Preparation, fair chase and success are all ingredients to a satisfied hunting experience.

Story and Photography by Bob Zaiglin

On a cool, cloudless South Texas December evening, wildlife intern and friend Danny Jackson crossed paths with an exceptional buck while hunting doe on a Webb County oats patch.  Impressed by its rack, he couldn’t wait to inform me of the sighting.

At headquarters late that evening, the youngster rushed up to my truck before I could exit and began to describe the buck, stating that it supported 12 tall tines and an inside spread of 22 inches, but overwhelmed with excitement, it was hard to decipher just how accurate his description was.  But one thing for certain, the buck fired him up and I was determined to check it out.

Based on the young man’s recollection, the buck entered the northwest corner of the expansive grain field, which was the furthest point from a dirt mound established while clearing the field that I often snuck up to in order to view its visitors.  Assuming the animal would enter at the same point if it returned at all, I used a range finder to determine the distance from where it entered to my observation mound.