The day that I have been both waiting for and dreading has finally arrived. I have had many dream filled nights, and unproductive days at work. This very day is why I have spent the better part of my time in the past 7 months thinking up new strategies, cleaning areas in the forests from fallen trees, clearing paths to salt licks, and making contingency plans in case of a change in weather. Innumerable days of planning and just dreaming since last October 15 (when the previous season ended) have been committed to this very day's arrival.
I also dreaded this day's arrival because it marks the last few days of me living in Germany, and returning with my family to Texas before I carry on alone to South Korea. Knowing that South Korea is a veritable wasteland for hunters, I am not excited about the prospect of not only being at the end of the Earth, but with nary a piece of wild game to look through a rifle scope at for 365 days. With that in mind, I took a "personal day" away from the Army and awoke at 3am to try the first of my hunting areas for the "ghost of the forest" as the Roman legionnaires on the frontier of Germania Superior used to say.
I arrived at my partner's house shortly after 4am, and we exchanged a few items that only I can get for him, and him giving me a choice of which rifle I would like to use. A few weeks back, the moving company packed away all of my firearms, and to say the least I have felt quite naked without my Blaser R8 and his 9 closest buddies from my gun safe. After a cup of Senseo coffee, we loaded his small truck with his dog and our gear, and then headed out the 10 minutes it takes to get to his area. I was given a Heckler & Koch model 940 semi-auto in .30-06 to use with a Swarovski 3-12x56 scope attached. I was going to sit on a 5m enclosed stand called the "Eiffel Tower".
As you can see, the spring colors have started to return, but in the moments after first light when the picture was taken, a strong rain began to fall. This was a major let down, because the Roe Bucks do not like to come out when a strong rain is falling. Undeterred, I waited through the deluge and kept my eyes trained on the oaks and beech trees to my front, and the spruces to my right. Unfortunately, nothing showed and by 0800, the hunt was over. Both my partner and I had no chance to shoot.
Disappointed, but undeterred, I collected my gear and headed home. Later in the evening, I would travel to another location about 1 hour's drive from Heidelberg into the famed Odenwald forest of Baden-Wuerttemberg in South Western Germany.
After resting and repacking my gear I headed out from Heidelberg at 5:45pm for the hour long drive through some of the most scenic hills and river valleys in all of Germany and possibly Europe. I met up with my partner at the local train crossing, and we made a quick plan to hunt close to each other. He would hunt from an elevated enclosed stand overlooking a young wheat field bordered by a forest, and would hunt from a high seat overlooking a grassy field. The same forest edge lay to my right side and my rear, while the expansive field was in front of me.
View to my right side
View to my front (partner's stand is where the grass changes color beyond the row of apple trees- the first white tree on the left side is important!)
View to my left and the forest behind me
I arrived on the stand by 7:15pm, and quickly got settled as I didn't have a lot of time to mess around. The open seat left me no margin for error- these bucks are smart. While they haven't had any pressure until today, an ill-timed adjustment, creak of wood seat or unnecessary movement would give me away. I hung my Steiner binos from my neck, placed my camera on the stand and worked a round into the chamber of the Anotnio Zoli .30-06 that my partner let me borrow for the evening. I had a slight wind blowing to me, and I wouldn't get winded by any deer coming from my right side, but possibly by a deer in the forest behind me. It was as good a spot as I could hope for, having been successful on the same seat last July when I shot a strong 6 point Roe buck. The stands and seats are all named in Germany, and this one is called "Kanzel ohne namen", or the stand without a name.
I was settled and glassing for about 1 hour when below me at 700m in the field beyond the row of apple trees a Roe buck appeared well within easy shooting distance for my partner. I watched through my binos as the buck meandered out of the forest and began eating the dew soaked blades of grass. I couldn't make out any points at that distance, but the pattern of white hair on his rump in the shape of a kidney bean told me that this was a buck. My partner took his time with a .222 Rem Mag and lined up a shot. I was looking through the glass when I saw the buck jump, and then I heard the retort of the rifle. The buck was hit, but it jumped and ran towards the forest. I picked up my cell phone and sent him a short message telling him I saw the hit, and that he should be down close. My partner replied that he thought it was a hit but a little farther back than he would have liked, but that he would get his Jack Russel terrier and do a search. He told me to stay seated and that in an hour we'd link up.
