Right Place, Right Time

Roadside Buck

Sometimes around here you just have to be in the right place at the right time. I shot this buck yesterday afternoon. I wasn't hunting, but I did have the rifle in the truck just in case. I'm not an accomplished road hunter so it was a bit of a comedy as I screeched to a halt on the side of the road, turned the truck inside out looking for bullets and then piled out hoping he was still standing there. The rut makes bucks do some dumb things. Why else would he be standing alongside a main road, in the middle of the day, during hunting season? Looking for love in all the wrong places. He almost snapped out of it in time and attempted a hasty retreat, but I made a nice off-handed shot as he slipped through the brush to secure him. It was an arduous 50 yard drag back to the road. It isn't always this easy (actually I don't think it's ever been that easy), but heck I'll take a gimme every once in a while. What makes this buck a real subsistence buck is that I gave the whole thing to a neighbor in trade for a steady supply of farm fresh organic eggs. Win win for everyone involved. Well, except for the buck.