My first buck came by bow and arrow in 1971. My first rifle-killed buck came in about 1997 or so. Last weekend I bagged my first muzzleloader buck.
I decided early on that in order to improve my competency with the muzzleloader, I needed to go all the way and kill a buck. With two A-zone tags available for me this year, I figured the first buck would be just that, the first legal buck that came within muzzleloader range.
Saturday morning was a bust, but Saturday afternoon I took stand at a pond where I’d seen a couple small bucks. In full camo with face mask, I sat against a good-sized boulder and waited. After about two hours, a couple young bucks laid down in the shade about 13o yards up-hill from the pond.
I waited them out. At 5 PM, the forked-horn buck stood, fed for a couple minutes and then trotted towards the pond. I raised the muzzleloader and steadied it on my monopod.
He came straight to the pond, turned broadside at 25 yards and walked into the six-inch deep pond. It was an easy shot and the muzzleloader did not let me down. Now I have some very tender venison in my frig. I’m proud of this buck, but he was just a baby.
This will be the smallest buck I kill for a while, but I'm pleased to have completed the first muzzleloader test. Next comes the search for a big one.
