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Buck #19

Hunter:    Matt Lindquist            

Score:     143 3/8"

Points:     12 points

Weight:    204 lbs

Date:        November 11, 2007

Location:  Northern Minnesota

Method:    .270 bolt

I was still hunting on the last morning of the hunt. I just had right shoulder surgery, and unable to climb any trees this year, so I either hunt from the ground or still hunt. I decided to start walking at about 8:45 am. I slowly made my way around a small hill so I could see across a vast expanse of beaver meadow. The meadow used to be a flooded pond - it was very flat with short vegetation. I noticed a doe grazing along the edge of the woods on the far side. I took a few more steps and then noticed a big buck through the binocs. He was still in the woods about 30 yards behind the doe and from my distance, I could see he was at least 8 points and wider than the ears. He was a little wary about coming out of the woods, but he was on the trail of that doe. I looked at him through my scope and realized that I couldn't hold the gun still enough to take the shot. They were just too far away, even using a shooting stick I was carrying. I decided I needed to get a little closer and use something else to brace my shot. There was an old stump out in the open about 20 yards in front of me. I decided to belly crawl to the stump, slowly so the deer didn't notice me. The stump was a perfect rest. They should install them at all shooting ranges. I was prone, using the stump to brace and was able to hold the crosshairs still evenleft handed. The deer still hadn't noticed me, and by now, the buck was
out in the open, still following the doe. The doe was slowly making her way back into the woods, so I knew I had about a minute to make a decision. Now I just needed to estimate how far the shot was. As my hunting party can attest, I was quizzing them on the annoying details of rifle ballistics the night before. I was estimating the buck was a little over 200 yards, and based on my chart, I figured I needed to aim about 4 inches high (270 rifle with a 130 grain bullet). Bang! The doe ran and the buck dropped. 9:15 am. We didn't get him back to camp until dark - we dragged him about 1,300 yards. He weighed in at 204 pounds and was a 12-pointer: 6 normal points on the left and a split
brow tine on the right.  After the fact, I figured out that he was 278 yards away using my GPS. I hit the shoulder and the bullet barely made it into a lung. If I could have avoided the shoulder, the bullet probably would have went all the way through him. He's my biggest buck ever, both rack and body size. For our camp, it was the fourth buck in camp over 200 pounds that season. A banner year for us. Whack em, stack 'em and pack 'em.