East Arkansas Deer hunt report

[cfvickers]

Well, I was only able to hunt four days this past year. Got two deer a VERY NICE 11-13 point that was scored as a 13 but looked more like an 11 to me but he green scored 147 7/8 with the 25-06 encore. and a doe with the .300 mag. I wasn't using my regular go to guns because I was testing out new bullets. The .300 I was using Berger VLD hunting bullets and with the 25-06 I was using accubonds. the Accubonds were a disappointment all be it a very nice very dead deer, but only due to (accidental) perfect shot placement. He was angling away and I was thinking he was 90 degrees broadside, I had less than 5 seconds to make the shot and it was off hand at 130+ yards. Had I not been shooting that Encore rifle I wouldn't have taken the shot. I am a terrible off hand shot with bolt action rifles but that one fits perfect and is easy to hold steady. I shot the deer too far back in the rib cage had he been broadside but given that he was angling the bullet went through both lungs, the liver and the heart, still he ran 30-35 yards. the bullet didn't appear to have opened up as there was only a small exit wound and it busted through the front shoulder blade, no blood trail but he died directly under my stand. I shot him as I was walking to my stand, late at about 0715. The VLD from the .300 was amazing. it was a doe, under 100 yards and it ran 50 yards, but i don't know how. I decent pitcher could throw a baseball through the exit hole in her rib cage if she was standing on home plate and him on the mound. both lungs were annihilated and I had a blood trail literally 4 feet wide for the entirety of her run. Flooding was an issue this season and kept our area closed for most of the season. here are a couple pictures of the buck.




This is the biggest buck I have ever killed. So even if I had had to end my season then and there it would have been a good season.

[cfvickers]

Notice in the second picture that you cannot see the exit wound, it came out that front shoulder.

[jims]

Nice buck.

[ozark]

Nice buck, congratulations. Any relatives from Big Flat?

[cfvickers]

Thanks, I was sure excited! I lifted him onto the fourwheeler myself with what seemed like little effort, I thought he was a small deer until I put him on the scale, he weighed 210. I knew he was a wall hanger when I pulled the trigger but wall hanger to me has never meant 140 class, more like 110 class. I only got a glance at the horns before I shot. You can imagine the amazement when I walked up on him. "Oh Dear God!!!" At our camp you are supposed to shoot a doe first but I he was the first thing I saw, and I am not stupid enough to pass on the biggest buck that has ever walked in front of me. It is usually a 150 dollar fine to shoot a buck first, but when I brought him in the board members present almost immediately, without my knowledge, decided not to charge me. I only found out a few days later I didn't have to pay it, didn't care anyway. I would have gladly paid more than that to go on a hunt somewhere off just to have a chance at something like this. At the moment I had no idea where I was gonna get it because funds have been tight but I would get it. Besides we only had a few days of deer season and nobody wanted anyone to miss the opportunity to get a deer. I don't think anyone caught the charge this year. This one was 21 1/4 inches wide and had 23 3/4 inch main beams. that is all bonus to me, My biggest before this may have scored 100 b&c green. I don't go hunting to kill a monster but I pass on a lot of decent young bucks because I can kill a doe anytime I want pretty much if I just want meat for the freezer, no need to kill a small buck that may grow to be big. I like the fact that I can go to my stand, be comfortable, and watch deer most mornings and afternoons, I get the chance to see a lot more than I shoot, and I am blessed to have a place like that. You won't see over 20 every time you hunt my stand, and at times you may not see a thing, but 20+ happens fairly frequently.

I am not sure about the relatives. I have cousins that have moved off to different parts of the state and don't know exactly where. I have some relatives in Salesville, my aunt is a principle at an elementary school in Mountain Home, but she isn't a Vickers.

[ozark]

Just curious, many Vickers famlies lived around Big Flat while I was growing up. Thanks