My First Deer

Saturday, October 4th, 2003, SC – That afternoon, I set out on my second hunt of the day with my guide leading the way. It was only my fourth day ever of serious deer hunting. It was a rough walk through a grown-up clear-cut. We walked through brush that Brair Rabbit wouldn’t have touched! I didn’t mind it though; cause I had a good feelin’ about the hunt. We got to the location where he wanted to setup, and we got our stands hung around the tree. My guide scampers up the tree about as quickly as a one of those pesky squirrels! I, being an inexperienced climber, took to my stand with confidence; because of the feelin’ I’d been having about this afternoon. So, up I went! I had no problems climbing up. I got to the height I needed to be at and as I dug the top seat part of the climber into the tree for the last time it slipped down about 2 inches. After gathering my thoughts on that slippage, I took my seat in my climber for the first time hunting. Recently, I had bought a Summit Revolution climbing stand.

My guide and I got settled fairly quickly. Soon three does walked out. They were scattered 10 – 20 yards apart. They were feeding, listening and looking up every now and then. The older, larger one of the three kept looking up the hill beside us. They slowly made their way a little closer to us, still feeding along calmly. Then suddenly without warning, they charged into the brush right beside us. I wasn’t really sure what to do, other than to sit as still as possible. That was a feat unto itself because this was the closest I’ve ever been to live deer while hunting. I’m thinking, what in the world made them bolt like that? They didn’t go too far; they just moved pretty quickly.

My guide informed me there was now a buck in the clearing. I was looking and looking but I couldn’t see him. I let my eyes blur. I was trying so hard to see him that I was making shadows and twigs into deer and I just wasn’t seeing him. Then I spotted him! He was with in range of the muzzleloader when I spotted him. Him being so close is why I over looked him the first time. I could tell that he had more than 6 points but that’s all I could see. I couldn’t get a good total count. My heart was pumping so hard it felt as though my body was jerking each time my heart beat. My heart was almost beating out of my chest.

I finally got the gun on him. I couldn’t seem to hold the crosshairs still because of the nervous twitch I had suddenly developed, so I rested it on my knees. That actually helped a little, but my knees were a shakin’ too! As I continued to rest the muzzleloader on my knees, my guide yelled, “Hey!” Rather than stopping, the buck took one more step to his left and looked back over his shoulder. Now he wasn’t broadside anymore. I had always been taught to aim for the heart or lungs. Well, at this point neither was an option; without shooting directly into the body on a diagonal. And I wasn’t about to try for a head shot on this one. So, I put the dancin’ crosshairs on the back of his neck and shoulders. I figured by aiming there, I would have a good chance at a solid kill or a clean miss.

I paused for a moment, and I waited; and I waited some more. I took a deep breath and slowly squeezed the trigger. It was 6:38 PM. Since I was using a muzzleloader, I couldn’t see a dang thing right after the shot except a lot of smoke. Then I caught a glimpse of my buck running up a hill towards the tree line. I looked up to my guide that was above me on the backside of the tree and said, “I think I missed him.” This was the first time I had shot a smoke pole.

I looked back to see my buck barrel rollin’ back down the hill. I was totally shocked. I honestly thought I missed him clean!! That’s when I lost it. I’m talking the Big Ol’ Gator-sized tears of joy! Man-o’-man!!! My first deer and a descent deer at that! I’d like to give a “BIG THANKS” to my guide for the use of the smoke pole and the opportunity to have an awesome hunt! THANK YOU!! The buck was an 8-pointer and weighed 127 lbs. He’s currently in the processes of getting ready for the freezer, grill and ultimately the wall. What a hunt!!!

- by Anonymous