I'm glad to have found a spot to share stories like this as I can never seem to tell it enough...
As you may or may not know the wind in Oklahoma is brutal most of the time, and hunting season is no exception. On halloween 2006 the wind was blowing probably better than 30mph at 5:30 am. I was fairly excited about hunting with my muzzleloader for the first time in 5 years, so I took off for my treestand anyway. When I got close enough, I could see the silhouette of the tree swaying what looked to be about 6 feet side to side at the height of my stand. I decided to go hunt a different spot from the ground for obvious safety reasons. I walked to a spot where I had never really hunted before, but I had seen some good sign in the area. As soon as it got light enough to see I got the horns out and started rattling them loudly. I thought it was stupid at the time because of the wind, but finally figured it was worth a try anyway since I hauled the gear out there. After the second series of rattling followed by aggressive dominant buck grunts this deer stood up 40 yards directly in front of me!! I could not believe what I was seeing, but it didn't take long to snap out of it and prepare for the shot. After the shot I was a little surprised to watch the buck clear the fence 50 yards from where he was shot, and of course thought that I had missed the deer. Obviously that was not the case and the shot was placed well. I had hunted some with this gun when I bought it in 1999, but had never taken a shot at a deer until I harvested this buck. It was an exciting time as I got to show off my trophy to friends and family. I just still can't believe that I was able to walk in and set up within 40 yards of where this buck was bedded...amazing, I guess the wind can be your friend.
John
Here's a couple more shots for you guys...I took like a million