First Deer of the Year

Well I killed the first deer of the year this past Saturday. It was day of ups and downs for me. Started off down...

I eased in the woods just before daylight Saturday AM and climbed in the stand just as the song birds were starting to sing their first songs of the day. Being the first morning I've been able to to hunt, I was really enjoying the coolness in the air. Everything was going good until about 7 AM when my thermocell ran out of gas... That would have been something real good to check before leaving the truck . For the next 20 minutes the mosquitoes literally tried to carry me off. I hunkered down and did my best to swat SLOWLY, trying to avoid an sudden movements that would spook my prey.

Just as I was finishing mashing one of the pesky skeeters I noticed a bit of brown moving through the woods. I eased my rifle up anticipating a shot. Sure enough, the buck made his way to the pile of golden kernels and began his breakfast buffet. Now, we've had a nice buck on camera on this stand so I was leary of shooting the first buck I saw in hopes that the early season bachelor groups might have the big boy near by. I watched and studied the basket 8 pt for nearly 10 minutes before deciding that with a lack of Hamburger in the freezer and the price of corn through the roof I was losing money by the minute. He never once looked around as if he had a friend nearby so I put the cross hairs behind his shoulder and squeezed a round off. As I watched, the bucked lurched backwards, and began a methodical run down through the woods. I knew that judging from his reaction he had been hit, but that he wasn't hit too hard. The deer that is normally hit in the boiler room plows through anything in everything as he digs his way to safety and this deer just wasn't taking that approach to things.

After a couple hours of searching and only finding a bit of short white hairs at the scene I deduced that I must have shot low and skint him across his chest. As with any hunter, I figured it had to be the gun. So I checked the rifle as soon as I got home only to find that it was dead on and the mornings mishap was purely user error! This made for a miserable day of replaying the shot over and over again.

The day took a turn for the better that afternoon when I climbed back in the saddle in hopes of another chance.

About quarter till 8 I noticed some movement along side of the roadbed I was perched above and to my surprise another basket 8 pt and a friend (same buck I shot at in the AM) appeared. After watching the deer for a while I decided to try my hand with the bigger of the two, letting the other buck live for another day. I figured he'd had enough for one day after that morning. So, with another chance, I thumb cocked the ole .30-30 and squeezed a round off again. This time there was no running and the buck dropped in his tracks. HAMBURGER DOWN!

I've hunted all my life. Killed my first deer when I was 11 years old. Now at 23, I still get the same excitement and enjoyment out of each and every hunt I take. Even if I don't take a deer, every hunt is a success. Time in the woods is very valuable to me because it allows me to get away from everything (much like fishing). There is something to be said about climbing in the deerstand and becoming one with your surroundings. It's a feeling I think everyone should experience. And the adrenaline rush you recieve if presented an opportunity to shoot a deer is second to none!
Now, I know from past experiences that some on the boards will probably post that I should let the small bucks walk in order to grow/kill "trophy" bucks, but for me it's not about that. This little fella gave me all the excitement I could ask for and in my eyes he's a trophy. I've watched him on the trail camera for a while and for me it's fun and rewarding to follow a deer and have the chance to "harvest" him.