I was hunting one foggy morning during the rut. I went to one location and wasn’t getting in action so i decided to move. I got to this spot and I started some soft grunts, about ten minutes went by and a deer blew behind me but I never saw it. Then I began to hear grunting in front of me so i sat still and waited to see if the deer was going to come in my direction. Once a few minutes went by and I kept hearing grunts I decided I was going to try and sneak to see where they were coming from. As I walked I’m still hearing grunts and it was near a big area full of low brush. I walked toward the stand that I had on a tree to see over that area and I saw this nice mature buck chasing a doe so I just walked right next to the stand. I watched to see if they’d take off but they didn’t, so I climbed up the stand to get a better vantage point and realized that 4 bucks were chasing one doe.
It was three young bucks and the big mature 8. It mostly likely meant that she was hit and it was peak rut. So i grabbed my 308 and waited for an opportunity at the big 8. He gave me a broadside shot and I took my shot and dropped then he let out a loud roar. A few minutes later he got right back up and I’m thinking. “how can he survive a shoulder shot from a 308 at 40 yards?” I followed up with a second shot and dropped him again. Then i called my cousin to come help me get him out of the brush and we took pictures.
