OUTFITTER:
Tamarack Outfitters
Larry Konrade
Galen Krier
P.O. Box 192
Ashland, KS 67831 USA
620-635-2360
larrykonrade@tamarackoutfitters.com
galenkrier@tamarackoutfitters.com
www.tamarackoutfitters.com

ABOUT THIS HUNT:
I have hunted with Galen Krier and Larry Konrade many times in the past. These guys know their whitetail deer and nobody in the business puts more time in the field to make their hunters successful. I take great pride in the fact that over a number of years I'm able to transcend the client/guide relationship and become friends. I'm positive this happens through mutual respect.

The wind was wrong the first morning we hunted so we had to map out a different strategy than just hunting the stands we'd planned on. We decided to stay up high so as not to bump the deer or pressure them in any way.

We're figured it'd be better to try and spot the deer from above and figure out where to hunt them in the evening but the deer didn't cooperate. The first evening hunt took place near a food plot and while we did see deer, there were no shooters we felt were good enough for the Obsession Quest so we held off.

For those of you trying to imagine a typical Kansas hunt you'll find CRP fields and rolling hills and mildly deep ravines with an occasional river bed (sometimes dry) meandering throughout. CRP stands for conservation resource planning which is a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that provides agricultural producers with annual rental payments and cost-share assistance for establishing protective cover on suitable farm property to protect and improve air, water, soil quality, and wildlife habitat. "Suitable" property is usually defined as being marginal for agricultural crops, and/or erodible.

Anyway...

On Saturday, December 3rd, 2005 we were hunting a river bed where we felt the deer just had to be bedded. We settled in for what stood to be a long afternoon sit. We weren't glassing for more than 30 minutes when we spotted a shooter buck trailing a doe. We only caught a brief glimpse but it was enough to convince Galen and I this was THE deer we were looking for. We watched the buck bed down 225 yards away. When he bedded down he literally disappeared in the tall grass! We could see the doe he must have been following and she too decided to take a break and bed down but we couldn't actually make out the buck but we know he was there. Let's just say he definitely had our attention.

Patience grasshopper! We continued to glass the surrounding area but naturally our binoculars kept tracking back to the spot where we knew the buck was bedded. 2 hours later he finally stands up! 2 hours!

I'm a good and loyal friend of my 15 power Swarovski binoculars and instantly I knew this was the deer we were looking for.

Up comes the Browning A-bolt and at 225 yards I place the crosshairs behind the front shoulder and gently squeeze off a round. I'm not to macho to admit that tears streamed down my face because a 156 inch 8-point went straight down! Man! Was I happy and emotional!

ABOUT THIS ANIMAL:
Obsession Quest Texas Whitetail
An awesome 156" , 8-point ! A big deer in anyone's book, including mine!

EQUIPMENT USED:
Browning A-bolt 300WSM w/ 180 grain Nosler ballistic tip & Winchester cartridge, Swarovski scope