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[This is my season-ending report originally posted on another board]

Early last Saturday morning (the 14th) I headed out with my oldest daughter for the last hours of the South Texas deer season. We made good time and got to the ranch in the early afternoon. I was hoping to catch up with an old buck that needed to come out of the herd. Failing that there were some younger ones that needed to go as well.

Saturday night we saw a lot of young bucks together with does and fawns. We also saw thirty pigs or so. None of the bucks I was looking for turned up.

Back at camp we learned that one of the other hunters had connected with a non-typical seven I had seen and photographed earlier -- he was right where I had seen him the Sunday before. Based on his teeth they thought he was 4-1/2 -- even older than I expected.

Before:

After:

Early the next morning, amongst the multitude of pigs and young bucks, the old one I was looking for showed up. I had to wait a bit to be sure it was legal shooting light. I then had to wait for a decent angle. Finally I was able to make the shot. By eight in the morning pictures were done and we were heading back to camp.

[My daughter is in the picture because she is more photogenic but she let me shoot this one!]

The before picture:

Based on his teeth I was told he was old, at least 7-1/2. He was big bodied as well.

So far things were going according to plan. However, that is where the smooth sailing ended. I had carefully charged up the battery for my new camera and then taken the camera and left the battery. I used my old camera instead. I managed to cut or saw into my thumb and the first two fingers of my left hand skinning and quartering the buck. Finally, I had a chance at another cull the last evening of the season and blew it -- I don't want to talk about it but it soured my mood.

I am always more excited by the thought of taking a really old deer than a younger one that scores higher, so I am glad I was able to connect with this one. I went by Kuby's Sausage House last Tuesday morning and it looks like a lot of venison sausage is now in my future which makes me very happy. I got another hunt in with one of my kids. All in all a successful end to the season even though I did not connect with the big one.

[CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO VIEW THE FULL-SIZED VERSIONS.]

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