Got out to my local hunting spot yesterday at 3:50 with a buddy that i hunt with. We had decided to go to the corner of a pasture that is joined by an 80 acre woodlot. Sat down in the hedgerow and my buddy rattled for about 30 seconds. Not a minute later to taps me on the shoulder and says " big buck." I laughed at him thinking he was giving me a hard time. But as i looked into the corner of the woodlot i saw him. A nice 8 pointer, nothing huge just a good deer. At that moment i thought back to last year when my same buddy in the exact same spot rattled in a nice 8 pointer that i screwed up on. As i was pulling back on that deer my arrow fell off the rest and the deer spooked never to be seen again. So my nerves were obviously kicking in pretty good. The my buddy says " theres another buck with him." I looked over and there they were standing at the fence 50 yards away. Both of these bucks were nice but the one in the back was huge. So i grunted a few times and here they come. I couldn' t see them so my buddy told me when to pull back. Yea, after last year that was a little nerve racking. I pulled back and here comes the buck, not at the 20 yards that i was expecting but at a big distance of 4 yards!!!! No excuse for where i shot him other that sheer nerves. I released and there goes the arrow right in the guts. Time in 3:50 Time deer was shot 3:55 We watched him walk off for 60 yards and then he laid down for 20 minutes. All my instincts wanted to go and get him right then but i knew better. Good thing. After 20 minutes he gets up jumps the fence and walks off. So we went home grabbed a bite to eat actually went to see a movie, yea tell me i enjoyed that movie, and then after five hours went to retrieve the deer. Upon finding him it was obvious he hadn' t been dead long. I just want to say thanks for the post early in the year about what to do after the shot. Had i not backed out and givin this deer plenty of time i may not have this deer at the taxidermist today. I will post pics as soon as i get thim.

Alright well done! Don' t worry the bad shots happen to us ALL!

good job and good recovery. congrats

Get those pic, always love to see pics. One often tries to visualize but the pics make for a great addition to a good story, Like Playboy magazines

Way to go congrats

Congrats ksbuck!

Awesome!!! CONGRAtS on the big boy

Good job always is a kick in the pants to take big game with a bow. I get sooo excited I can hardly hold my bladder. I get the shakes real bad, so bad that I have wished that I could put a second arrow in them to to make it a little faster but I could not hit the broadside of a barn. Then once I finally calm down and go and recover them I do the funky chicken dance.

where do u live at? i have only rattled in one small 6 point ever and i have scared many other deer before that. just wondering and congrats on the deer!

Let me guess, you read it for the articles, but the pics make them better?!?

Congrats on a good hunt and an even better track job. I read a post on here that basically said shooting the deer is the easy part...you become a hunter when you are able to track and retrieve it! Couldn' t agree more!