My most exciting was opening day of gun season November '77 in northern Minnesota. It was my first day hunting deer in MN. (all my deer hunting prior to that was in Wisconsin, mostly around Athelstane.) Four of us in a camper parked out in the woods. I had just walked into the woods with no knowledge of it and setup a ground blind stand the day before opener. It was probably 10:00 and I can see nothing but big antlers angling parallel to me along the line between trees an bog. I had one shooting lane cleared to the bog. Seemed like it took him 15 minutes to get to that spot where my only shot would be. I was aiming and when I saw hair I fine tuned the sight and pulled the trigger. He folded right up but quickly got up and walked out in the bog a little and fell again. I ran to the open bog and he was standing there looking at me. Took a good bead at like 30 yards, shot, and he runs across the bog and I get one last hail mary shot as he reaches woods on the other side. Turns out first shot broke a G2 off, badly missed where I thought I aimed. Second shot drilled through his lungs. Third shot missed. I found the broken chunk of his G2 the next day right where he was on the first shot and found antler splinters in his hair near his vitals so maybe first shot was affected by hitting the antler. 22 points, 176 NT, 220# dressed.
Second most thrilling, muzzleloader hunting in Iowa in mid December. Sitting on the ground and a white antler 12 point is working the field edge 130 yards from me. I grunt, he stops like 4 times but keeps following the edge getting farther away. Finally I did a desperate loud double grunt. He closes the distance to 90 yards, I shoot and he folds up but tries to get up. Snow was solid hard frozen crust that you could walk on and sometimes break thru. I ran toward him with my 44 (it was regular gun season) and he did a huge flop breaking one antler off at the base on the hard crust. Finally got close and finished him off. Solid hit through the shoulders with the first shot. Later while dragging him out the other antler broke off. Never did score him but I think in the 170 ballpark.
I have about 6 more using bow and gun that are of similar measurements but these two are the ones that got burned the deepest in memory for total thrills on first time accomplishments that we all try to recreate.
In September of 1964 I was nineteen years old, a college kid, and living in an apartment on State Street in Madison. I had started bowhunting when I was twelve so I had some experience but had yet to kill a deer. I realize now I did not know diddly about bowhunting but back then I had more ambition than knowledge, desire than skill, and hoped for more luck than disappointment. To date, every time I had been bowhunting, lady luck had stood me up
I saved my money over the summer and bought a new bowhunting outfit in July. I purchased the entire outfit from Petrie's Sporting Goods store near to my apartment. New armguard, shooting glove, twelve Port Orford cedar arrows (six field points and six with Bear Razorheads) and a 45# 52" Bear Kodiak Magnum bow. I did not buy a sight. Bowhunters sights were far and few between back then and most fellows shot without them. I was an instinctive archer.
In 1964 the bow season opened Sept. 26 and any deer was a legal target. According to the WCD 20,207 deer had been registered by archers since the first season in 1934.
Anyrate, my roommate & I got out a state map and decided to hunt the Knapp fire tower area of Jackson County. We got there a couple days early, set up camp and scouted as best we knew how. Back then we never thought of having to ask permission. It was all woods. Owned by who? Who should we ask? We had no idea. We just picked a good looking spot in the middle of no where and next to nothing, got out and set up camp. Things were different then!
We bowhunted as best we knew how. Mostly still hunting, stalking, or building an impromptu brush blind. We did see a few deer and if I recall correctly Jim did have a shot but failed to connect.
On Wednesday of our week long hunt I was in a blind I had built along a fire lane. About 5:00 pm or so two deer came out down the fire lane to the east. The first was a racked buck, the other a doe. They were completely in the open as they crossed the sand road. I drew, aimed, and shot. I didn't see the arrow in flight but I heard a loud "crack". As they ran away I could see my arrow protruding from the chest of the buck!
I started shaking all over and felt real jittery. At the time I smoked (almost everyone did) and tried to light a cigarette. My hands were shaking so badly I dropped the lit match and then almost could not strike another. My mind was rattled too. What do I do now? I had buck fever big time!
I just sat for a while, I'm not sure why. I didn't know what else to do. That's just what I did. I would learn later it was the right thing to do, but back then it just happened.
Eventually I walked over to where the deer had crossed the road. I found tracks, a few strands of cut hair, and blood specks. I got nervous again and super excited. This was a big deal! I had actually hit a deer with an arrow. I was THE man. Me & Robin Hood, and Howard Hill, and Fred Bear were now all in the same club. I was the KING!
Still excited, I saved some of the cut hairs as proof of what I had done and ran the half-mile or so back to camp (like I said, I was nineteen). Jim showed up near to dark and we had to decide how to go get the deer. Neither of us had ever trailed a deer before but we did have a vague idea of how to go about it. By now it pitch dark and I have calmed down a bit. Still real excited though. We grabbed a couple flashlights and a lantern. We were two novice bowhunters going after a deer in the dark of night in the, to us, deep woods. Apprehension began to set in. None the less, we went out into the woods after the deer. Our tracking skills were rudimentary and we lost & found the trail a few times. But we did find the deer!
