Mauser 98 action; it is the best there is in my view in terms of reliability and performance. It has more than a century of proven history to support this conclusion. Many custom rifles (including my own) are built on Mauser actions such as an FN, but you don't have to go with a custom rifle to get one. Remingtom actually offered a new build Mauser 98 in its 798 model a few years back and I think it can be had for under $500. I saw one at Bass Pro about 3 years ago for $450. I have never used or owned a Remington 798, so do some research on it. My comments are based on my belief in the Mauser 98 action and the fact that this seems like a cheap way to get one. Google it and draw your own conclusions. I'd get one in .30-06 for versatility with North American big game and plains game around the world. - Jack

Thanks for the kind comments and sharing in my excitement folks! Here's a little bit more of the story. The picture gives a good feel for the country I hunt in - thick cover! 200 yard views are about as far as it gets. I glassed this group of deer for 30 minutes through the vines at about 200 yards with a very obstructed view until they filtered through a shooting lane about 150 yards away. There were 8-9 deer in the group with does, at least one spike, a fork horn and this guy. I was able to get a good idea of what I was looking at through the cover piece by piece seeing a hind leg here, an ear there and an antler every so often while they hung up and fed before coming into my shooting lane. I had made out this guy as a shooter and was ready for him a good 15 minutes before he presented a shot and glassing was the key here. I had a pretty good idea he would make it through the lane as the lead does had gone through single file and they all seemed to be following slowly but surely. He and the fork horn were trailing the herd and made it into one of only a couple of shooting lanes about the same time. I had to be careful that I was shooting at the correct deer given the broken up views I was getting. When he stepped into the lane, I gave a loud verbal 'grunt' and he stopped and looked. I had my knee up on the stand to rest my shooting arm and squeezed off a shot. He bucked up so I knew I connected, but pandemonium ensued and I wasn't able to keep an eye on him as he ran through the woods. I thought I heard him crash and started glassing in that general direction. After ten minutes or so I caught a glimpse of a small white patch and thought it may be him. I climbed down and walked toward the shot site perpendicular to the location of the white patch and a better view opened up where I could make out a bit of antler with the white patch. I glassed for a minute about 200 yds away and made sure he wasn't moving his head. After satisfying myself that he was down I went ahead and walked up to him without having to follow a blood trail. It was a clean heart shot and he even had the decency to run to w/in 30 yds of an accessible road on top of the old levee. Great way to end the season!

Shot this buck at 150 yards inside the levee on the MS river on 1-17-10. An exciting day in the woods; I have seen 76 deer this year on 22 hunts and 20 of those deer were seen on this one 5 hour hunt last Sunday!

Good buddy of mine drew one, but it was a doe and spike tag. He had a great hunt but saw a couple of big bucks he couldn't shoot. The torment would make it hard for me to go on that hunt unless I had the coveted buck tag.

While hunting in southwest Tennessee last Sunday (11/8) I rattled, grunted and bleated in some spike bucks. Saw the first one 100 yds away in the field. I was hunting 20 yds inside a wooded draw. He turned away and headed over the hill. I rattled a bit, grunted and then hit the can. He was coming into my draw - 180 degree turn in direction from when I last saw him - about five minutes later. He came into me within 10 yds of the stand and we locked eyes for a minute. He headed out of the woods a bit uneasy but not spooked. At that moment I saw another deer walking the tree line in the field headed our way from the opposite direction that this buck had appeared. The spike turned and headed to the other deer and they started sparing. That's when I realized they were both spike bucks. They turned and headed through the field away from me and over the hill. Just before they disappeared from view I rattled again and they stopped and turned to look. I grunted three times and they took a few steps to me. I hit the bleat can and they both started trotting back to me and into the woods, this time about twenty yards in front of me. They hung out for about ten minutes looking for the party before they trotted back out and over the hill again. This encounter lasted about forty minutes and there is no doubt that they responded to all three calls. I'm in the south and, by my observations and understanding, the rut will not really crank up here for another three weeks or so. - Jack

Thanks for all the kind congratulatory comments folks. This is my second best buck to date and I'm thrilled to be so fortunate. Here is another shot and the one from last year (best ever) for comparison. I think this year's buck is kind of young - 2.5 maybe. I say this because he seemed a bit smaller in stature and the neck and face was a bit shorter. If I am right (may not be - ageing deer is difficult for me) then perhaps I should have passed him up to let him really blossom into a truly big deer. Not sure I would have had the discipline to do so even if I had thought about before pulling the trigger - which I didn't, not for a second. What do you all think?

12-19: Shot a doe in the morning. This guy came in with 6 doe minutes from quitting time that evening. He was hanging in the thick stuff watching two doe in the food plot while they browsed for a good ten minutes. Great day in the Mississippi river bottoms.

I reccomend the Remington 798 (the one with the true Mauser action) and a Zeiss Conquest. The package should run you less than a grand. 30-06 is the caliber to get in my opinion.

Sorry to hear this 4Blade - sounds like you gave it everything you had though. Its a drag for sure. Indeed it sounds like there was a good learning experience to come out of it none the less - cheers for that. I too am a better hunter for this experience and thanks to everyone for that. - Jack

I'm hunting near Williston in Fayette County. The only scavengers that found her were some ants around the eyes. It was upper 40s for most of the night going down to 43 by 6:00AM. She was still warm from body heat when I field dressed her. I think the meat is fine, but I told the processor (a top notch outfit in Moscow that does nothing but deer) about the situation and he said he would clean her out and cool her down right away and will not process her if the meat appears spoiled. - Jack

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. I found her! I got there at dawn, went to the spot I had marked and could not find any more blood in the field to follow a trail. So I made my best guess as to where she went into the woods on the other side of the field after she went over the hill. I walked into the brush about 30 yards in and started looking around in the thick low spots that would make a good place to hunker down and hide. I found one spot where she had laid down and bled out a bit but not a bunch of blood. I started glassing around at the surrounding brush and got lucky and spotted her about more 30 yards away. She was still a bit warm to the touch and only somewhat stiff - no critter issues either. Turns out my shot was about 3-4 inches aft of where it should have been and angled just a bit. It went through her liver and stomach. She's at the processor now and I have some confidence back. Thanks fellas - Jack BTW, How did your situation turn out 4Blade?