My hunt began with an email this summer from Greg Simons, General Manager and Principal of Wildlife Systems, Inc. of Texas as an invitation. https://wildlifesystems.com/our-staff.html
The hunt was to be for a small group of hunters who were interested in a hunt with Larry Weishuhn otherwise known as “Mr. Whitetail” . I have read some of Larry’s books and seen his many of his video’s for more than a decade. I jumped at the opportunity because if Larry – Mr. Whitetail likes it, then it must be good. Below he and I are in a rattle off. He won of course! What Fun!
The price was right for a low fence wild trophy hunt and it was on my bucket list for several reasons. The most important reason is that Texas has some of the largest racked deer in the world. I was already looking for a Texas Hunt! Yea, Saskatchewan and Alberta bucks are bigger bodied but not necessarily in antlers. Over the years I gleaned great respect for Larry because he was just as jeeped up about deer hunting as I was and shared that “spark of life” enthusiasm with his family and friends that hunting can bring. He is truly a hunters friend.
We only had 3 1/2 days to take a mature trophy animal of our choosing. I thought that the days to hunt was a bit short but I was proved wrong as the hunt unfolded.
As in all hunts, we fired our rifles to check our 100 yard zero that afternoon before the hunt. Below, J. D. a retired College Professor and part of my hunt team, sighted his 7mm Rem Mag in.
My Weatherby Vanguard, with Nosler 129 grain AccuBond Long Range bullets, was dead on. My back up rifle was my TC Encore 50 Cal Muzzleloader and I shot that too with 100 grains Pyrodex and 300 grain Powerbelt bullets. The shot was off dead center by a whole inch. Nice! But as I shared a long shot of 150 yards would produce insufficient energy. Larry encouraged another shot with 150 grains of Pyrodex to see where it might hit. I agreed, and said with a smile; “Yea Larry you just want to see this cannon beat my shoulder up”. Yup,he replied with a Texas drawl, and with a big grin,something like “Should be real fun” as I recall.
Stoking the TC with three Pyrodex pellets and another 300 grain Powerbelt I let the TC Encore (smoke-pole) rip. Boom…! When the smoke cleared the 50 cal bullet took out the black 1 inch square we were supposed to aim at. “Guess we will need a new target”, I offered. Dead silence for a moment among other hunters and Larry was a big thumbs up on the 150 grains of Pyrodex. They were impressed, I guessed. Me too!
I was encouraged to use that instead of the Weatherby 6.5 but I said only if it really becomes necessary. The 6.5 Creedmoor is one of the most accurate, high delivered energy, mild recoil hunting cartridges in the world. Nosler provides an excellent range of 6.5mm bullets to use.
My Weatherby Vanguard Weatherguard was topped with a Leupold Gold Ring VX-6 3-18x44mm (not HD) zoom lens. One of the finest quality variable zoom scopes on planet earth. I tested it and I love it. https://www.leupold.com/scopes/compact-scopes/vx-6hd-3-18x44mm
Check out the dozen or so articles here in my magazine on the VX-6 (type in VX-6 in the SEARCH BOX). The Weatherby is a trusty rifle with synthetic stock. The Weatherguard coating is almost impervious to rain and rust. Priced in the $600 range it is a real bargain! The Leupold VX-6 is worth two rifles.
Pete my guide used 4 wheel/ 4 passenger ORV’s to go from stand to stand sometimes traveling up to 15 miles to get to a far away box blind (many were elevated) . We got lots of 4×4 passenger time! Lots, driving perhaps over 100 miles of Texas wilds in total.
I was seeing so many deer and 10 or so 8-point bucks on my first day but no mature 4.5 year old shooters yet. Day 2 morning stand I was dropped off solo, to shoot from my own blind while Pete spent the morning with JD my hunt partner for the trip. I was observing a nice typical 8 point with chocolate palmated antlers below. I guessed him at 3.5 years old. He needed another year, so I passed on him.