Not more than 10 minutes goes by, and another buck that was probably in the area where my partner was searching sprinted out of the woods and crossed through the row of apple trees to my front, moving from right to left. I immediately reached for the scope, and set the magnification to 12x so I could make absolutely sure of what I was lining up. The Roe was still wearing his winter gray coat of thick, coarse hair, and slowed his run to a trot and then finally a stop. He was a perfect broadside to me facing left at easily 200m or more. I estimated the range rather well, and lined up on him behind his front shoulder but a little high for avoiding the stomach in case I was wind drifting.
I breathed calmly as the cross hairs gently rose and fell ever so slightly, and in that moment I couldn't hear anything other my heart pumping the blood through my veins. I took my shot, and in the time it took for my eyes to refocus after the recoil I saw nothing. No movement, no legs kicking at the air wildly and nothing scampering off to find a better place to hide. I knew I had my buck down. I just had to wait a few moments to allow it to either attempt to get up or give me another sign it was down. I cycled the action and racked another insurance round just in case, hoping that I wouldn't need it though. After I gathered my rucksack, camera and rifle, I roughed out an azimuth to the white apple tree and began my walk for the retrieve. As I walked through the grass I saw sign everywhere that the wild boars have been making a home for themselves in the grass. There were beds, and there were areas that had been rooted leaving shallow depressions of mud and loose soil. I ignored these and stayed on my path. After more than 200m, there he was, stone dead. This buck had breathed his last fresh breath of air.
This is the exit wound side, and I have placed a last bite in the buck's mouth from the apple tree behind him.
I quickly took stock of what had just happened. I had been blessed with an amazing opportunity to hunt, a loving wife who consented to me pursuing these small deer for the bulk of the day. I walked to the apple tree and broke off a branch and gave him the traditional last bite, and placed it in his mouth. I spent a few moments examining the deer. He was small, but not too small. He was still thick with winter hair, although it fell out at the slightest touch. I suspect that he would have been completely in his summer red coat in about a week or two at most, but for now he was hard antlered and sporting an uneven rack. He had 3 small points on his left side, and a pronounced fork on his right. This antler formation makes him a management buck, and since he originated in the neighbor's hunting area, he was good to take. Had he been living on the inside of our area, we would probably have let him have a pass. Its all about passing on good genes here.
Roe bucks usually have 3 points to a side, and any abnormality makes them desirable to hunters here. The hair is often re-purposed for fishing flies.
I contacted my partner and let him know that the buck was down on the spot, and that I had him. He let me know that he found his buck, and that we could meet at his location because he needed to load the deer onto my truck. I couldn't gut the deer where he lie, because I would have to drag entrails about 200m more to the forest's edge. So I loaded up and drug my prize across the expanse of grass nearly 700m back to my truck, but not before I got the customary trophy shot.
PRK surgery always gives you crazy eyes in the pictures... Picture taken downhill from my stand
When I got to my truck I learned the value of staying in shape during the lull in seasons. I loaded the deer and met up with my partner. I saw his deer, and it was still a spike in velvet on one side, but with a fork on the other. These were just the bucks we were looking for. Both good bucks for meat and to take from the neighbor's area when the crossed over before they could breed in July. We didn't weight them right then, but my partner has since sent me a message saying mine was 40lbs and his was 37.
My deer is in the back, partner's is in the front. Notice the red coat on his buck
We had done it- a rare opening day double! What started out with less than perfect results ended in something I could have only dreamed of.
Since I don't have a lot of time left in Germany, I declined my partner's offer for me to purchase the meat, but because it was a good shot with no damage to the loins or shoulders, it will be sold immediately. I parted the head from the body and wrapped him up to take home with me. I'll be cleaning him this coming weekend and I'll post a step by step on my traditional European mounting method for all to see.
Thanks for looking and Waidmannsheil from South-Western Germany!
Korea is nothing like Germany, and no amount of Army Modernization propaganda will convince me otherwise. I miss my wife and kids something fierce
![[Linked Image]](http://neoswarm.com/images/Bug_Crawling.gif)