My first ever deer! And with a bow! What a thrill! I was on cloud nine!
He was a year and a half old buck with a eight point rack having a 12" spread and short tines. his dressed weight was about 120 pounds. But you know what, he was trophy. And he was mine! I had finally done it! I shot a deer with a bow! To me this was important. This was a big deal and I was super proud of what I had done. In 1964 my buck was one of only 3,164 deer killed by bowhunters.
Today many bowhunters would not even give this buck a second glance. We, our equipment, our skills, and our standards have changed. I understand that, but for me this buck, though there have been scores since then, ranks as one of my most memorable trophies. He was my first. I still have his rack, small though it is, and the broken feathered part of the arrow I killed him with.
On this September bowhunt in 1964 lady luck did not stand me up! Finally!
It was fall of 1992. It was my second fall bowhunting. I shot a fawn the year before. I didn't have much time to hunt that fall and needed to get it done quickly.
I was on the stand for the first or second time. I saw a deer and decided to shoot it. I was already committed when I saw that it was a buck. I was even more excited to shoot it.
The rest just happened like a fog. I drew, picked a spot, and released. It hit solid and the deer took off. He ran like crazy but ran in a circle and almost came back to where he was shot and fell over. I was so excited I almost jumped out of my tree.
I got down quickly and ran over to the deer. It was chunky little 6 point basket. I was so excited.
I tried to cut my tag. But I had the tag in my left hand while cutting with my right hand..... I almost cut my left hand finger off. The cut was pretty deep but clean. So my buddy had to field dress it...
1:00 comes and I haven't seen a single deer since the buck I shot Earlier that morning. My brother In law and a couple of my family members were down the swamp from me and they wanted me to come over and eat lunch. I told them I was gonna eat in stand. They're (idiots) sending me picture messages, goofing off and i was literally laughing. I heard splashing I look up and bam a doe is directly in front of me 45 yards away. I thought holy crap she got that far into the swamp without me knowing. She busted me in the maple I was sitting in, turns and starts running and I realize a dandy was behind her. He had no idea what was going on and he followed behind her. I took a shot at about 100 yards and he kept running. I thought man! He was a freaking nice deer. And I missed him. Everyone couldn't believe it. Almost had the opportunity to take two great bucks.
I sat there contemplating if I should move my stand to the other side of the swamp. I finally made the move and got settled in around two. Not even a half an hour goes by and I couldn't believe my eyes he's coming down the parallel trail right to me. I center punched him at 10 yards and dropped him right there. Wow!! I called my brother in law and had him come over and tag it for me.
Out of 17 guys in our camp I was the only one to fill my tag. Although I knew this spot was great but i knew a lot of luck was on my side. My father and I were drinking a couple beers later that night and I told him to come out with me the next day. He can sit in my stand. He kept saying no freaking way man! I'm not walking that far. Well, needless to say, I convinced him. Although he pissed and moaned about the walk in. We finally got in the stand and he was smiling. This view is beautiful. I looked up from the ground smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
I'll admit I passed out below the tree. Lights out and wham!!! Scared the shit out of me!! I jumped forward groggy and look up and my pops is looking into the swamp. I said what did you shoot? He looks down and said I think I just shot the biggest buck of my life! Are you freakin kidding me? He said no I'm dead serious! He came out following a doe.
I walked out into the swamp he pointed me into The direction he shot. And there it was! Wow a freaking stud of a 10 for public land. He dressed out at almost 220 which is a toad of a deer for the 3rd week of November.
That weekend will forever be the greatest and proudest moment of my hunting career. To take 3 bucks, two 10's and a 8 in one weekend on public land and be able to share a hunt like that with my father is still to this day mind blowing. I don't mind how big the rack is. I know for a fact a 200 inch deer wouldn't feel the same as I did that weekend 4 years ago.
So Saturday saw doe, doe, and doe the first day. Second day dad says time for me to sit by myself and I say OK. He took a stand he had prepared a little ways away. Around 9:00 this cute (small) 8 pointer walks in front of me. The 8mm mouser and I teamed up and he fell like a ton of bricks at 30 yards or so. I walked up to him and finished him off although if I had waited another minute he would have been history. Dad comes over, I tag it and he guts it showing me how.
We were not back on our stands 20 minutes when a spike stops by and at about 30 yards again he drops like a ton of bricks. Dad walks over again and the deer is still kicking as I spined him. I used dad's gun to finish him off because I was now down to 2 bullets left and 8mmm mauser so not likely to find any around. Another guy in our gang that hunts a little ways from us taged it because he was going home the next day anyway. I did most of the gutting on that one. I even gutted my dads deer after that.
It was a good nite in camp, like 16 people in camp, all seasoned hunters and I was the only one that had a deer, much less two.
