November 7, 2009
I got to my stand at about 615...a lil late then when i usually get there but it was still pretty dark so it was ok...it was 50 degrees and 615 when i got in the stand and i sat there seeing nothing but squirrels until 830...btw i froze bc for some reason the temperature went down to 40 from 615 to about 8 and i didnt expect that...anyways at 8 i see two does and a small buck walk across a hill about 100 yards away...i could see the does walk back and forth for a few mintues....then from my left a doe comes crashing through with a decent sized buck following her....75 yards through some thick stuff....even if i had a rifle i didnt have a shot...i dont think he was chasing either bc he stopped and just looked around for awhile while she moved on...anyways sat til about 845 and decided to get down and slowly make my way over there...checked my camera first which is 30 yards away on the other side of a small creek...after i get the card swapped i look up and there is a doe walkin 15 yards from my stand (on the opposite side, 45 yards from me) anyways she passes on through and i get down in this creek and start slowly makin my way to the spot where the does and small buck and the decent buck were...i get to the bottom of the hill and poke my head up and see nothing so i proceed to climb the bank and fail the first time....then i notice a tail with my peripherals so i freeze....i wait a few seconds and slowly turn my head to see the decent buck about 20 yards away....he is obviously staring at me and does so for awhile....then he turns and runs up the hill a lil bit...the sun is directly behind him so it was a beautiful image to have a buck 30 yards away uphill with the sun behind him
anyways he looks back at a doe so i draw back and let my st axis fly...once he hit i knew i had hit forward quiet a bit....the arrow didn't sink in alot like i had expected or anything....he bolts off up the hill and i knock another arrow and wait 10 minutes and climb up and see if there is a blood trail...yup...so i walk back to the truck and go home...dilly dally for awhile...get a hair cut and what not..go back with my dad and we track him quiet a ways...had a pretty good blood trail going and it was obvious where he stopped...he maybe went 150yards?? anyways we find him and he is pretty stiff...didn't find the arrow until this morning which i was going to be disappointed if i didn't have my first bloody arrow
i hit way far forward in front of the shoulder so that kind of downed me a little bit...he is no monster or anything like that...i will be happy if he goes 90inches but i wanted to get the first one out of the way....i have been told just exactly how long it takes for beginners to get a kill and i wanted blood now!
after the fact someone told me that he read somewhere "it takes the average bow hunter 6 years to get their first buck" which excited me that i was above average...anyways he was also my very first time gutting a deer which was made even harder by the fact i was basically using a dull dull butter knife haha anyways the bigger bucks can walk til next weekend when it is rifle season
First MO archery buck :)
