Take a look at this dude! This could be one of the oldest bucks I shot and I shot him the other day in my old stomping grounds of central South Dakota. He’s got a monster neck, body and rack on him. Sure, he’s a little weak in the point department, but you can barely get your hands around the main beam between his G1 and G2 points.
I actually saw this buck several times, but looked hard for something with a better score. When I couldn’t find a better buck, I went straight back to him and his maturity put me to the test. He wasn’t a pushover. Not only did he find a secluded dry river bed to hole up in, but he didn’t brazenly rut in the wide open day after day. Late in the hunt I targeted him and it took me all day to finally get within rifle range.
Dude! You need to go on Jenny Craig!
Remember when I said hunt aggressively? That’s what I did and with only minutes of shooting light left I spotted him from afar, hustled and then crawled to a high point for the shot only to watch him disappear into the brush. Thinking aggressive again I started to grunt and rattle. While hoping for him to show up two smaller bucks cruised in and he couldn’t stand it any longer. He ran in and I shot him with my TC Arms Pro Hunter .300 Winchester Magnum at less than 100 yards.
I learned something new on this hunt. You can fool a mature buck. Rarely do I aggressively call to an old buck since they often won’t leave their does. He did and I ended up with a great trophy by breaking my own rule.
I was hunting with my good friend Pat West at Dakota Ranch Outfitters. If you want a great Western hunt for whitetails or muleys (giants), look them up. Hunt hard. The rut fun is going at warp speed now!
Mark Kayser
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