First deer EVER with a bow(pics)and it's a buck!!
 

This is my first year ever in the woods with a bow. I have only owned my bow since Feb. I have worked very hard over the last 10 months preparing and man did it pay off:)

It was Sunday morning and I was heading back into the woods with my brother to a tree that I had seen some solid action from just 3 days ago. I pointed out a good spot to him in the dark and showed him the directions the action came from and we went our seperate ways.

We ended up about 75 yards apart and could see each other easily. We settled in and watched the sun rise and the woods come alive. The chipmunks and squirrels began to shuffle the leaves as they chased each other around and turkeys could be heard gathering up after leaving the trees. We sat for a couple hours watching the show and enjoying our morning in the woods. A light rain began to fall but nothing to worry about getting soaked from........my brother did have to put away his book though.

I happen to glance over my right shoulder at 9:45 and to my amazement a buck was on his way right towards me from my back right side. Thank god I was 25 feet up because I stood up kinda clumsy and would surely have been busted at a lower height. He did not see me at all and I came to full draw immediately. He was now 13 yards away even with my stand directly to my right. The shot was clear but he was angled just a hair towards me and it just wasn't right. He then took a step away from me leaving a perfect slight quartering away shot. I settled the pin and squeezed the release and got a perfect hit right behind the shoulder. The deer ran as fast as I have ever seen an animal run and was out of site in 5 seconds.

I mentally marked the last place I saw him, went over hit in my mind and looked at my watch. I then sat down and tried to calm down because I thought my heart was going to explode.

With the time and weather getting iffy I decided to get down and go have lunch with my brother. We had a quick bite and called a couple hunting buddies to see if they felt like helping track this buck. They met us back at the spot and 1 1/2 hours after the hit the search was on.

About 30 yards from my stand we found blood and shortly after we found the arrow. Nice pink frothy blood so I was very excited to move on. We found more blood and marked each spot just in case. The blood trail could have been better but it was now raining so we were happy to find any blood we could. After about 1/2 hour my buddy says he has blood at the top of a small hill about 30 yards ahead. When I got up there he was smiling from ear to ear because not only did he find blood but my buck was laying right next to it. He was dead before I even got down from my tree. He didn't last much longer then the 5 seconds I watched him. He was already stiff and his neck was twisted back in a way that indicated he didn't lay down.....he FELL where we found him.

I am so happy I can hardly contain myself. I still don't believe it sometimes. It all happened so fast and yet somehow I kept my cool long enough to make a good shot.

That was by far the most rewarding hunting experience of my life....and getting to do it with my brother watching makes it even more special. I LOVE BOWHUNTING!!!!!!!!

Here are some pics


I know it's a little dark but my camera battery died in the truck if you can believe that so these were done at my brothers house in the dark when we got home.




This is the entrance hole. I used a WASP JAK-HAMMER 75 grain mechanical head. As you can see it was fully open at impact and performed very well.




This is the hole the head made in the left lung.




Doesn't get much better then this!!!! Again the broadhead did a great job. Guess all that practice paid off.




This is the head. As you can see it shows no signs of damage at all. When we butchered him later you could see the tremendous damage the head caused. I am impressed. 3 new blades and back in the quiver it went.




4 hours after we got home he was ready for the freezer. 60+ pounds of steaks, chops and grind........there is nothing quite like taking game from field to freezer with nothing more then a bow, arrow and a couple sharp knives.

I still smile every time I walk past those antlers on my wall.

I will NEVER forget that day, this buck and the feelings they both gave me.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!





Edited by - Rob/PA Bowyer on 11/14/2002 10:33:00

RE: First deer EVER with a bow(pics)and it's a buck!!
 

Congrats bud!! Nice buck!!

RE: First deer EVER with a bow(pics)and it's a buck!!
 

Great job! Nice shot, too. That was a great story. Cool you got to share it with your brother. Feels good to have practiced so hard, then to have it all pay off I bet!

RE: First deer EVER with a bow(pics)and it's a buck!!
 

Wow...

Way to go. Can you say "Fresh Frozen" !



&quot;It's not the kill, it's the adventure and challenge! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>&quot;

RE: First deer EVER with a bow(pics)and it's a buck!!
 

atlasman, as a long-time poster on here (going on three years now, geesh!:)), let me say emphatically that this single thread has probably every single element of what I would propose as the model for telling a successful bowhunting story!! No kidding, I've posted thousands and thousands (and losts hundreds <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> ) and read thousands more, and this has got to be the best I've ever read. (Frank, Matt, could one of you guys dig out the old HRAOP? That's Honorary Rack Award for Outstanding Post award for you guys who weren't here in &quot;the day.&quot;)

Congratulations, kudos, and everything else I can think of to write. And thank you for restoring the spirit of what this forum used to be.

Discipline -- not desire -- determines destiny.

RE: First deer EVER with a bow(pics)and it's a buck!!
 

congrats all around. Great story and pictures. Should be some good eating this winter.

brian

RE: First deer EVER with a bow(pics)and it's a buck!!
 

What he said!! Congrats on your first bow deer. It's a nice rascal to. I lightened the picture for you a little.

RE: First deer EVER with a bow(pics)and it's a buck!!
 

I absolutely agree with Greg.......I'm applauding the computer screen.

You did it and you DID IT RIGHT!! Congratulations!!! <img src=icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
That story and the emotion you are feeling really comes thru and is truly what this board is all about. I'd give you one of those H.R.A.O.P. awards if I knew how to work my new Moderator buttons?!<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

In any event......top notch Atlas, top notch!

RE: First deer EVER with a bow(pics)and it's a buck!!
 

Congradulations on good clean kill. My buddy hunts with jackhammers and I have seen the damage.

RE: First deer EVER with a bow(pics)and it's a buck!!
 

Thanks for the kind words guys. The best part about this story is that I got to live it. Memories of that day will stay with me for many many years. Can you possibly imagine how many times I am gonna tell that story??......geez I told it to my brother 10 times already and he was there!! LOL

My face hurts from smiling.


Here are a couple more pics showing the rack a little better. It has 6 points I can hang my ring on.