The field photo thread got me looking at old pics and thinking about my first bow killed buck.
So I figured since we are in the middle of the off season I'd go ahead and tell the story to kill some time.
I had been hunting several years and had 2 does to my credit. One bow, my first deer, and one with a rifle. I had started hunting with my father and grandfather and had tagged along on many gun hunts. I got my bow when I was 16 if I remember right. It was an old Bear Polar 2 compound. Way to long for me but I made due. It came with arrows and broad heads and I loved to shoot it. Unfortunately I had no clue how to and just learned as I went. I got one shot opportunity when I was 16 or 17. It was a small 6 point and I missed him (hit a limb) I shot allot and got allot better over that time. But then I graduated from High School and started to work and after a year joined the Army. I spent a year in training and finally ended up in Maryland. On the post I lived on they had an archery club (basically a hunting club) I took my first deer there. I blew it on several bucks and never got one. But that"™s a different story...
The year after I killed my first, and second, deer I had decided to hunt in a watershed area about 30 minutes away. I was married and had a young daughter. So I would hunt in the morning or evening if I was off and pick my daughter up from on post daycare. My wife worked also so she did this sometimes for me. Anyway I had this spot I thought was good in this public area. I had a cheap climbing stand and I hung it on a tree and left it there (something I won't do now) I'd been seeing deer almost everyday from that stand unfortunately they were 70 yards away. So I decided one day to head up and move my stand. This is in the middle of the day. I call my wife and say I'll got get our daughter but I'm going up to move my stand first. No problem won't take to long...
So I head up, get parked and decide I might as well throw on my coveralls and take my bow. So I head out toward my stand. I'm not in any hurry but not really worried about hunting. Just enjoying the woods. I get about 50 yards from my stand and see a doe at 40 yards. She'd near my stand and ends up walking away from me and under my stand never knowing I was there. Here I am not really being quiet or doing anything about my scent. She's gone and I think OH well. So up the trail I go. Within 25 yards I see two more deer uphill from me and my stand moving fast away in the direction I'm walking. I think to myself "maybe I should just find a spot and sit down"
So now I'm in hunting mode except I'm wearing coveralls but no hat, mask, or gloves. I do have a doe bleat and a bottle of scent. I get past some thick stuff that was on the trail near where the deer had been and find a downed tree to sit on. I pour a little scent out and bleat a couple times. And waited...
Within about 10 minutes or probably less I see movement directly to my left. Its a buck walking straight to me. I stand slowly because the bow is to long to sit and shoot. Amazingly I get up and get drawn as this deer is closing the distance with his nose to the ground. Once I'm at full draw the deer is still coming and "I'm thinking I'm going to have to shoot him in the back." meaning in the top of his neck. A poor shot and I knew it. All of the sudden the deer turned and I didn't hesitate... The buck jumped a downfall and stopped and looked back at me. For a split second I thought I missed. But he was so close (20 feet to be exact) Then he took off and ran a big semi-circle. I see him stop and them move to my right and disappear.
Playing it back in my head thinking I missed I remember seeing a roughed up spot on his side after the shot. It had been a complete pass though (something I hadn't experienced yet) and the arrow was in a dead tree on the other side of the deer. I snuck up and got the arrow which was covered in blood. Waited until I stopped shaking, or at least some, and started following blood. I followed a fairly easy trail until I got to where he had stopped. It was thick between there and where I shot him so I had really only thought he had stopped. In fact he had ran head first into a tree and then staggered off straight away from me and dropped. I ended up confused and lost the trail at the tree and brought a buddy back the next morning to find him.
He's no monster but a great hunt I relive every time I look at his antlers on my wall.
Thanks for letting me relive it on here with you all.
***Added*** I forgot to mention. When the buck turned and gave me the broadside shot he was standing on the trail I normaly walk to my stand on. In the excitemt of the moment I hadn't realized exactly where I was and didn't see my stand just 30-40 yards away. It's funny how I can still to this day picture all of that in my mind. ***Added***
And here he is. Bad photo but all I got. this was at the butcher shop.
My first buck (revisiting memories)
