HuntingNet.com Forums - The Results Are In....My first Buck

This morning I went to the stand for the first time this year. I was sitting in the stand by 5:30 AM and waited for 30 minutes prior to sunrise. I started grunting and rattling just as the sun started peeking over the horizon. At 7:15 AM a big old 8 pointer wandered into my area. I grunted a couple of times and he stopped and looked into the woods I pulled the trigger on the crossbow and let the bolt fly. He turned and ran into the creekbed across the lea. I was sure I had hit him and sat there and thought about all the posts I had read on this forum. After 30 minutes, I climbed down and went looking for the bolt. I found it stuck in the ground about 60 yards from the stand. Not a drop of blood on it. I went back and climbed back into the stand and as I sat down, I noticed a small limb between me and the meadow that was now hanging by a thread. So, I missed the deer but killed the twig. I recocked the XBow and started grunting again. After the first grunt, I heard that buck blow three times and knew he wasn't coming back anytime soon. I continued to grunt and rattle every 15 minutes or so and at 10:30 a small 8 pointer wandered into the woods and settled down under my stand. At 11:15, a doe walked into the woods and the small buck started chasing her around the tree I was in. After what seemed like an eternity, the buck stopped on the hillside (about 12 yards away), and stood there grunting. After a short deliberation, I decided I needed to get a deer under my belt (archery wise) and took aim. As I sqeezed the trigger, the left limb of the bow smacked the tree I was in. The buck did a mule kick and then started walking after the doe again. I watched him walk out about 150 yards and lay down. Since he was out of sight, I got down to retrieve my bolt. When I found it, it was streaked with fat and blood. I then noticed my bow string had snapped several strands from hitting the tree. I decided to back off and talk to someone who had bow hunted for years. He looked at the bolt and told me that I had probably just knicked him under the brisket. I decided to go look for the deer anyway since I had shot him. After a three hour wait, I walked over to where I had last seen him and there he was. He lifted his head a little and then let out his last breathe. His rack is small, but he'll still be good eatin'. Pictures to follow after I shower and download the photo.