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Benelli Day 3

Yesterday was Day 3 of the Benelli On Assignment hunt and there was some pressure to score. We'd seen lots of bucks and tried to stalk a few but, each time, we got busted by does and the antlered ones made clever escapes.The author with his buck.

This was the first filmed hunt I've participated in and that added an element of pressure. Take yesterday morning for instance. After leaving the lodge at seven, we worked to an area where we'd stalked a large three-point the day prior. That day, I had the buck in my sights for more than five minutes, but he was skylined on a ridge and I prefer to not shoot at skylined animals for safety reasons. In the end his group of does spooked and they took him over the hill with them. We followed through heavy cover, but the snow was crunchy and there were six of us walking in single file, which means we wer e making a racket. Never saw those deer again.

Later that day, we found another heavy-antlered three-point with tall eyeguards, but that deer, too, gave us the slip. Truth told, I was beginning to wonder if we would find a buck in the right situation where I could get a solid shot and the camera crew could capture the action. I went to sleep that night wondering if we'd end up with a show and hoping that if I got the opportunity to shoot, I wouldn't miss the animal. I've missed before, you know.

Fortunately, early the following day we relocated the heavy buck with tall antlers and three points on each side. We followed that animal through the brush and ravines and finally caught he and his does on a broken-timbered slope. I took a position with shooting sticks in front and the safety off and waited for an opportunity. The camera crew struggled to find the buck and repositioned numerous times.

A few seconds later, with the crew in place, several does bolted through an opening between two stands of timber. And the buck was right on their tails. As the buck passed one tree I found the vital area behind his shoulder. He took one more step, which put him within one more step of heavy timber. Basically, this was the opportunity, the only two seconds of possibility I would get. As I started to squeeze the trigger I heard the guide say, "You better shoot now." His last word may have been obscured by the sound of the shot.

Through the scope I saw the deer jump forward and run into the timber. Joe Coogan, the host of Benelli On Assignment, said, "How do you feel about the shot?" and I replied, "I'm pretty sure I hit him hard, but he ran into that timber and I've hunted enough to know that it's not over until you find him on the ground. I'm hoping he's right down there, but I don't know for sure."The boys working on my buck.

In the back of my mind I was hoping I hadn't simply broken the animal's leg, which would have allowed it to cover a lot of distance and would have made recovery efforts iffy at best.

Fortunately, after waiting a little while, we walked to where the deer was last seen and we found blood, then more blood. We followed the blood for 30 or 40 yards and the guide said, "There he is."

The shot took that buck through the top of the heart and the animal probably didn't feel a thing. A clean, quick kill. What I want as a hunter. No suffering.

After a series of photos the guide and ranch manager cleaned the animal for me and dragged it out of the woods and placed it in the back of the Hummer. I said, "I've never had anyone clean an animal for me, let alone drag it out of the woods. I could get used to this."Loaded up in the Hummer.

Later yesterday, after the animal was skinned and lifted to cool in the garage, we taped interviews detailing the hunt and why Montana is such a special place. In the end, I felt privileged to have been included on the hunt, to see such great country and to have learned what it takes to make a quality outdoor program. What's in the future? I'm not sure, but I have some thoughts about working for a production company or soliciting sponsors and putting together my own show, most likely on fishing. How about this: AT TV. Angler's Tonic TV. I like the ring of that.

Thomas