That afternoon I hunted with Pete. Pete was excellent to have as my guide, younger and full energy and muscle. When Pete spoke I listened closely. We sat in a box blind that was slow to have animals show up to the feeder. It throws corn out to 10 or 20 yards when it goes off only once. I am not a box blind sort of hunter per se, but in these circumstances it was essential because the deer were so spread out across the 40 square miles. I acquiesced and later thanked these blinds for a measure of safety if I had to stay in one for overnight in Texas wilderness. I did not see any rattle snakes but some were seen by a family that lived nearby!
Back to the Hunt…An 8 point came in but we noticed he was always looking over his shoulder in an nervous sort of way. We guessed that there was a larger buck out there that he did not want to tangle with. Later on near dusk, my jaw dropped when this high-long-tined 10 point came out. Holy mackerel, “I want that one” I said excitedly to Pete, reaching for the Weatherby. My heart was racing, and adrenaline was kicking me hard. I got the rifle set up on a “Bogpod” and took the shot at 100 yards. A gimme shot from a bench but add in a adrenaline soaked shooter (me) that had never seen a rack like that in his entire life. I missed! You what! Yep, I missed. Oh No! The buck of my lifetime and I missed! The buck nervously turned to look back where the shot had come from. He gave us the caboose and walked quickly off. His gait as he walked away showed no signs of injury. Still, we needed to be sure he was ok and went to look for blood and hair. Part of Pete’s job is to ensure a real miss, and that the animal was not wounded, so he got right down on his hands and knees and looked for hair or blood spatter. Finding none Pete declared a complete miss.
Well, I lamented, “if I am gonna miss, then miss clean, I said. Nothing worse than a wounding or losing a deer. I was just kicking myself for not controlling the buckets of adrenaline washing over me. But that is what drives me to hunt, I love the excitement of the hunt. If I had no adrenaline, I’d just as soon stop hunting. Even the best of hunters miss now and again, that’s why they call it hunting and not getting!
As a result of the miss, I was concerned that we may have inadvertently banged the scope out of whack in the many miles we had it in the 4×4. Accordingly, I could not shoot it in the morning as we were on the trail to the next hunt stand at 5 am before light. Larry agreed, “Take the 50 cal Ed”
I was forced by the circumstances to take the TC Encore 50 Cal out as my backup. The TC sported a Gold Ring Leupold VX-3 2-8x36mm and, as I said earlier, it shoots well.
At dinner that night everyone said, “It happens” that’s why they call it hunting!
The Camp Cook, Richard and I hit it off well. He said these things happen for a reason. Ed, he said, “I have a good feeling about your hunt in the morning” ! I was undaunted as well, another shot will present itself, I thought firmly.
I said a prayer of thanksgiving just to be here on such a great hunt.
The morning, still dark save for Moonlight, was clear. Above my head I could see the constellation known as the Big Dipper (Ursa Major – Big Bear) to the right and “Orion the Hunter” directly above me. A good sign! My father, a hunter too, taught me about the American Indian where young braves who were challenged to look at the middle star in the arm of the Big Dipper as a test to see the double star we call Mizar that was with it. That second star was easily visible.
I sat in silence at 6 AM awaiting the dawn in the glow of the “day old” full Moon. The local population of Mocking birds, like a barn yard roosters, began chatting and chirping about 7:15 AM announcing morning has broken. Light began to intensify with each passing second as the skyline went from purple orange to blue. I used my Vortex 10x binoculars to see what was gathering at the feeder, they worked great. I could only see shadows for a while that were deer but never identify buck or doe. I waited till there was enough light near 8am to see antlers. There was one very large deer with its tail facing me. It was directly under the feeder. As other deer approached, the big deer would lurch at them. The other deer gave wide birth…. The light was sufficient to see it was a buck and antler tips but he was still feeding with his back side to me. Suddenly he lifted his head. Oh My God! I saw so many points on just one side that said “Shoot em” to me. But I was skeptical, I needed more convincing as QDMA training teaches that it is the body that says age not the antlers necessarily, wanting to see his neck and body too. In a few moments he had turned to his right side. His body was large and dark, his neck was not at all slender and it had no curve but full and chunky. Just a straight line from his jaw to his chest. And he was bossy to other deer. That was all the convincing I needed, a real mature deer of 4 1/2 or older, I said to myself.
