Our friends Zach and Ellie from southern Illinois sent this picture of a buck they got from about 500 yards away. Ellie said, “We put our iPhone up to the spotting scope to capture this picture. How old do you think he is?” Well, what do you think: Is this buck 3.5 years old, 4.5, older? Remember, that rack will still grow for another month.
One time I shared a camp out West with a gun writer of some repute. He was retired military and rough around the edges, but a nice enough fellow and well-schooled in literature, politics and firearms/ballistics in particular. Having fired hundreds of rifles and a zillion test rounds over the years, the guy couldn’t hear squat, but he could shoot. I watched and spotted for him as he sighted his 7mm Mag. at 100 yards. I was impressed with his 1/2-inch groups, and I told him so. A couple days later he dragged in a nice mule deer buck. “How far?” somebody asked randomly. “542 yards,” the scribe bellowed proudly. He had missed with his first 2 “test” shots, but with [...]
A buddy shot me an email last night saying he’d spotted a buck with a tall rack outside his ears. The hay was too high so he couldn’t count points, but I told him to keep an eye on that dude. His antlers will continue to grow a quarter-inch or more a day over the next month, so he ought to be a shooter. John also said there were lots of little deer running around on his farm, so the fawn crop was good. You learn that kind of stuff by getting out there and going for walks and seeing what you see. Here are 4 more facts about summer antler growth I bet you didn’t know. I got them from Way [...]
Dave sent me an email saying that his son, Josh, was turning 8, and that he was finally old enough to hunt deer according to his state’s law. Dave said Josh would continue to tag along with him in the woods this fall, but the boy wouldn’t carry a rifle just yet. What did I think? I think Dave has got it right. Eight is great for tagging along with Dad, but isn’t it a bit too young and immature to carry a gun and kill an animal, especially a deer? Think about those rowdy 8-year-olds on your kid’s baseball or football team. Would you thrust a .243 into their hands and say, “Boy, go shoot us a buck.” My [...]
A follower of mine on Twitter saw the cam images we’ve been posting and sent this one: Here's the buck at 4:30 pm 200 yards from my back porch. Still a little over a month to grow! Been watching him grow for 3 years now. Hope it pumps other people up as much as it does me! Yes, that rack does! Awesome buck, especially love those front stickers, lots of character. Only about 90 days till archery season opens here in VA, sooner in states with September openers. You shooting and getting ready?