I often sit back and think of the times of my childhood, and how I always waited anxiously every month for my new Texas Trophy Hunters Magazine to come in the mail. Every month I would stare in awe at the amazing bucks that were coming out of the Golden Triangle of Texas. I knew one day I would be there, I just didn't know when. After finishing up with college at Texas A&M University, I got a job and started to find myself in the world. Hunting was still my passion, but the big bucks had always seemed to elude me.
My brother Marc and I planned a trip to Tilden, TX and hunt a large piece of property that contained just the bucks I had been dreaming of. Marc and I arrived to the ranch and instantly liked what we were seeing. Long scendaro’s, lots of sheds and trophy buck mounts around the ranch house. We had several friends joining us for this trip, so we knew it was going to be a fun few days.
Several days went by in the blind, constantly glassing and aging really nice whitetail. Most were 3 year olds, with an occasional 4 year old passing by quickly. I stared in awe of how many does were in my every morning and evening. Bucks that most people would dream of on full display right out in front of us, but they were all just to young to be harvested. Talk about tempting, but we hoped our patience would pay off.
Finally on the 5th evening, Marc and I set out to the same blind. My hunting buddies and the guides thought we were crazy, but we knew those does were packed in there, the bucks we was seeing were very interested in a few of them. It was only a matter of time before, you know who, showed up
I'll never ever forget it, the wind was howling and not one single thing in sight was sitting still. The trees were shaking, the dirt was blowing, but the deer still showed up. We were noticing a few new bucks that had came out close to the blind, and then, BOOM just like that, there he was there. This buck came out along way from me, but there he was. He was a beauty, and I knew that I had to focus on the job, steady my scope, calm my anxious breathes. I steadied my Browning .300 Win Mag took a deep breathe...Boom! He went straight down.
I couldn't have been more overcome with calmness, it was strange, you think when one of your biggest dreams comes true you would be elated, I was relieved. I could finally stop wishing and hoping, because now I had a big golden triangle buck of my own.
I was so proud of this big boy. Proud to find him, share the field with him, and harvest him humanely. To top it all off my big brother was with me the whole time. We couldn’t wait to get back to camp and see the boys and show them what we had accomplished. This is truly a moment that I will never forget.
Ron McWilliams
