lobi

ha ha..I remember shooting my first deer ever. It was a doe/bow kill. I was shaking so bad you would have thought it was a 175 class buck. It ran out across an open field and piled up in sight, good thing because I knew nothing about tracking. I had to go to work but was so afraid that somone would " steal" my trophy that I dragged it all the back to my property by myself, didn' t even field dress it. I cant explain except maybe it was this deeply embeded cave man mentality that no one is stealing my meat. No one would have found it let alone took it. Went to work then came back and proceeded to butcher (hack job) ..uhh, I mean field dress it.

Tell the rest of us about your first kill. I' ll bet there are some good stories comming..

btomlin

My 1st deer was a gun killed doe. I was in 7th grade. I was hunting with my dad and this doe came by and my dad told be to take careful aim. Only I really wasn' t for sure where I should be aiming. I had a total mental meltdown. Anyway, she smelled us and took of running straight away. Before my dad could stop me, I can remember my bead on the back of her head and I touched it off. BULLSEYE!

My dad still doesn' t believe that is where I was aiming. He also made sure that I never shot one like that again!

My 1st bowkill was 4 yrs ago. I was hunting my uncles place and it has 1 ditch in it and very few deer have a reason to be there but I had 1 stand and really didn' t know where else to put it. I saw some bucks the 1st night and thought I was the best hunter in the woods. I then began to see fewer and fewer. As you were guessing I didn' t know much about scent control.[:-] Anyway, I finally saw a 6 pt from the group of bucks that I had seen early and he was TARGETED. I studied this deer. I studied his habits, why did he do this or that and planned accordingly. A few trips later, I had him at 6 yrds and smoked him. That deer taught me so much it isn' t even funny.

Now I am a fanatic, and could really care less about using a gun again. Now I scout dilegently, shed hunt, study maps, and am a scent control freak all because of that dang 1 1/2 yr. old 6pt. All because of him, I have a " super freak" and a 170" NT! I should also have a 150" 8pt with a drop, but he and his brisket hairs taught me I needed a rangefinder[:' (]

hoytusa10

I remember like it was yesterday...a doe/crossbow kill. This was the first time year I was able to pick my own spot, hang my stand and hunt it alone...needless to say it worked...any ways.. my dad walked me 2 my spot and of course we were late (he' s always late) and I climbed up in my stand and watched him walk off. I was situated on the edge of a field and just at 7:05 I heard deer from behind me...I turn to look and four doe are walking just 10 yds. behind me. One walks to 15 yds in my one shooting lane and I decided to pass because there was a bigger doe still behind me. So the bigger doe finally decides to pass me at 10 yds. She stops, and quickly jumps back a couple feet, and then comes right back to where she was...I don' t recall any buck(doe) fever and I double lunged her! Got down out of my stand and went back to honk the horn on the van to let my dad know I got one. We tracked her and she piled up not even 40 yds. from where I shot her. What a day and that has led me to a great obsession that will last forever! What I learned that day has helped me through out my hunting career.

lobi

Come on you guys..there has to be more first deer kill stories than this. Lets hear some good ones.

RiverBottomBowHunter

Here' s mine---

Im 13, opening morning of shotgun season here in illinois. My dad takes me to my stand, which I picked out myself. I knew a little about hunting, just from magazines and stuff. Dad makes sure I' m setup , safe, and ready and he walks across the field. About 5 min later a 120" 9 pointer walks up and I shoot. My dad wasn' t even to his stand yet. From that moment on I' ve been the lucky one every year.

good thread

bowtechgirl

Mine was a doe/bow kill. Unlike some of you I wasn' t that young. I was 32 years old. My husband introduced me to the great world of hunting. I was hunting in a special stand we had built for me. I am afraid of heights(although I can now make myself use a climber)so the stand even though 25 feet up, had a 4x8 floors, a rail, and roof.Any way I was hunting one morning, it was about 10:00 and I had about had enough of the cold and wind. I was getting my stuff together when I saw something come down the trail, it was a small doe she came to within 20 yards of my stand . I aimed right behind her shoulder, it connected. She took off running up the hill she circled round and came almost back to where she was when I shot and fell down. My husband was at the cabin and I yelled for him.(Did I mention this stand was only 50 yards behind the hunting shack?) He was more happy than me when I shot I think.
This began my great love of hunting and my obsession with the bow. Now if I can only get a buck within range.

dpv

It was last year. I hunted for 6 years and never killed a thing. I stopped hunting for sevearl years and last year was my first year back. I had done a lot of scouting and prepping in some land right behind my house. It was the 3rd day of Bow season and I was in a stand over a creek and some trail intersections. It was getting dark and I was about to get out of my stand when I heard footsteps. I figured it had to be a person, but I eased my head to the right and saw a deer walking cautiously over the hill about 40 yards to my right. She meandered down to the water and started to drink. I was having trouble aiming my crossbow at her because my reddot scope seems to be terrible at dusk. I finally got it placed on her and shot. I saw sparks fly up from the creek bottom and she took off. I sat there for 30 minutes before getting down to track her in full dark. She went about 100 yards straight along the creek line before going down. I took another doe this bow season and I' m hoping to use at least one more tag during general firearms season.

