Every year we spot different deer that have unusual appearances. We tend to give them a nickname. This year while guiding outdoor writer Luke Hartle of North American Hunter for a mule deer in Montana we spotted a buck that we named Mr. Freak. Luke wanted to take him but he gave us the slip in the fog on 2 different occasions. After Luke’s hunt ending in success but Mr. Freak still roaming with 2 days left in the season it was my turn to hunt.
Of course I didn’t have good conditions with temperatures reading -35F with the wind-chill and thigh deep snow. My wife Marsha was hunting with me and actually spotted him, Mr. Freak that is. The reason this buck earned this name is because his antlers grew back to within an inch and a half on top.
Having my cameraman, Lanell with me we decided to make a stalk. Marsha agreed to watch him from a distance covering his escape route in case he tried to give us a slip again. Lanell and I made a long stalk through the deep snow to get to him. The closest we could get to him we found after using my Bushnell rangefinder was 350 yards. The wind blowing 20 m.p.h. in our faces but across the valley it was blowing left to right. I miscalculated the wind and shot right behind him. I knew it was my miscalculation because my CVA Apex in .300 Win Mag was dead on. I corrected my windage looking through my Konus Konuspro 3X9 scope after the buck had moved out an additional 38 yards I took my shot. This time the bullet blew the top of his heart off 388 yards the CVA Apex in .300 does it again.
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