I walk in about a mile and just sit on a log and wait. I see a deer about 300 yards out as the woods weren't very thick there and he is feeding on acorns toward me. I aim the gun and hold it on him over the next half hour while he gets closer and closer to me. At about 50 yards he and I lock eyeballs and he realizes something isn't right and bolts. I shoot just as he bolts. Off he goes and I start cussing because he didn't just drop on the spot which is what I thought happens when you shoot a deer with a rifle.
I go to where he was and start looking, no blood no hair no nothing, and start cussing again. I remembered an article from Field and Stream that I read that said to follow a hit deer for as far as you can if in doubt. I start on the track in the snow and 50 yards from there over a little rise he laid. That deer was 242 lbs field dressed, an 8 point, 151". My dad and my best friend came and found me and we dragged that deer 1-1/2 miles back to the van. Started dragging in knee deep snow at 9 AM and finished just before dark (no 4-wheelers in 1973). Dad and my best friend were there and I used my grandpa's gun. Best memory ever.
NeverbAit: lol I highly doubt anyone cares but you. I'm well aware of safety. So thanks for your sarcastic concerns once again and enjoy whatever it is that you enjoy. ;-)
Shortly after Y2K, in '03 on Halloween morning I was on stand down in one of my deep valleys. I had seen some does & fawns earlier but about 7:00 a.m. I heard leaves crunching behind me. I slowly turned as I reached for my bow. There he was! A dandy buck out cruising, looking for a doe without a headache. He got a whiff of my scent and stopped, frozen in place while he figured things out. He was looking straight ahead and I kept moving in super slow motion. I brought by bow up, clipped on the release, drew (that's tough in slow motion), aimed, and shot. He dropped immediately, I had hit him in the spine. I climbed out of my stand and went over to finish him off. Then I called my wife to tell her I'd gotten a good one. She was up at the cabin and had decided to sleep in this morning. None-the-less she rushed to get dressed and drove the ATV down to my stand. She was happy and excited for me, shooting the buck I had. Then I heard her say, "I was in such a hurry to get down here I don't even have any underwear on!"
I made a 25 yard shot on this buck, and then a five foot shot. His dressed weight was 203# and he was an eleven pointer. He was scored at 154" but I never entered him in the record books.
In '07 I killed another buck on Halloween morning. I was hunting the west edge of my property on top of one of the ridges in a stand named "Birthday" (long story there). I could easily look onto the neighbor's property and saw some deer there off in the distance. A bit after seven I glanced to the south and saw a deer broadside about 35 yards away in some heavy brush. I soon realized it was a buck. He walked out to one of my ATV trails and turned to come down the trail leading to Birthday. I brought up my video camera and started getting footage, that's when I realized he was a good one! I put the camera down and picked-up my bow. He was still coming towards me and at 10 yards he turned sideways and stopped on a trail, looking away from me. I drew, aimed, and pressed the trigger on the release. As I shot he exploded out of there! I watched him run off. At 50 yards he seemed to slow slightly. At 60 yards I definitely saw him falter. At 70 yards he stopped, staggered and fell. I felt as though I had him but still sat there for over an hour waiting in place just to be certain events played out as I had planned. They did, and I had my biggest buck.
He too turned out to be a good one, a 14 pointer dressing out at 221# on my butcher's scale. He had tremendous mass with some measurements going over 7", and his gross score was 164". This buck too was scored but never entered. I'm not sure why I don't do this; maybe it's just that the event itself is so satisfying that when combined with the experiences that led to this point, that is enough. And in the end, when we go hunting isn't that what we all are really looking for; satisfaction.
I figured I'd be able to follow the edge of the swamp and easily find that tree again in the morning so I didn't bother marking my trail on the way out. Walking out there in the dark I knew I was in the right area but couldn't find the tree so I just sat on the ground under some branches. In the dark I could here movement all around me. At first light I had a spike walk within feet of me. I found my tree as soon as light allowed me to see the fact that I was sitting under a different tree not 20 yards away. I climbed in the tree and saw another 6 deer over the course of the morning. I could hear countless others walking and running through the swamp I was next to.
Heading back to my stand after lunch I noticed the ass and antlers of a nice buck trotting right past my tree. No shot. I climbed my tree and watched another 8 different deer meander by over the course of the afternoon. I lit my last cigarette of the hunt at 4:00. I heard rustling to my left and noticed a doe heading right toward me. Look behind her and there he is! No time to put out my smoke so I stuck it in my mouth and readied my 12 gauge mossberg. The doe took the buck on the trail right in front of me. He stopped at ten yds and I let him have it! Wait! He's running. Why is he running? Did I miss? Wtf? Ok, he stopped again! 75 yds. Steady, aim, bam! He does a flip over a log and is down for the count! It turns out I hit him the first time as well. 2 shots within two inches of each other. One at ten yds, one at 75. Both heart shots! He is an old 8 point that probably scores around 115-120.