Missouri 14 point 156 1/8" Big Buck

by Rodney Spires
(New London MO USA)

The hunt actually started the evening before the opening day of rifle season here in Missouri in 2000. My buddy and I were trying to decide where to put my stand on a property I have never hunted. We found some scrapes and rubs along the edge of a creek. As we walked to find a tree we scared the big buck and he ran onto the neighboring property. We decided to put the stand there and hope for the best.

The next morning, I got into my deer stand about an hour before sunrise and waited. I had three does come behind me around 6:30am or so. As I watched them, and deciding whether or not to shoot one, something caught my eye, as I turned around there he was less than 30 yards from me munching on some grass. I raised my .243 Remington rifle (which my late grandpa bought me when I was 11) and squeezer the trigger. He fell in his tracks.
I had to sit in my stand for at least 2 or 3 minutes to stop shaking. I called my dad and he couldn't believe his eyes.
My dream of having a Missouri Big Buck had come true.