What trophy are you most proud of?

[double rifle newbie]

1) the brunette my sophomore year in college.

close second is my brooks range interior grizzly.

 

[Sabre]

The animal that means the most to me is one of the least impressive to others.

I was convinced that this specific day was going to be the perfect chance to get a buck during bow season. I had never gotten a bow season buck before, and I could feel with every fiber that tomorrow was going to be the best day this season. The rut was in full swing, the weather was going to be perfect, with a nice cold snap moving in overnight and mild NW wind. I was just absolutely convinced this would be the day.

The only problem was that I had obligations that I couldn't shirk that day in order to go hunting and they would take all day. I was lamenting about this to my girlfriend (she may have been my fiancé by then) the night before and she said, "You go hunting, I'll take the day off work and cover for you." For anyone to do this for me would have meant a lot, but at this point in time she didn't have very many vacation days to "burn" per year. So, I told her that it was a really sweet gesture, but it was a bad idea and she shouldn't waste one of her very few vacation days like that. She told me that she wasn't going to accept no to the offer and I needed to go hunting the next day.

So the next day I was in the woods before dawn. I didn't see anything all morning. I was really glad to be out hunting on such a beautiful day, but I was also feeling guilty about my girlfriend taking off work to cover for me while I was hunting and not even seeing anything.

I decided to focus on the opposite end of the property for the afternoon. As soon as I got to the other side of the property I started seeing deer all over. None of them were close enough to me, but deer were running all over the place. Bucks chasing does, bucks chasing off smaller bucks. I could hear two bucks fighting out of sight in some thick cover. Being new to bow season back then, this was the first time I had really seen full on "rutting behavior" to this level. Late in the afternoon I did a grunting and doe bleat sequence and a very nice (to me), very symmetrical, darker antlered (for the area), good mass for his size (and young age), 8 point buck came running in like he was going to kick some ass and chase some tail. This was also a first for me to experience a buck responding like that.

Now, if you saw this buck today, many people would say, "that's a nice looking little buck". But to me, he was awesome! Not like I had thought he was some record book buck. I didn't. But I hadn't experienced such cool rutting behavior like that, before this day. And I hadn't had many experiences with bucks at all at this point, only a few fleeting moments during prior gun seasons. And definitely no experiences up close like that.

When moving through the woods in front of me, he was moving through very thick brush. His head was above it, but his body was blocked. I got very lucky and he stopped to look around for the buck and doe he thought he heard earlier. When he stopped, he stopped in what was likely the only opening in the brush at the height of his vitals. I took the shot and he went about 30 yards and bedded down and expired in sight.

I was very excited, called my girlfriend and told her about it. I called my friends, it was their land I was hunting on. My friends came over to help me drag out the deer. And my girlfriend made the long drive over to the property to check it out and congratulate me. Then we all went out for dinner to celebrate.

We are now married and have been together a long time now. Although most people would look at all the different animals I have hunted and see that deer as towards the bottom, for me, it will always be at the top.

My wife made what was, at the time, a big sacrifice that most girlfriends wouldn't make, just for the chance that I might have a cool meaningful experience.

 

[Rifleman97]

Buckshot is highly capable out of the right choke. I put 15 pellets in a 25” circle at 40 yards with my gun. I have probably killed 50-60 deer with dogs and that’s a drop in the bucket compared to many people around here. Our deer season lasts 4.5 months. Use any weapon and all weapons. Rifle, bow, shotgun, whatever. lol.

That’s wild to me. In Iowa, 1st gun deer season is 4, maybe 5 days, and I personally often take up to 6 deer in a single season, with no bait, no stand, no tent/shack, just walking out in the woods with my 350 legend XPR. I don’t even wear camo or bother with scent blockers. If deer season was that long here there wouldn’t be any deer left after 1 season!

 

[3chunter]

That’s wild to me. In Iowa, 1st gun deer season is 4, maybe 5 days, and I personally often take up to 6 deer in a single season, with no bait, no stand, no tent/shack, just walking out in the woods with my 350 legend XPR. I don’t even wear camo or bother with scent blockers. If deer season was that long here there wouldn’t be any deer left after 1 season!

Topography is everything. We don’t have cwd and it’s so thick that deer can hide anywhere. Much of our woods it’s very difficult to access between swamps, thickets, cutovers, etc. most rifle shots are 80 yards or closer. Very dense brush here.

 

[Rifleman97]

Topography is everything. We don’t have cwd and it’s so thick that deer can hide anywhere. Much of our woods it’s very difficult to access between swamps, thickets, cutovers, etc. most rifle shots are 80 yards or closer. Very dense brush here.

Yeah we have pretty thick woods in Iowa but since deer season isn’t until mid December there’s no leaves or anything to block your view shots range (for me at least) from tripping on the deer as it gets up from its bedding (happened to me twice) up to potential shot opportunities I have not taken at 600 yards. Furthest I’ve taken a shot at a deer in Iowa was 300-350, and it took under 10 paces and collapsed. But I’d say 80% of shots for me are around 50 to 120 yards. Since I’m actively walking around constantly they tend to get spooked up a short ways away and you shoot before they rapidly get out of sight

 

[Wade J VanGinkel]

My wolves,
It's was never the most extreme or difficult hunting but took far more time than anything else to finally connect. 3 dedicated trips and several tags on other trips just in case.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I have two.
My second African animal ever in 2018. This monster Kudu, and from my last hunt Rhino Dart.