Another Book Sitka for James Baichtal
By James Baichtal

James Baichtal with another record book buck. This one a beautiful 5x6

It had rained all night and had broke to scattered intense showers. Clearing periods were punctuated by rain, snow, and sleet/hail showers. The cooler temperatures had thrown the rut in full swing on central Prince of Wales Island..

My partner, Aaron Prussian and I hiked into an area I had wanted to hunt for a number of years. The further we got from the road the more deer sign we saw and the more deer we called in. Fresh rubbed trees were everywhere.

Aaron and I entered a muskeg clearing and I spotted a doe hidden in the shorepine. I called and she ran to within a few yards of us. When she moved towards us I spotted another deer darting behind her and away from us. The other deer did not follow. After several minutes we moved 200 yards to where we had seen the movement. I called again and an other doe slowly walked in. She came to within a few yards and looked back. Aaron and I following her stare and saw a buck move away over the low muskeg ridge.

I ran forward taking my muzzleloader from it's wool blanket cover. When I could see below the ridge I stopped to glass. I found the white face of the buck some 60 yards below staring at me through a cover of small trees. I could only see where his neck connected with his shoulders through a 6" opening in the vegetation. I tried to make the shot with a rest but when I bent to my knee I could not see him. I raised and took the offhand shot. At the shot smoke obscured my view. I moved to the side and saw nor heard any movement.

The doe moved towards where the buck had stood. I slowly reloaded. Aaron come forward and ask if I had got him. I did not know. The shot felt good. As I reloaded the doe looked at us and to her right on the ground. This gave me confidence. Once reloaded, we moved forward to find this huge buck where I had broken its shoulder and neck. The buck is a magnificent 5 x 6 which green scores about 109" netting about 102" B & C. I was fortunate. The sun came out for the photos. A great day in the woods. The buck should place in the top 5 of the Longhunter Records.