Well mine was my first turkey I can stillremember 10 years ago the tom gobbled over and over again ,hens ten feet away from me and the tom kept coming from 500 yards away it took about 2 hours and finially he came 20 yards from where we were sitting and I drew back and shot right as he gobbled that was the funnest hunt I've had in the past years.

so whats your story

Mine was from this season and I never even got a shot. It was a chilly late October morning and I was sitting in my climber on the edge of a strip of crabapple trees that runs through a large patch of oaks. Right behind me is a swamp bed from a old creek and to my left about 30 yards is a golden rod field. The morning started off with seeing a few small bucks and several doe. I decided to pick up my rattle bag and see if I could stir anything up. A few minutes later I look down the edge of crab apples and see a 120-130" class 8 point come out of the brush and stop. He was now about 80 yards from me but the kicker was I had a hang on stand set-up and he was standing 15 yards from it, broadside, in the wide open. I was kicking myself in the butt and wishing I had been in that stand when he just bolted through the crabapples and down into a thicket. I started thinking that I should get down and circle around the woods and down into the bottom where he was headed. When I was getting ready to do this I heard some brush breaking and I looked down to where the 8 point had been standing and there was another deer comming out into the open in the exact same spot. I pulled out my binoculars and couldn't believe my eyes, it was the wide (probablly 22"-24" wide) 11 pointer that I have been after for the past three years. He walked out and stopped 15 yards from my hang on stand and stood there for a little while. I grunted, snort wheezed, and even rattled but he was unphased, he just kept looking towards where the 8 point had ran. After a few minutes he took off after the 8 point and at this point I was at the lowest of lows. I spent 3 years following that particular buck, I have hundreds upon hundreds of game cam photos of him throughout the summer but he always disappeared before he shed his velvet. This was the first time in 3 years that I had seen him in hard horn and the first time that I saw him while archery hunting. At this point I was so disgusted that I decided I was going to just get down and go home for the rest of the day and leave the woods alone for awhile. While gathering my gear I heard something comming from that same trail and as I pulled up my bino's I couldn't believe my eyes, another P&Y class buck. It was a very old gnarly racked 9 pointer that would have netted very close to P&Y. He came out and like the other bucks, he stopped 15 yards from my hang on stand. He waited around a little bit and finally headed towards the other bucks. At this point I realized that this was a "special" day as it was the first time I had ever had 3 P&Y bucks come in within 20 minutes. I watched the 9 point head into the thicket and about 15 minutes later a nice 2.5 year old 8 point (probablly would have scored between 115"-120" came out of that thicket and was walking towards me. He stopped at 45 yards and worked over 3 scrapes in front of me before he moved on. He passed by my tree at about 10 yards and headed up to a pond in the golden rod field. I watched him walk to the bank and when he did, two ducks took off from the pond.

After all was said and done, I had seen 7 different bucks and several doe that morning. I may not have been "successful" in the aspect of killing deer, but I view that day as my biggest success in the woods as I had saw 3 P&Y bucks and it was something that probablly won't happen again.

Split tail. I have great stories from my bachlor years. There is a reason my little sister calls me pig man.

I have a couple that rank up there.

1. An elk hunt I went on years ago when I was 11 with my dad. We packed in 25 miles with Grandpa and my dads brothers (my uncles)into the wilderness of Idaho were I grew up as a kid.

We hunted an area that no other hunters were in. From the intitial horseback ride through meadows of big herds andbugling bulls to packing out 5 mature bulls at the end of the week, there is way to much to writeso I wont start.The best part was I was side by side with dad as he killed a big bull and as he helped call in 3 others.

2. When I arrowed my first mature buck that I had scouted, found a set of his shedsand got to know pretty well over a 2 year time period before killing him.

3. When my 4 year old son and I sat together and shot a big gobbler. He was pumped.

It would have to be a toss up between my son taking his first deer when he was 7 or my wife shooting her first buck after hunting her butt off for a week in Ala. But I cheerish each time I go to the woods, because I never know when I may not get to do it anymore......

