Good buck on opening day

I watched a lot of deer come and go this morning before killing a nice atypical 8-point at about 11:30 a.m. He came in with two does and a button buck. The does winded me in the swirling winds this morning and their nevousness forced me to take a front presentation shot on the buck. The bullet went in just to the right of the base of the neck, clipping off the vessels at the top of the heart, and dropped the big boy after a 40-yard run. Being Ohio, this means my buck hunting is over for the year. I still have doe tags, however... I checked the deer in at Gander Mountain and found their game-checking business had been slow to that point. One employee estimated they were down about 80 percent from opening day last year.

The buck's right horn is a fairly typical 5 point. The left side headgear, however, actually is made up of two main beams. The one to the back has one point and extends about a foot above the deer's head. The one to the front is a simple fork, also extending about a foot over the deer's head. The spread's about 22 inches. His bust will eventually decorate our family room.