Charles Smith Buck

"If it's about Missouri deer you'll find it here"™

Sometimes the moment you have waited for years to take place happens in a split second. It happened to me on November 10^th, 2007 , Veterans Day Holiday weekend, in Crawford County Missouri. I had been settled in my deer blind since 4:30 A.M. and as the sun came up I had seen three does in the field to my left. Then at 7:00 A. M., it happened!

A huge 10 point buck stepped out into the field at a distant of 102 yards. He was chasing a young doe. Fortune was smiling, I had my Winchester model 70 setting next to the blind window and I raised the rifle quickly in the window and placed the crosshairs of the rifle on the shoulder of the buck. When the 300 magnum bullet left the barrel it barked with authority; the 150 grain Hornady SST over my hand load of 60 grains of Hodgdon Varget sent the bullet at 3108 fps directly to the point of aim. The buck did a back flip as the awesome knockdown power of the load dropped the buck dead in his tracks.

Yes, my hunting had end, for the season, on opening day morning of gun season in Missouri ; but the story does not end there. This story began in March of 2007 when I booked my flight to St. Louis , Missouri for the deer gun season. I had been invited by my best friend and hunting partner, John Bailey, to hunt the Show-Me- State. John Bailey and I had served together and hunted in

Japan

until we both retired in March 1995. We had both been United States Air Force First Sergeants together. Therefore, our Veterans Day weekend together is a time for us to get together and be reminiscent of our service and remember our hunting friends and veterans who are no longer with us, along with the opportunity to hunt some great whitetail deer.

I travel to Missouri, every Veterans Day weekend, to hunt with John on his hunting land or as we call it his “Farm” where he raises deer, turkey, and small game. John retired in Missouri and I retired in Georgia. John became a nurse after retirement and I became an educator; we both continued to serve our country after military retirement. We both still love to hunt and the Show-Me-State provides some of the best deer hunting in the nation.

On the 9^th of November 2007, I left Savannah , Georgia on a Delta flight to Atlanta: in Atlanta I quickly changed flights for St. Louis and at 9:30 A.M. I arrived in Missouri. The trip had only one glitch the $50.00 extra baggage fee for my extra 12 pounds of hunting equipment. Delta only allows a 50 pound checked bag and would not let me remove any clothing to hand carry. I cleared the airport where John was waiting for the drive to Crawford County .

The drive to Crawford County included two stops, one for breakfast at the Saint Louis Bread Company outside of St. Louis followed by a stop at Wal-Mart for my non-resident hunting license. With stops, we still arrive at the farm before noon . We surveyed our hunting areas and planned our tactics for the next morning by reviewing the pictures on the game trail cameras. Next, we sighted in our rifles to insure they were still hitting the point of aim. After sighting in our rifles, we sat around the cabin and caught up on all previous year’s news. At dark, we listened to a coyote howl before leaving for Rolla and a stop at Panera’s for supper.

Because of my medical condition, we spent the night at Holiday Inn Express in Rolla. At 3:30 A.M. on November 10^th we left for the “Farm”. We wanted to be in the deer blinds before sunrise. I settled in the deer blind and I listened to the surrounding area as it came to life with the rising sun. Then at 7:00 A.M. , my hunting for the season came to an end with the one shot kill on a 150 class buck in the Show-Me-State. At about 10:30 A.M. on what was beginning to be a warm day John shot a nice eight point buck from his tree stand a quarter of a mile from my deer blind. We both have been fortunate filling our tags each year in Crawford County , Missouri .

I wish to thank the people of Missouri for their support of hunting and for allowing me to hunt in your beautiful Ozark Mountains . Further, I want to thank my best friend and fellow veteran John Bailey for his service and for inviting me to hunt his farm. Citizens of Missouri please continue to support the Department of Conservation and hunting.