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Steve Sr.'s Account After shooting the breeze, I decided to get to bed as morning would come quickly. It would be our first day of whitetail deer hunting. Early to rise was 4:30am, followed by a big breakfast. We then left the lodge to start our hunt. Jim Rae was my guide. His claim was that he had some favorite spots to take me to. On the first day I passed up six to eight 150 to 160-class bucks. On the second day I passed up four 160-class bucks. That evening, about an hour before dark, we saw a 190 to 200-class buck. By the time we realized he was that big, he had already disappeared in to the heavy timber.
When it was all said and done, it scored 188 3/8 gross. I was disappointed that it was not 190 as Jim said it was (just kidding, Jim). It was truly an awesome buck. |
Upon
my arrival in Edmonton, Alberta, my two sons and I were greeted by Milo
Verbicki and Ron Sharky, two guides for Trophy Quest Outfitters. We
loaded our gear and headed to the lodge, we were met by Jim Rae,
owner of Trophy Quest Outfitters. He showed us around the lodge and
introduces us to the other hunters. The lodge accommodations were excellent.
The food was all homemade: pies, cakes, and meals, usually a rare find.
On
the third morning we went back to the awesome buck spot. It was chilly
but sunny. We set up between a field and some thick timbers half an
hour before daylight. As daylight approached, we could see some deer
moving in the field. As we glassed the deer, Jim whispered to me, "One
is a buck; he is chasing a doe. Do you see it?" I said "I see it, but
I can't make out what it is." It was a little too dark yet. We waited
about five minutes for the lighting conditions to improve. I said to
Jim, "Yes, I see him, but how big is he?" Jim was looking through
his glasses and said, "It looks awesome, but it's about 750 yards away." He said all we could do was wait, and if the buck didn't come closer
we would return in the evening.
While
we were sitting, watching these deer, we saw another awesome buck with
some doe's about 850 yards away. Lo and behold, Jim said to me, "Steve
that doe is running towards us." The doe came within 400 to 450 yards
of us and stopped. The buck followed her towards us. He had almost reached
the doe when she ran off again. Jim said, "Steve, it's now or never."
It was about a 440-yard shot. I asked Jim, "How big will he score?"
Jim said, "It should score about 190, this is your shot!" I could feel
my heart trying to get out of my chest, it was pounding so much. I knelt
down, put the cross-hairs on the buck and squeezed the trigger. I saw
him flip onto his back. I was as surprised as Jim was. I said, "I was
lucky again." We did a high-five and went to see my awesome buck.