He was looking for a fight, I was looking for breakfast

We rolled into Vanleer around 1800 hrs and it was getting cold already. Being from San Antonio, anything below 60 is cold. The East Coast was kind enough to leave a neck roast, and Malissa had it ready for us. Thanks guys (East Coast crew), and thanks Malissa, it was great.


The plan for Saturday was for me to go early and Mark Johnson to sleep in late. Wrong…

In an earlier post I mentioned how when you’re doing something fun, you have no problem getting up earlier than the alarm, but if you have to get, for work, you have to drag yourself and fight the sleep demon. I went to bed around 2400 and woke up at 0045. Yeah I can’t believe that either after a 15 hour drive. I forced myself back to sleep and woke up at 0330, then 0445, then 0530 and decided that’s enough, I’m staying up. I got dressed and stepped out onto the porch and Oh my gosh, it’s freezing. The thermometer read 30 degrees and I was tempted to go back to sleep. Maybe I could stay on the porch where the young pups hang out and shoot a deer from there!! Nah, this is the man trip so I went out into the woods seeking my trophy. Jay told me Gary from the East Coast crew had set a pop up blind overlooking a nice holler and he was able to shoot a four pointer and as I walked up to it I thought, why not try it. I was in it about 10 minutes when I could hear a deer walking across the holler and found it to be a nice six pointer. I took aim and before I could pull the trigger someone hunting a little ways over fired and the buck in front of me got spooked and took off running. They weren’t hunting the same deer but they were not too far off. It was then I decided to move.

I walked down the hill noticing all the scrapes on the ground and decided to sit just off the road a little ways down from the beech tree with the initials carved into it. Within 45 minutes I could see movement across the creek on top of the hill and after looking through my binoculars I could see a nice buck walking along the top. It continued walking and I lost sight of and thought that would be it. No buck for me this morning. Then I remembered I had my brand new, just out of the wrapper Primos Hardwood Grunter in my pocket. Hurriedly I whipped it out and gave a grunt through it. To my amazement that buck turned and started coming down the hill towards me. He walked towards me like he had a purpose, like he knew another buck was in the area and had called him out to a fight. This guy was looking for a fight and I was looking for breakfast. Backstrap breakfast. As he walked towards me the angle he was coming in put him behind the beech tree and I raised my Ar10. My hog slaying rifle was ready to go and when he stepped from behind the beech tree he stopped and I fired. That .308 round hit him in the front right side of his chest and as he went down. He tried to get back up but the damage was done, and he slid down the hill into the water.  After cleaning it and checking it in at Jarmins check in station we weighed it and it came in at 100lbs.   Not bad for the first day first hunt on the man trip and we still have 4 days of hunting left.