I got a buck!!!
Moderator: Excalibur Marketing Dude
Sorry, but this is a bit long. Definitely an andrenalin rush tonight though!
I decided this evening that I'd sit in the long grass where the deer have been bedding lately. This part of the field can't be used for hay since it's the low part of the field and gets too wet. It's a great spot to ambush a deer.
At about 6:00 p.m. a doe runs across a small opening in the field directly towards me. I'm on my knees, dressed in camo, in grass 3' high so it can't see me. I'm upwind though and even though it's a fairly strong breeze, it doesn't smell or hear me and beds down about 15 yds from me. Wow!
Now I'm thinking, "Great! A natural alarm for a buck!". If a buck comes along and I move, the doe will bolt and scare the buck.
A few minutes later a 6pt buck comes out from the same part of the forest. He's grunting away and eating. Soon the doe bolts back to the forest but the buck ignores her.
10 minutes go by and he's getting closer to me. He suddenly turns to my left though and disappears. I can hear him but can't see him. I'm now afraid to move in case I spook him!
Suddenly he pops up 10 yards from me. He can tell I'm there and is trying to smell me but can't get a good whiff.
2 steps closer and he's staring right at me. Then he starts stomping the ground with his paw and has his head pointed down. Another step closer. More stomping.
My heart is racing so fast at this point!
I have a problem though. He's still slightly to my left and I can't move without spooking him. Fortunately he starts walking to my right and now is quartering me.
I slowly raised my x-bow up and bent down low so I could look through the scope.
I have another problem now! The crosshair on my scope is set for 30 yards and I'm less than 10 now. Where to aim?? Really low on the chest or even below him and assume that the arrow arcs quite a bit?
I decided to aim for the lowest part of the chest.
Kinda of a bad move on my part. He jumped a bit and the arrow still went high. I got him right in the spine above the shoulder.
He went down like a rock. No chasing at all required. He thrashed around for a bit and I figured it was a spine shot. I ended up standing up, walking over to him and finishing him off.
Gut him in the field or take him home and do it where there's more light? Well, I couldn't lift him by myself onto the 4-wheeler so I had to do it in the field.
Contrary to popular belief, gutting a deer for the first time by yourself in the dark under the illumination of a 4-wheeler is not as easy as it sounds!
But I got my first buck!
Kill it and grill it!
Todd
I decided this evening that I'd sit in the long grass where the deer have been bedding lately. This part of the field can't be used for hay since it's the low part of the field and gets too wet. It's a great spot to ambush a deer.
At about 6:00 p.m. a doe runs across a small opening in the field directly towards me. I'm on my knees, dressed in camo, in grass 3' high so it can't see me. I'm upwind though and even though it's a fairly strong breeze, it doesn't smell or hear me and beds down about 15 yds from me. Wow!
Now I'm thinking, "Great! A natural alarm for a buck!". If a buck comes along and I move, the doe will bolt and scare the buck.
A few minutes later a 6pt buck comes out from the same part of the forest. He's grunting away and eating. Soon the doe bolts back to the forest but the buck ignores her.
10 minutes go by and he's getting closer to me. He suddenly turns to my left though and disappears. I can hear him but can't see him. I'm now afraid to move in case I spook him!
Suddenly he pops up 10 yards from me. He can tell I'm there and is trying to smell me but can't get a good whiff.
2 steps closer and he's staring right at me. Then he starts stomping the ground with his paw and has his head pointed down. Another step closer. More stomping.
My heart is racing so fast at this point!
I have a problem though. He's still slightly to my left and I can't move without spooking him. Fortunately he starts walking to my right and now is quartering me.
I slowly raised my x-bow up and bent down low so I could look through the scope.
I have another problem now! The crosshair on my scope is set for 30 yards and I'm less than 10 now. Where to aim?? Really low on the chest or even below him and assume that the arrow arcs quite a bit?
I decided to aim for the lowest part of the chest.
Kinda of a bad move on my part. He jumped a bit and the arrow still went high. I got him right in the spine above the shoulder.
He went down like a rock. No chasing at all required. He thrashed around for a bit and I figured it was a spine shot. I ended up standing up, walking over to him and finishing him off.
Gut him in the field or take him home and do it where there's more light? Well, I couldn't lift him by myself onto the 4-wheeler so I had to do it in the field.
Contrary to popular belief, gutting a deer for the first time by yourself in the dark under the illumination of a 4-wheeler is not as easy as it sounds!
But I got my first buck!
Kill it and grill it!
Todd
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Nice buck and congrats. You did good for your first buck. My heart was pounding just reading the story! That was a well deserved buck.
"Hunting is not a matter of life or death. It's much more important than that."
Exomag-Lumizone-Thunderbolts-Slicks-
Blasers-GroundpounderMount-CustomBooString
Bowtech Destroyer Compound Bow Fully Loaded
Exomag-Lumizone-Thunderbolts-Slicks-
Blasers-GroundpounderMount-CustomBooString
Bowtech Destroyer Compound Bow Fully Loaded
Thanks everyone!
It was actually more intense then what I wrote but I knew I had to keep the story (relatively) short.
I never expected to be within such a close distance to a buck and especially didn't expect it to start thumping the ground and, at least what appeared to be, make mock charges like a bull.
Todd
It was actually more intense then what I wrote but I knew I had to keep the story (relatively) short.
I never expected to be within such a close distance to a buck and especially didn't expect it to start thumping the ground and, at least what appeared to be, make mock charges like a bull.
Todd
Yeeehaaaaw TODD 
Way to go!!! Don't ya just LOVE it when that happens? Everything seems to be going wrong but it all turns out to be OK???
You did great. Good for you for sticking to it and working hard at getting your buck. Look at the smile on that man's face. That says it all. And good job on the gutting too. You're right. Cleaning your first deer in the dark, in the field, by yourself, with adrenaline coursing, in quad headlights does NOT sound easy. Thank goodness it's in the freezer. enjoy the steaks. Enjoy the memories.
Maple
Way to go!!! Don't ya just LOVE it when that happens? Everything seems to be going wrong but it all turns out to be OK???
You did great. Good for you for sticking to it and working hard at getting your buck. Look at the smile on that man's face. That says it all. And good job on the gutting too. You're right. Cleaning your first deer in the dark, in the field, by yourself, with adrenaline coursing, in quad headlights does NOT sound easy. Thank goodness it's in the freezer. enjoy the steaks. Enjoy the memories.
Maple