Great Memories
I love being able to look back and see our hunts from the past. Each one is special and each has great meaning...every picture tells a story and I believe that every deer is a Trophy!
Send your hunting and fishing pictures and stories to Antlerstack today....
..............................
From 2002
It was the second morning of the nine-day Oklahoma rifle season. All of the long awaited anticipation of opening day had ended the previous evening, with several buck sightings. Most of the bucks were trailing non-interested does, but none were "shooters."
As the alarms went off, we arose with new excitement. My long time hunting buddy Mark and I, showered, got dressed, and headed to the field. We arrived at 5:30 a.m. to the Far Western, Oklahoma landscape and took to our stands, getting settled in long before daylight.
As the darkness faded and the sun began to light the eastern sky, the wilderness came to life. My stand location had been the spot of several sightings of different trophy bucks, but today the action is very slow with only a few does and one spike buck.
Almost a mile away from my stand, Mark was seeing bucks, some very small, and some pretty good ones. One buck caught his eye relatively early and stayed within viewing range most of the morning. This buck was working a small ridgeline covered with shinnery oaks, that does tend to migrate to.
Around 9:00 a.m., a cold front slammed into Oklahoma with wind gusts reaching 30 miles per hour. With the inclimate weather, the deer movement screeched to a halt. Mark kept radioing me on and off all morning, telling me about the buck and how impressive his antlers were. The brawny buck would get up and walk around for a little bit and then lay back down. He did this several times, but stayed within the same general vicinity.
With the deer movement stalled out, Mark and I began to talk about a possible stalk. Mark was set up Northeast of the ridge, so a stalk from his viewpoint was almost impossible. My stand was straight west of the ridge, so we decided for a stalk from my location. From his Strongbuilt, tripod stand, Mark had a great view of the entire valley. His vantage point was going to assist me greatly with my bearings. Finally after about an hour of talking back and forth, I was in position for the final approach.
The last one hundred and fifty yards was obviously going to be the most difficult because of the heavy CRP grass and plumb thickets that covered the landscape. It seemed like every piece of grass or stem that I would step on, sounded like a 2x4 breaking. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally was at the base of the small ridge. Once I caught my breath, I got down on my hands and knees and crawled about thirty feet to the crest. At the top, I peeked over into a small bowl where Mark had been glassing the deer. He told me that he had not seen the bucks in the previous fifteen minutes because he thought that they were lying down. As I looked into the small depression, I immediately saw a decent seven pointer just thirty yards from me. That was a great feeling of accomplishment, just getting that close to a buck that didn't walk under my stand! Mark instantaneously called me on the radio and told me that he thought I was about two hundred and fifty yards to far south of the "shooter" buck. I then eased back down the small ridge and began to make my way down a well-traveled trail to the north.
About a hundred yards down the path was a small saddle in the ridge, so I once again crawled up to the crest for a quick look. To my amazement, the bigger buck was just ninety yards northeast of me, lying in the bowl. Due to the very tall grass, all that I could see was his neck and head. Almost on cue, the heavy racked nine pointer got up off his bed and started to walk off. I knew without a shadow of a doubt, this deer met our pre-set criteria for a "shooter" buck. I then centered the crosshairs of my Ruger Mark II 7 magnum on the only part of the buck that was clearly visible. One shot was squeezed off and hit the buck squarely in the neck. The deer went directly down and soon expired. The Hornady 154-grain bullet was just the ticket and performed outstanding.
As I walked up on the brute, I realized immediately that this was my best and most fulfilling deer ever. I also knew that without the help of my "buddy" Mark, I could have never harvested this animal. The 2002 Oklahoma rifle season will always be burned into my memory as one of the best ever!
I love being able to look back and see our hunts from the past. Each one is special and each has great meaning...every picture tells a story and I believe that every deer is a Trophy!
Send your hunting and fishing pictures and stories to Antlerstack today....
..............................
From 2002
It was the second morning of the nine-day Oklahoma rifle season. All of the long awaited anticipation of opening day had ended the previous evening, with several buck sightings. Most of the bucks were trailing non-interested does, but none were "shooters."
As the alarms went off, we arose with new excitement. My long time hunting buddy Mark and I, showered, got dressed, and headed to the field. We arrived at 5:30 a.m. to the Far Western, Oklahoma landscape and took to our stands, getting settled in long before daylight.
As the darkness faded and the sun began to light the eastern sky, the wilderness came to life. My stand location had been the spot of several sightings of different trophy bucks, but today the action is very slow with only a few does and one spike buck.
Almost a mile away from my stand, Mark was seeing bucks, some very small, and some pretty good ones. One buck caught his eye relatively early and stayed within viewing range most of the morning. This buck was working a small ridgeline covered with shinnery oaks, that does tend to migrate to.
Around 9:00 a.m., a cold front slammed into Oklahoma with wind gusts reaching 30 miles per hour. With the inclimate weather, the deer movement screeched to a halt. Mark kept radioing me on and off all morning, telling me about the buck and how impressive his antlers were. The brawny buck would get up and walk around for a little bit and then lay back down. He did this several times, but stayed within the same general vicinity.
With the deer movement stalled out, Mark and I began to talk about a possible stalk. Mark was set up Northeast of the ridge, so a stalk from his viewpoint was almost impossible. My stand was straight west of the ridge, so we decided for a stalk from my location. From his Strongbuilt, tripod stand, Mark had a great view of the entire valley. His vantage point was going to assist me greatly with my bearings. Finally after about an hour of talking back and forth, I was in position for the final approach.
The last one hundred and fifty yards was obviously going to be the most difficult because of the heavy CRP grass and plumb thickets that covered the landscape. It seemed like every piece of grass or stem that I would step on, sounded like a 2x4 breaking. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally was at the base of the small ridge. Once I caught my breath, I got down on my hands and knees and crawled about thirty feet to the crest. At the top, I peeked over into a small bowl where Mark had been glassing the deer. He told me that he had not seen the bucks in the previous fifteen minutes because he thought that they were lying down. As I looked into the small depression, I immediately saw a decent seven pointer just thirty yards from me. That was a great feeling of accomplishment, just getting that close to a buck that didn't walk under my stand! Mark instantaneously called me on the radio and told me that he thought I was about two hundred and fifty yards to far south of the "shooter" buck. I then eased back down the small ridge and began to make my way down a well-traveled trail to the north.
About a hundred yards down the path was a small saddle in the ridge, so I once again crawled up to the crest for a quick look. To my amazement, the bigger buck was just ninety yards northeast of me, lying in the bowl. Due to the very tall grass, all that I could see was his neck and head. Almost on cue, the heavy racked nine pointer got up off his bed and started to walk off. I knew without a shadow of a doubt, this deer met our pre-set criteria for a "shooter" buck. I then centered the crosshairs of my Ruger Mark II 7 magnum on the only part of the buck that was clearly visible. One shot was squeezed off and hit the buck squarely in the neck. The deer went directly down and soon expired. The Hornady 154-grain bullet was just the ticket and performed outstanding.
As I walked up on the brute, I realized immediately that this was my best and most fulfilling deer ever. I also knew that without the help of my "buddy" Mark, I could have never harvested this animal. The 2002 Oklahoma rifle season will always be burned into my memory as one of the best ever!
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