Five Bucks in One Day

Three years of drought — ended

Three years without a buck. Landed in England Thursday and was picked up. Calvin took me to a friends farm, where he was told to reduce the numbers of roe. With the intensive rut, the timing was perfect. We parked the truck, found the gear and off we went.

After 75 meters walk, Calvin called and a roe doe was on her way. To the right a Roebuck heard the pfeep, saw the doe and started chasing her. I was ready with the Sako on Viper-Flex and was really excited. She dragged the cull buck with her and when they stopped at 30 meters, I shot him in the chest. He dropped on the spot and my first buck im three years, was mine. What a relief.

Buck number two

We left The first Roebuck and continued along the hedge line. We entered the next field and tried to call again. Suddenly there was a whisper from Calvin, there he comes. And yes, a very tall antlered buck was approaching. I was pointing in another direction, but the buck was still moving forward and getting closer to where I expected a buck to appear. He was so close that I didn't dare to move the sticks, instead I flipped the rear section forward and used the sticks as two legged. He got wind of us, jumped a few steps, but stopped when Calvin called again. Just when he stoped, his neck was visible and the bullet flew.

Over the hill

Calvin had seen him at the top of the hill in the next field, so he had actually heard the call from around 800 meters distance. I was so impressed. He was not a young buck, and had good roses. But the antlers were actually quite unusual, very, very high, compared to the thickness. A very good one to take, Calvin said. We had now moved us 240 meters from the truck and the evening was still young. We brought the bucks to the truck and left for another location, where Calvin had seen a very good buck. I was so excited and had my fingers crossed.

New ground

We parked the car in the new area and got out. There's a big buck right around here, Calvin whispered, - he's the one we want to look for. I found the equipment, got ready and we walked along the hedge, down to the right. Calvin wanted to call at the corner, so I was quickly ready with the rifle on the sticks. After calling for a while, we went back again because nothing actually happened. We passed the car and looked on the other side of the of trees we were walking by.

The third buck

Over there was three roedeer, and one of them was a buck. Even though it was the buck that was furthest out, he heard the call. It wasn't the big one, but one Calvin wanted to be shot. He passed one doe and quickly came in closer. I was ready with the rifle on the Viper-Flex, but it was difficult to get the buck free from the high vegetation in the field. Suddenly he was actually very close and it was difficult to keep up with him, with the rifle on the quad sticks. Once again I lifted the stock free is the rear fork to be able to get a better hold on him.

Buck fever

I tend to get really extreme buck fever when things escalate. But I had just shot two bucks, where it all came together, so my self-confidence made me calmer than I normally would be. The buck took a few steps forward and stopped. I was ready and squeezed the trigger. The buck fell in the shot and I had bagged my third buck within a very short time. He had been fighting, there were broken tines on one of the antlers and he was full of scratch marks and scars on his neck. I was so happy - after three years of drought, I managed to get three bucks. But Calvin had more plans, so we left the buck by the car and went around the corner, where we had just been earlier. It turned out to be a good idea…

On to number four

We picked up the buck and laid it next to the car. We should continue in the direction we had started so we went over to where we had called the first time. Down in the corner I saw something red and poked Calvin on the shoulder. It was a buck, a fine six-pointer, though not the large one Calvin had seen earlier. But it was definitely hunt-able. So I quickly got the Sako on the Viper-Flex and was ready. When the first pfeep sounded from the Clausen's call, the buck responded promptly. It turned and started coming towards us. The field looked like an overgrown grass field, with tall weeds, so there wasn't much open space.

The buck at 40 metres

When the buck got to about 40 meters it stopped. It stood pointedly, with its head above the vegetation. I was ready and saw the crosshairs pointing rock-steady on the buck's neck, then I clipped off. The result was spectacular, as it always is when you hit the spine. It was dead before it hit the ground and just disappeared in the shot. I reloaded and we went over to the buck.

It was a beautiful and finely pearled set of antlers, that will look good on any wall. If I was over the moon before, it was absolutely crazy now. I had shot 4 bucks in one day. Calvin didn't quite understand where this buck came from, but I thought it appeared after we called the first time. Calvin smiled and said now we'll see if we can find a fifth. I couldn't believe my ears, but of course followed as he pointed out our direction and moved on...

Stalking on

A few moments later, on our stalk, we looked into a field that was towards a busy highway. There were both bucks and roe does in there, but the bucks weren't big and they apparently couldn't hear the call because of the traffic. As it was getting darker, we chose to continue. At the next corner, a doe passed from the left, she was soon followed by a buck. He looked quite interesting and we followed. But despite a diligent search in the area, we did not see him again.

The fifth buck

Soon after we saw a buck and a roe running in circles on a cut grass field. There were no back-stop in that direction, so we tried to get around and approached from a different angle. But when we got there, no roe in sight. We tried to glass around and all of a sudden, obliquely from behind, there came the buck running alone at full speed, heading towards the corner of the field.

Calvin started yelling to get it to stop, I whistled as loud as I could, but the buck continued. But then, Just before it reached a barbed wire fence that was low in that area, the buck stopped and looked back. I had followed its movements with rifle on the shooting sticks during its entire journey and was perfectly ready if it stopped. I knew I only had a split second so as soon as I found the shoulder in the scope, I released the shot.

The bullet impact

When the bullet hit, there was a clear bullet impact and the buck jumped over the barbed wire fence and ran to the left. It disappeared behind the vegetation, so I didn't see it fall. "-Good shot", Calvin said, and I also had a good feeling, according to my follow through on him, when the shot went off. There wasn't much daylight left and we hurried forward to see if we could find the buck. Calvin went to the right into the field, I went more to the left and tried to walk in a pattern to see if he was lying in the tall grass.

I searched the area meticulously, and ended up at a small stream, with tall vegetation. But there was no buck, it had now become quite dark and I could only see a few meters ahead. Calvin came over and said that we better had to find a torch in the car. Meanwhile, my frustration had turned into a fear that we wouldn't be able to find the buck. Amazing how one's confidence can completely evaporate in a matter of minutes. But just as we headed over to the car, Calvin called. -"He lies here".

The search

And sure enough, there he was, long gone, with a bullet placed exactly where I had aimed. He was a very nice buck with a compact set of antlers. It was unbelievable, in one afternoon/evening I had bagged five roe bucks in five shots under very different circumstances. And it had taken place together with my fantastic English hunting friend. We went back to the car and Calvin said we had better keep all the bucks and do a group trophy picture the next day, now that it was getting so dark.

I talked like a waterfall, as I had never before experienced a buck hunt that was anything like this. When we reached the car, Calvin suggested that I could pick up the buck in the field to the right, then he would drive down and pick the last one up, that we had just got. We gralloched the bucks and then it was towards home. We had one and a half hours drive and we had to get up early the next morning. Because there we had to try some buck hunting somewhere else ...

Five bucks in one day

I don't handle buck fever well. When things escalate, I shake.

On this day, something had settled. Three clean kills behind me — and the confidence that the rifle would be where I put it when the moment came.

Five bucks in one day. After three years without one.

Everything aligned — equipment, fieldcraft, timing. For Calvin, it was a normal day. For me, it wasn't.

English roe hunting in summer is fast and unpredictable. The deer move through tall crops and the shots come without warning.

On every shot that day, the Viper-Flex was the platform that made it possible — standing, tracking a moving buck through dense vegetation, with no time to think.