That is a great offer. I got you pm last night
@tbrady but the tag was filled at 3:30.
After my last post the skies just started dumping rain.
My family was leaving on Sunday and this hunt was all about getting my daughter a buck and enjoying all the deer we saw.
3pm hits and we see a buck and ten does ahead of us. Some of the does in the road and the buck 20-30 yards off the road. We look at him for 15 minutes. Do I shoot so my wife is actually with me when I fill one of these tags? Do I shoot so I can go home with my family and get back to work that is piling up? Do I wait and hope for something bigger? What if I don’t see anything bigger? Hunting has been tough, very little snow. What if I do find something bigger and it works out? Will I enjoy it? Who will I celebrate with? If I shoot this deer I’m still in line to hit for the cycle and fill all my tags.
I’m shooting.
I get out of the truck and walk behind it as my wife slow rolls up to the deer. The does stay in the road. I step out and to the side of the road. The buck is at thirty yards and walks to 34 where he stops broadside. I draw and settle my 30 yard pin high on his body and the 40 low, level my sight and send one straight through the boiler. He bolts and 7 of the does follow. Three stay behind and I have to move them to retrieve my arrow. Bloody from the thunderhead to the nock.
I start in the direction he ran and find a spot of blood but with the pouring down rain it is fading fast. I’m following his bigger tracks but there are 7 sets of doe tracks on top of them. I come over the top of the hill 15-20 yards from the shot and see the does crossing the draw 100 yards below. No buck in sight but the draw is full of snow.
My wife comes over the hill to my left. I point to the does and tell her to scan the draw as I enter. I get to the snow and can’t find blood anywhere. I start to panic.
“I hit him good right?” She doesn’t know she had ranged him and was bringing up her binocs when I shot. She has no idea where it hit. At 34 yards the arrow was through him before my eyes could adjust. Wheee did it hit? Why isn’t he dead right here? Why did I take a shot in the pouring rain?
My heart is starting to sink when my wife says she found blood up high I start heading her way as fast as I can. She is moving uphill and stops. Dead in between us is the buck dead on the ground. He was literally 30 yards from me when I came over the hill but my eye caught the does and I didn’t look down to see him.
The elation and emotions come in waves. I have hunted hard and filled another tag.
My buddy texts “how are you guys doing?” I reply with a photo of the deer. He replies with I’m at your truck. He hikes up over the rise and we drag the deer 80 yards to road.
What an amazing hunt. I’m so blessed to be able to share so much of it with my family and friends that came along.
Thanks for all of the well wishes and help along the way from so many Huntwa members.
