First game animal down! Small whitetail buck!

[Scheindogg]

Hey guys!
Haven’t posted in a while but if any of you remember giving me advice (there were lots of you) I appreciate each and every one of you!
This is year 4 for me and I finally got my first deer! A whitetail buck from a tree stand in private property in NE WA.

So happy right now I’m on cloud 9! He’s a dink but he’s 100% trophy to me!

I was gonna set up some stuff to help me hunt tomorrow and my buddy said he was gonna wait out shooting light. I figured what the heck I can freeze one more hour (we got here in the afternoon today and hadn’t seen anything yet).
Fast forward to 5:40 pm I hear some grunts. I text him (in a treestand a few hundred yards away) that I hear something I think is a deer and to be extra quiet just in case.
Then (what I thought was) a doe shows up behind me. She looks up at me a few times but the branch was blocking her sight and she never spooked. She meanders off very calmly. I hear more grunts, message my buddy I’m hearing more, he responds saying he heard it too.
Then out of nowhere the (what I thought was a ) doe pops back in front of me. Real close.
Get a better look and realize it’s a spike buck! Omg! Get to work!
I didn’t even have one chambered yet!
I pull the lever back, pause. Buck looks up, I say still.
Bucks looks back down and continued his thing. I shove the round up, pause. Buck looks up. Buck looks down and continues (me staying still).
Me finish chambering the round, buck looks up, me staying still, buck looks down and continues!
Ok I have it now!
Point rifle! Oh s**t I’m zoomed for 100 yards. Without sudden movements zoom out to close.
Point rifle at deer, bam, no movement.
Uh oh, miss? Reload, re aim, boom, got him, deer runs off.
Get on the walkies “ I shot one I shot one”
Long story short(ish) he lets his in-laws (landowners) know I got one and they come help me trail. Got him right before 6pm just a half hour before dark.
Go down the brush a bit and find him in a creek bed and give him the finisher with my 10mm.
Would have liked to get a cleaner more quick kill but I did the best given the circumstances.
Here he is, my first ever deer!

[Sitka_Blacktail]

You never forget the first one. Just like girlfriends.

[TVHunts]

Congratulations!

[blackveltbowhunter]

Way to go! Nice buck!

[Skyvalhunter]

 

[huntnfmly]

Way to go congrats the smile says it all

[C-Money]

That awesome! Congratulations! Thats a dandy buck!

[Buckjunkie]

Congratulations!

[Fl0und3rz]

Congratulations.  Awesome picture.

[ctwiggs1]

Congrats man!  You've worked hard for a few seasons for that buck.  That's a trophy buck for that reason alone.  Great job.  Thanks for letting us be a part of your journey these last few years.  Keep up the great work!

[Gonehuntin01]

Congrats...way to stick it out and not give up.  You'll never forget that one.

[kramman]

Some good eating right there!!!!! Congrats

[Fatherof5]

That's Awesome! Way to go!

[h20hunter]

No regrets there! Young tasty buck and an exciting hunt.

[Stein]

Great animal, they are all trophies.  Two years ago I shot one that was actually smaller than yours, a 1x2.  His antlers are hanging in the garage and he made many excellent meals.