Well fellas, I had one of the best days I've ever had in the hunting woods last Thursday. I got set up low in a pine with lots of cover overlooking a recently chopped area in graylight and saw a couple does about 100 yards out a couple minutes before sunrise and dropped the biggest with a single shot from my 20 gauge shotgun.
After getting the doe cleaned up, I checked a few cameras and had a late lunch to decide what to do next. I decided to go back to the same area I had been in that morning but take my climber (which I haven't used in 3 years) to one of a few tall pines that overlooked the chopped area as well as some unchopped that would make great bedding and movement cover. I was only about 75 yards from my truck when I saw a THICK 4 foot moccasin sunning on the path I was on. After a minute or 2 deciding it's fate, I took a wide berth around it. About 40 steps later, a buck stands up facing me from about 60 yards out. In order to be legal, bucks must have 3 points on one beam or a beam measuring 10" or more. As soon as I see the buck in the scope, all I see are long white beams so I place the crosshairs on the chest and fire. The buck stumbles towards me but gets in thick brush where I can't shoot any more. A few seconds later I heard the buck crash through some thick brush and then silence. A buddy and his wife helped me find the buck which made it 75 yards after the shot and not bleeding until about 60 yards. The shot went in the center of the chest and I found the slug just under the skin on the far shoulder.
This is my biggest buck and should make the Florida Registry. Made me chuckle that if I shot the moccasin, I'd likely never seen this buck. And the fact that I had a climber on my back when I shot it..... You never know!!!! The rest of the weekend was fun with the cold and helping others drag out bucks but I didn't see any other legal bucks...
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