Loudoun County Buck

Rudy in VA — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 03:30:14 GMT

Loudoun County Buck

I was hunting on a 320-acre farm in near Leesburg. It was a morning hunt and I was on the ground (by myself) under three cedar trees overlooking a large open field that had been home to about 100 acres of corn earlier that year. I had hunted the same spot the year before and saw a few does at about 200 yards away near the edge of a thick wooded area. The land owner is a friend, and I knew that two bucks had already been harvested that season and two more were spotted. Two friends were hunting another part of the farm that morning, and I fully expected them to take the first shot. I arrived at the cedars shortly after 6 am when it was still dark. At 6:45 am, I began looking more closely at the location where I had seen the does previously. A few minutes later, I saw movement out of the corner of my left eye. Then I caught a glimpse of white—it was a buck and his antlers seemed to be glowing. He was about 80 yards away and he was moving in the direction of the woods. My heart began racing; I didn’t know what to do because he was getting away. I had seen other hunters whistle to try to get a deer to stop moving. Should I do that? I got on my knees and used the nearest tree trunk to steady my rifle, a .300 Weatherby; more gun than I would ever need for this shot. I got him in my scope but I was looking at his backside and he was still moving. Suddenly, he made a turn to the right. It was as though he knew what I needed—a broadside view. He continued on the move but now he was crossing perfectly in front of me at about 100 yards. I steadied my hand on the tree and pulled the trigger. He was no longer in sight but there was a slight hill between us so I couldn’t tell if was down or had run down the hill toward the woods. I got up and started walking toward him. Moments later, I found him on the ground. It was a clean kill and I was ecstatic. Thanks for reading my story. Rudy!