I had the TC Encore on the shooting sill and put my Leupold VX-3 crosshairs on him. I cranked up the power to see a symmetrical rack of at least 10 points with nice brow tines. In that moment I did not hesitate to pull the hammer back. My heart was thumping but I was much calmer as I put the crosshairs just behind his shoulder. This TC Encore had a trigger job by Mike Bellm (https://www.bellmtcs.com/) and set at 3 lbs pull. Very sweet!
As the Gold Ring Leupold VX-3 crosshairs settled just behind his shoulder, the rifle bucked rearward. I did not feel the recoil as I was so focused on the shot. White smoke belched out obscuring the deer for a several seconds. Even the ground was eerily oozing smoke among the flora. The buck was down, right there! See below.
I kept the scope on him and looked for movement, seeing none I still hesitated to take my eyes off him so I remained on him observing with the scope. I would normally reload but I wanted to stay in visual contact as the buck laid very still and wanted to keep it that way.
After a few minutes I was convinced he was hit very hard and at that point I reloaded and stayed in the blind with the rifle still on him. A Red Angus Cow and calf came over to see the buck lay ever so still. It was at that point that I shouted Yahoo! I eased out of the blind and toward the buck and the cow and calf took the cue to leave.
As I approached, the antlers kept getting larger and the points more numerous. I counted 11 points in utter amazement. This buck was even bigger than the one I missed. Guides saw him smaller last year and in a different place on the ranch. So this was unexpected that he showed up here.
There is a red spot on his shoulder, that was the exit wound from the 300 grain Powerbelt. His feet are already up in the air ready for dressing. This guy was massive for a Texas deer. Pete came over in the 4×4 with JD to see what I shot at. Grinning a big grin I said to Pete, “Got a Crane?, Your gonna need it.”) He said, “Yea we can handle that”. They drove the 4×4 80 yards to the buck. Wow! Nice Buck! And so fat! JD came over and shook my hand. Congratulations Ed! I was thinking this was THE buck of my lifetime. I was just elated beyond words. The guides scored him at 144 3/8 Boone and Crockett Points. I am just speechless!
I had two doe tags to fill so I retested the Weatherby Vanguard and Leupold VX-6 and it was fine. It was my excitement that caused the original miss the other day. So the next morning after some great backslapping I headed to a stand for taking the two does. As luck would have it I saw two does that morning and took both with the 6.5 Creedmoor Weatherby Vanguard Weatherguard getting full penetration with the Nosler 129 grain ABLR. I tagged out!
In 3.5 days I saw at stands, in range, thirty 8-point bucks and five mature 8 and 10 point bucks including the one I took.
I was just lucky to shoot the best of them. Thirty five big bucks in 3.5 days. I am shipping meat back via ground transport. More soon when the meat arrives. I have Wildlife Systems handling the Trophy mount for me. I think I am going again! Check out the Wildlife Systems website at the beginning of this article if you are interested in a hunt. Happy Trails…
Good Hunting!
© 2018
More on Larry Weishuhn
On and off camera he has a natural leadership style as a Whitetail aficionado that I look up to. On this hunt, Larry was the frosting on the cake as it were. His stories and hunt experience extended beyond US and Canada to Africa, Europe, and Australia. The hunters we had in camp (just west of San Angelo, Texas on the Edwards Plateau) were veteran hunters and a few of those in camp were also fortunate to be able to hunt around the world. We were all eager to listen and become intertwined in his memories. Larry and I became great friends! Larry is writing another book so look for it. I am hoping to get a signed copy.
Camp Cook – Richard T. Berry
Also in camp was Richard T. Berry, of Broken Spoke Cattle Company. He is also an Auctioneer- Sales Consultant Professional Guide and Outfitter and the greatest Camp Cook I have ever had the privilege to meet and eat the food he created. Richard and I became great friends as well. He is easy going and very helpful. Richard has a massive Canadian buck to his credit that scored over 200 Boone and Crockett points. Richard is writing a venison cook book which I hope to purchase as well. I gave him my copy of a Venison Cook book “Buck Buck Moose” by Hank Shaw! It is a fine Venison Cookbook too.
https://www.amazon.com/Buck-Moose-Techniques-Antelope-Antlered/dp/099694480X