David

NY Bowhunter

Well my first kill isn' t a very good memory. I know this is going to make all of you guys sick to your stomach as it does me pretty much everytime I' m out in the woods and think about it. I don' t think I go through a single hunt without thinking about this.
I was 14 yrs. old and hunting with my stepfather. We were on state land and headed back to the camper that we had there for the 2 week stay. Well, we come across a doe standing right there broadside in front of me 40yards away. My step father puts his arm out to stop me because he saw it first. That first feeling...wow!! I' m shaking like a leaf. Pull my gun up and take the safety off. I let a shot go that must have hit 20 yards in front of her. She didn' t move. I then shoot again and hit her leg. She didn' t move. I shot twice more and finally got one in her lungs. She ran off about 30 yards or so and expires.
Boy this is even tough typing. We walk up to her and it is a small (very small)doe. My step dad says we can' t bring this back. It' s the size of a dog. He was afraid of what the others at camp would say. So he tells me we' re going to pull it over to the side and behind some thickets and leave it. I remember just being in a state of shock. I really didn' t know what to think. To make a really long story short, he went on to try and justify and tell me that he' s not proud of what we just did, and what we did was wrong. I was wiping away tears the whole walk back to camp. We get back to camp and the guys asked if that was us shooting that they heard some shots over there. No we had to say. I ended up going home 2 days after because I didn' t even want to see another deer.
I didn' t hunt for 8 years after that. I was 22 before I picked up a gun again and went to the woods. I' m 31 now. For the last 9 years I' ve been back into it I tell you I' ve thought about that every single time i' m in my stand.
Now understand one thing PLEASE!! I am the most ethical hunter now that exists. At least I strive to be. I' ve passed on so many deer. I will NOT take a shot at a deer unless it' s 150% sure shot. I don' t know where these ethcis and values came from, because they didn' t come from my first experience hunting.(or maybe they did). I am an avid fisherman and outdoorsman in general. I have the utmost respect for the outdoors and wildlife. It breaks my heart that the incident happened and I was a part of it. I want to go back and talk some sense into that 14 year old, but I can' t. I didn' t know any better at the time.
The funny thing is, my step father is the absolute greatest man in the world. He is a very rare human that puts himself last. He' ll do anything for you and has helped me so much in life. He doesn' t hunt anymore because he had a tough time after he took a buck one year. He felt bad about killing it. We have never talked about what happened that day. I talk to him about hunting when I see him, but that day never came up again.
So, don' t think less of me (or him) and understand why I get so defensive and outraged at some posts about ethics and bad shots and such. Maybe what happened has triggered me to who I am today. Things happen for a reason, but it' s tough to find a reason for that to happen.
Sorry I even had to have you guys hear something like this, but the question was asked and it reminded me once again. Anyway I like the hunter I am today and will go on doing it the way I do it now. I may not harvest as many deer as other people, but I know I' ll never make a bad decision again. I' m just glad I finally got over it and am able to be in the woods again. And I' ll guarantee one thing. My 3 boys are going to learn the way it' s supposed to be done. It' s a tough one to live with. I' ll never forget the first 10 - 20 steps walking away from her. OK I rambled enough. Good to vent though.

buckeye

My first deer is one of my most important memories. It was Nov. 30 1998. It was opening day of gun season and I was on my grandparents land which made it all the sweeter. I climbed up into my homemade ladder stand my brother and I made and settled in around 1:00 for the afternoon hunt. At around 3:30 I hear something approaching me but it is to thick for me to see what it is. My heart skips a beat when I see antlers. he comes in on a fast trot with his nose to the ground. He then turns on the logging trail i was set up on and stops 5 yards directly in front of me. Boom! double lung heart shot. I dont remember getting out of the tree but I remember the feeling of accomplishment and how proud I was of this monster 7 pointer (well he was a monster to me at the time). I have since taken many bucks bigger than him but I am more proud of him than any other I have taken even my bow bucks. You can see the others on my link at the bottom if you like.

lobi

NYBowhunter, thanks for the story. We all can learn and grow a little from that kind of lesson. I' m glad you decided to put it to words even if it was tough. Tough as well as funny stories are both good here. Thanks again. Please keep the first deer stories comming. I still feel goofy when I think about how paranoid I was that somone might get my deer. I was sweating like a stuck pig from dragging it. No sled or help of anykind and no time to take it slow, just haulin' butt trying to get it to my yard.