I finally took a mature whitetail buck with my CVA Optima V2 muzzle loader pistol. On November 18th I was hunting alone from a popup blind on property I had not hunted in two years. I had done a little scouting and found a couple of scrapes that were fresh.

I waited almost two weeks for the wind to be right for the spot and slipped in before daylight that morning. I carried a folding chait, my Optima V2 and a shooting stick and got setup.

About 7:58 am I caught movement to my left and saw the mature buck moving from my left to my right. I quickly placed my pistol on the shooting stick and waited for the buck to stop. He stopped at twenty five yards and dropped his head to try some corn I had put there a couple of days before. When he moved his right shoulder forward his heart was open for my shot and I took it.

He almost went down with the impact of the shot and then ran to his left digging hard and low as he left.

I quickly reloaded and sent my son a text telling him that I had just shot a good buck with my pistol. I told him that I was going to give the buck thirty minutes and then go look for him.

To make a long story short I found blood where he was standing when I shot him and followed it to the largest six point I have every seen in the wild.

I texted and then called my son and he came over to help me get him out of the woods. I took the photos of the deer where I found him but he took the photo of me with the buck.

The buck weighted 172 pounds and had a inside spread of 17 inches and a outside spread of 18.5 inches, which makes him my second widest buck. Not a bad buck for the part of North Carolina I hunt in.

The man who is going to mount him for me checked his teeth for his age and told me he was 3.5 years old.

I have killed seven deer in five seasons with this pistol and am glad to finally take a buck that is over 2.5 years old. [img]http://http://www.handgunhunt.com/photopost/data/500/75356901_1030230063986437_2139249581513244672[/img]