The Buck Fever I was experiencing last week was short lived, like a 24-hour bug that ended with a rifle blast around 8 a.m. Saturday. A nice 10-point buck wandered into my sight on opening day of rifle season, and now I am not sure what to do for the rest of the week. Maybe I should have kept the boat ready a little longer?
The weekend hunt was windy, but pleasant enough to stay warm while hiking through the woods near Lake Superior’s shoreline. The high winds might even play an advantage by masking the noise and smell of an inexperienced hunter like myself. After two years of not seeing a deer on the Gunflint Trail, I will take any advantage Mother Nature is willing to offer.
I poised high on a cliff overlooking a thick stand of mature birch, waiting patiently for any movement as the sun began to unveil the shadowy spaces. After an hour of silence I decided to move around, pour a cup of coffee and pack my folding chair when I spotted a nice buck scouring the ground at a good pace. I dropped the coffee, grabbed my rifle, picked an opening between trees and waited for him to appear in my scope. Everything happened so fast, the buck paused for a second and I pulled the trigger.
Time stopped as the buck jumped into the woods, crashing through trees and out of sight as fast as it had appeared. I don’t remember the blast of the rifle, but I will never forget seeing that deer standing broad-sided through my rifle scope. I have seen a lot of targets through that scope, but until Saturday I had only imagined what a real live buck would look like.
After firing on the deer, I waited 20 minutes to begin pursuing it. I was fairly sure that I hit the deer, but never saw any proof until hiking down the cliff and finding a trail of blood. He ran about 30 yards before falling from the single shot to the vitals. It was comforting to see that the animal fell quickly, minimizing the suffering, and making it easy to find.
While hiking out of the woods to find some help, I jumped a six-pointer that was hiding behind some trees. I yelled, “Bang!” as it ran into the woods.
To shoot a 10-pointer, and see another sixpointer within two hours of opening day is pretty phenomenal compared to what I am used to on the Gunflint Trail. It will be hard to want to hunt anywhere else in the future. I was fortunate enough to have some help locating deer this year from a few friends in Grand Marais. I don’t want to give up their secret hunting grounds by mentioning their names, but they know who they are, so thanks!
Cory Christianson has worked as a fishing guide on the Gunflint Trail since 2000. If you have any fishing or wildlife reports or stories to share, send an email to: christiansoncory@hotmail.com or call 218- 388-0315. You can also visit Cory’s website at Gunflintfishingguide.com.
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