It was a late October afternoon when my dad and I were traveling to our hunting area. However, as we were driving, I wasn’t feeling too sure about my chances of seeing a deer because it was too warm and windy. I even told my dad I didn’t think I was going to see anything.
After climbing into my stand I took a deer call out of my pocket and made a couple of grunts to try and cover up the noise I made climbing the tree. I then waited about 15 minutes and turned to my right to see a huge 8-point buck, just standing there! I instantly started freaking out in my mind because this was the first time I’d seen a buck this big in the woods—and he wasn’t even looking at me!
I stood up to get my bow into position as the buck lowered his head to eat acorns, and I quickly noticed there was a huge pine tree in my way. So I told myself I’d wait for the buck to take just two more steps at which point I’d have a nice, clean shot at his lungs. But this buck stood still for 45 minutes without even moving a muscle! I was shaking like a leaf as I waited for the buck to move, and finally, the buck took two steps backward and turned around. I was thinking he was going to get away, so I pulled my bow back like a mad man and put my sight pin right in the middle of his chest and shot. The buck kicked his hind legs back and crashed through the woods as he ran over a hill.
After I settled down a little bit, I climbed down out of the tree and went to look for my arrow and blood, while going crazy in my mind! When I got to the spot where the buck was standing, I couldn’t find my arrow or any blood, so I walked another 5 yards and still didn’t see anything and my heart began to sink. I knew I’d hit the buck, but since my bow has only a 45-pound draw weight, I thought I must not have gotten much penetration. I walked another 15 yards and finally found the first drop. I followed the blood for about 30 yards before I came to the first place where the buck had stopped, and I quickly found a huge puddle of blood. I decided I didn’t want to follow the blood trail any farther in case the buck was bedded a short distance away, so I left the area to get my dad.
Soon my dad and I were headed to the spot where I’d stopped trailing the buck, and I told him what had happened. At that point he told me to stand next to the last spot of blood we could find and said he was going to walk to the bottom of the hill where I told him I thought I’d heard the buck crash. After about 2 minutes I heard my dad yell, “Son, you got him!”
I took off running down the hill and as soon as I saw the buck I grabbed his rack and said, “Finally, my big buck dream came true!” My dad gave me a huge hug, and it was without a doubt the most excited I’ve ever been in my life, and I think it was the most excited my dad’s ever been in his life, too.
My hunt just goes to show that if you’re young like me and don’t think it’s worth going hunting one day for one reason or another, you just might be missing your chance at the biggest buck of your life!