RE: Have you killed your "Deer of a lifetime"?
 

Well if a muzzle loader counts then yes, i will probably never take another this big. Gross 159" and some change. missed him by one day with the bow, got him opening day of firearm 2005. found his rubs while bow hunting, they were bigger than my waist on some cedar trees.

RE: Have you killed your "Deer of a lifetime"?
 

Like GMMAT it doesnt have to be the biggest and mine wasnt. He was an old 8 probly 12in spread but he was special. I traveled 4 hours away to Bracketville. It was me and my dad 10 days togethr the time i spent withe him was amazing. Evry morning getting up before dark, something. The buck was on the side of a mountain when i saw him. He saw us and made his way around the side we took the gator and pulled up beside a fence and we took off in his direction. When finally got around all the brush and he was still up there so i took probly a 200 yard shot.Dropped in his tracks. Well he dropped, but didnt stop for a while took off rollin down. Now u might think this would help but he rolled into about 2 acres of thicket and thorns at the bottom and on the side. So my dad took off through the thick. Well he couldnt go very far so he came back out so we tryed to go around. We walked about 600 yards around all the thick to a spot les steep for us to up then go donw to him. Well about 2hours after i shot we finally got to him. Then we had to take him back the 600 yarsd o so back up and around to flat land. Then i walked about 200 yards to the gator and went and picked up my dad and the deer.
The whole trip, from the sight of the mountains and brush country, to the sight of monster whitetails, blackbuck axis and different rams, to the father and son times, it was AWESOME. Not to mention, it was my first deer;)

RE: Have you killed your "Deer of a lifetime"?
 

I shot my "buck of a life time" when I was 16! It was only a 110"ish 9 point!
For me,the size of the deer had nothing to do with it!It was opening day of gun season 1986. I headed for a stand that I had built in the off season.Having never been in the stand, I had a hard time finding it in the dark. Once I realized I wasn't going to find it, I sat downand waited for light, so I could get my bearings. As soon as it was light enough to see, I realized that I was a mere 70 yds from the stand, so I quietly worked my way to it! I wasn't in it more than 5 minutes when I here a twig snap.I look, and here he comes! He died literally at the foot of my stand.I had to step over him to get to the ground!!
The reason I think this is my "buck of a life time", is because I was sitting, for the first time, in the first stand I had ever built, carrying my grandpas gun, for the first time! I have shot bigger deer, but I don't think one will ever mean more to me!!

RE: Have you killed your "Deer of a lifetime"?
 

Thats what my deer was but knowone passed.

RE: Have you killed your "Deer of a lifetime"?
 

That;s good stuff, right there!

RE: Have you killed your "Deer of a lifetime"?
 

Nope, not even close. That is what keeps me coming back for more, or maybe I am not that good so that is why I have not gotten a monster buck :)

shadow

RE: Have you killed your "Deer of a lifetime"?
 

I got a whitetail in 2001 that scored 182 1/2 gross, and 168 3/4 net. Probably never get another one that big. Heck, I've never seen another one that big in the woods. Still holding out for a big mulie. Hopefully next year. I have 7 preference points for an area (which shall remain undisclosed :)) that holds some real hogs.

RE: Have you killed your "Deer of a lifetime"?
 

Well, if we want to throw out inches of antler and just go by feelings, then I have had many "deer of a lifetime". The first one I ever took, the first with a bow, my biggest, the one I froze my hind end off for, they were all unique, once in a lifetime occurences that cannot be repeated. I will cherish these memories along with the memories of my childrens deer, as long as life and health permits. Many deer have been special in one way or another, with unque circumstances.

I shot a doe last weekend with my muzzleloader, a sidleock .50 cal that I built from a kit 20 years ago. Did it with irn sights and a patched round ball at 10 yards. I had been trying to get that particular one for 3 years, she was an old biddy that was teaching others bad habits like where to look for my stands. She ran for about 40 yards, and when she fell a bobcat jumped up and attacked her. Talk about a unique experience, that is a once in a lifetime!

If you want to judge based on experiences, I will have killed my deer of a lifetime when I quit hunting.

RE: Have you killed your "Deer of a lifetime"?
 

For me the answer is Yes and there are reasons for that. I may kill a bigger buck, but not a more meaningful buck. Here's why.
- This is the first "mature" buck I have taken with my bow
- This buck had walked away from my stand and came back...due to my calling or tending a doe I can't be certain, but he came back.
- It was taken on the farm that my wife and I got married on just this past spring and I've established a great relationship with the property owner and now manage the hunting program for him.
- My wife participated in the recovery, dragging it out, gutting, skinning and will certainly enjoy the meat.
- My wife was every bit as happy for me as I was for myself.
- Bucks of this size and age are few and far between in my area.
- It'll be the first deer I've had mounted.
It's just an all around very special buck for me and I'll be perfectly content to kill does for the rest of the season if it comes to that.
Can't guarentee how I'll never want to kill a bigger buck, but I can't imagine one being any more special than this one.

RE: Have you killed your "Deer of a lifetime"?
 

Great stuff, guys.....I appreciate all the GREAT stories!