I'd have to say taking my best buck on the second to last Saturday of the season. Lisa and I had gone out to my Co.'s Christmas party the night before.......then met some friends out for a drink. We came home.....settled into the hot tub for a bit.....then I had a decision to make. Either go to bed......and risk not getting up (It would have been easy to stay in the bed )......or stay awake and go hunting. I took a shower.......and went hunting. When I left the house.....it was 14 degrees.

I got in my tree a good 3 hours before first light. I napped a bit.....but it was the "coolest" feeling in the world being up there and being warm. I watched a few deer file through (seeking a doe to take.....but not getting a clean shot at any I saw)....until I saw the one I took. He offered a shot (FINALLY!) after teasing me by chasing a doe my way, twice. I figured it at 27yds or so......but later walked it off at 33. Either way.....it worked out, fine.

What a year.....but this was probably the most memorable.

My favorite is a combination of two different hunts. The first hunt was really just meant to be a scouting session during gun season. I had all my stuff with me just incase I decided to sit or I was able to sneek up on a deer. Anyway, I found a very promising spot and I thought, what the heck, mind as well just set up the stand here. There was only about 3 hrs of shooting light by the time I got the stand set up. Within a half hour or so I could hear the deer start to move around in the thick stuff across this little creek and clearing I was sitting over (literaly - my stand was set about 4 feet from the waters edge!). After a little while of hearing them but not having anything come out, I decided I'd do a little soft grunting, who knows, maybe I'd spark the interest of something back there. By this time there is only about an hour left of shooting light. I would hit the grunt tube a couple times and wait for a bit, then hit it a few more times and wait. But nothing came out. I was about to just get out of the tree and start packing stuff up when I glimpsed some movement through the underbrush. Light was fading fast and I had to make a decision quick - Shoot or Don't Shoot? I decided that if I got the chance I would take whatever it was coming through the undergrowth. I waited and watched and I finally looked at my watch to see that it was 5 minutes past closing light. I was pretty upset - at the deer for not walking faster of course, but I decided to unload my trusty ol 30-30 and just watch the deer. Withina couple more minutes there were about a dozen deer in this little clearing all within 30 YARDS!!! One I could tell was a buck, I couldn't tell how big, but there was deffinitely bone on his head and the rest, as far as I could tell, were does. I waited for the party to clear out before I got out and packed up and walked out as quiet as possible.
Two days later the wind was right for me to hunt that spot again. I set everything up and had about the same amount of time left as a couple days earlier. My dad had decided to come with me this time and was going to hunt up this creek about 100 yds from me. Within 10 minutes of me getting into my tree this buck just materializes in front of me (how do they do that anyhow?). Anyway, he's not the biggest, but he'll do. I take the shot (whichI could have made just as easy as with my bow, he wasn't more than 20yds away) and he tips right over. I get a call on my cellphone and my dad is pissed because he had justgot settled into his spot!That was one of the best thanksgiving days anyone could ask for. It wasmade better because I waswith myfather and my game plan worked out to the "T".

I will say an elk hunt 2 years ago. I broke my right hand and got split for stitches the day before the season opened. Went to the doc and got stiched up, went to my stand that evening and slept overnight in the stand in order to get behind the elk for the morning. No tylenol, hand was the size of a football. It was a rude long night but at 5:30 am i caught a young bull on his way back and arrowed him. Ended up having to swim for him in a river in order to retieve him. Stitches got wet, got infected bad but i cannot say i have had an expereince quite like that b4.

My next one!

Every one is special but I have many.
My kids 1st hunt. Seeing my children get their 1st shot. Taping my brothers Bow to his broken hand castto Bear hunt. Drawing on a Sika Deer in MAryland 2 days after I had 30 wire stitches taken out of my shoulder from surgery & remebering the Dr. saying, no Bowhunting "you will probably never be able to Bowhunt again" 20 years ago. Being charged by a wild hog (many times).
Starting my 51st year in Bowhunting this year.
I have been VERY blessed with family & many Bowhunting adventures.