If you read my earlier blog you know I shot a pronghorn out from under Cole's nose, but that was our agreement. If he couldn't shoot he gave me a thumbs-up to sail one off. I did, and he helped me load my buck, leaving him back at bat.
Soon after I left, a buck came to water and Cole was ready. He used his Nikon rangefinder to confirm a 40-yard shot that he'd practiced dozens of time before for 4-H shooting sports. His shot was true, but not deadly. Instead of zipping through the spongy buck, it stopped cold on what was presumably a rib bone. The buck shook off the shot and trotted off.
I joined up with Cole a couple hours later after putting my buck on ice. We snuck up on his buck and verified what he already knew. The buck was sound, not bleeding and busy horsing around with two buddies. The broadhead didn't even draw blood or fat, so Cole snuck back to the blind and continued to hunt.
No other bucks visited the waterhole that day, so we set our sights for the next morning. Since we had two blinds at our waterhole and another of our friends needed to fill a tag, I invited him along. He took one blind and Cole and I took another.
You know the ending to this story. Four bucks came to our friend's side of the waterhole and he zipped an arrow into the largest. Unfortunately, the hit wasn't true, so a long tracking job ensued. Cole and I knew the chaos would disrupt pronghorns from watering so we sat back and enjoyed the morning since we had to leave before noon.
Minutes before the departure bell rang, a plump doe settled into the water. I whispered "44 yards" and Cole made an Olympic-style shot to put another round of white packages in the freezer. It was the perfect ending to our hunt, and great way to end the summer before the bells of school begin to ring.
WEEKEND NOTE: For those of you living or traveling within driving distance of Billings, Montana, stop by the Cabela's retail store for the Big Game Spectacular sale. I'll be there presenting big game seminars, and I'll be available to talk hunting over the weekend. I hope to see you there stimulating the economy!