If you can't remember the first deer you killed you might want to think of getting a new hobby.

I don't get the question though? Why does the geographical location have anything to do with it?

Mine was a 150 lb (dressed) 7 point shot in lower Michigan. Opening day of bow season at 5:30 in the afternoon. It was the first time I had ever hunted and I was only in the stand for about half an hour. Shot it with my Darton Yukon set at 60 lbs and 26 inches of draw with a Nitro Stinger arrow.

There were actually two deer under me, a 7 point and a ten point. I wanted the 10 point but it just wouldn't give me good shot ( so I thought, looking back I could have taken him). Then the 7 point turned perfectly broad side and stuck it's head in the weeds to browse on something. How could I pass that up on my first day of hunting!

I was going to say I remember the first deer I killed with a gun as well the following year (inline muzzle loader), but I remember every deer I have killed pretty vividly. I have only been deer hunting since 2000 though, so it's not like I have to remember back 30 years or anything.

Paul

Mississippi southern 6 pt. was my first buck.

Mine was a Washington state 13 pointer. There is more to this world than Southern/Yankee. You don't get around much do you?

Ahhh yes my first buck.A beautiful 4 pt. big boy mulie. I missed the first shot and spined him on the second. It was with my Uncle. what a beautiful buck!!!!!

it dont, the only reason is top puppy asked the question...

Yes I can rememeber my first buck.
(My brain has not been cooked by the southern sun)

NO it didn't appear to be demanding any respect - but I gave it.
(It was lying there with a big old hole blasted thru it with 1 oz. of hot Brenneke lead. It died much too quickly to be able to demand any respect)

Was it an elusive, majestic, mysterious, sneaky, Southern whitetail? Or, was it a pile of Yankee goohey pooh? Itwas a real buck, a true Illinois whitetail, 8 points in all. (But I know it had true southern genes. It was rut and he was chasing, of course - a doe that was quite a bit overweight, wrinkled like a raisin and had but two or three teeth,that of course was -his sister)

The difference between a southern deer anda "yankee" deer? A yankee deer takes more than one hand to drag it out.

Save a couple bucks, buya hat.Heads are for thinking but atleast you can get some use out of it as a hat rack.

Whoever can't remember their first buck needs to take up scrapbooking, knitting, or stamp collecting.

Yes, I remember my first buck. He was a 90 lb., butt-kicking yearling spike. I'll never forget it. It was the second year that my grandfather took me hunting on opening day. "Papa" couldn't see very well, but when I told him that the deer coming up the draw had antlers, Papa lit up like a Christmas tree and I put a nice shot on the deer. I'll never forget that day.

And yes, my deer got the respect that it deserved. No need to demand it.

Uncle Matt, love your post. As far as respect, men realize it is EARNED, never given. Looks to me like someones been hittin the corn squeezins a little hard! Larry

Rack Buck


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Posts: 161
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From: Louisville, KY
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I can't believe that I am even responding to this.......... It was a small 8 pointer, November 1996. I guess by defintion it was an "elusive, majestic southern whitetail" since it was taken in KY. BUT I AM NEVER DOWN PLAYING THE FACT THAT LARGER BUCKS COME FROM THE NORTH! IF ANYONE WANTS TO LET ME COME UP THERE AND HUNT.......I'LL SEE YOU IN THE FALL???? CALL ME A SELLOUT!


Hey Rack Buck I'll trade you a deer hunt in Me, Ma or CT for a deer hunt in KY.

Guys,

I enjoyed reading all of the enthusiastic replies. I heard your words and theyare strong. You know, the one thing we all have in common, whether Yankee or Rebel, is the love for pursuing God's creation of the most majestic and intriguing animal in all of the wild - the whitetail deer.

I knew that I would receive all kinds of responses with detail given about that first buck harvested. For some of you it was 30 or more years ago - while for others it was maybe only a few years back. But I have always believed that the real meaning and reason for hunting is not to count antler points or measure mass, but rather to enjoy the memory that that buck or doe provides. My fondest memories in life are times in the woods with close family/friends....or even time by myself, as a guest in the Southern woods, able to take in all of the wonderful sights and sounds.

To many non-hunters, a buck on the wall merely represents an animal killed. And even to some (in my opinion) disallusioned hunters, a great buck on the wall means bragging rights. I have always thought that a quality buck on the wall, if in my house, means a life-long memory of a special time in the woods when the odds happened to be in my favor and I was able to harvest a deer, most of the time with a lot of luck on my side.

To me, that buck is a representation of that memory - who I was with, the place where I was hunting, the weather, the sights and smells of that morning in the Southern woods, and perhaps most importantly the awesomeness of the animal who blessed me with his presence.When I look up at that buck over the fireplace, I relive that moment, vividly in my mind, and all of the excitement and emotion comes flooding back. That is the beauty of a mounted buck right there, guys......the instant reminder of a special time in a special place, hopefully shared with close family/friends.

For anyone interested, I can still remember my first buck as a child like it was yestiddy. I grew up hunting in a time where if you even saw the white flag of a deer, male or female, as it loped off to avoid danger - well, you were doing pretty good. So that Sunday morning in late October, when I saw a deer walking toward my stand and uninhibitedthrough a hardwood draw, I was pretty darned excited to say the least.

As the young, 1 and a half year old buck got closer, my heart began to race and I thought surely that buck was going to hear it beating through my chest. But my enthusiasm could not be greater because I saw what meant that I could "fire when ready".....an antler! The youngster was a spike, but had one horn broken off, so I reckon I effectively ended up killing a unicorn buck....a 1 pointer!

The sound of that Marlin 30-30 rang out before I knew it, and that young deer lay just 20 yards from me in the tree stand......an old fashioned job with plywood braced 'twix two small oak trees. that was how we built them back in the day. It was all I could do to sit up there and wait for Pops to come when he heard the shot - that was the plan, "if you shoot I am close by and I will hear it, so just hang tight....and good luck!" he would say in the darkness of the Georgia woods while dropping me at my favorite stand.

That old stand was called "Frank's Stand" in honor of the old timer who built it, deep down in the holler of those Ga woods. Pops finally showed up and saw the fine, Georgia bred deer lying motionless on the ground. I felt a sense of pride and a hint of sadness that day as I had offically become a "deer slayer." Guys, I had waited and waited for years for that moment and now that it was finally there, I learned the lesson that I still value as a grown deer hunter today.........the true joy of it all is not the harvest, but the hunt that leads to that harvest, however long or short it may be.

On that day I realized a true "respect" for the elusive whitetail. And every deer I see, buck or doe, fawn or 5 year old demands it and I give it to them. I have a framed picture at home of me in the stand after Pops finally got there that morning. A skinny kid (guns in developing stage)in camo pants and a red flannel grinning from ear to ear. I never wanted to forget that special moment.

That is what it is all about to me and it amazes me how some folks just do not get it. But it is just the way I live my life.