On November 8, 2012 I sat in the woods with my bow, much like any other day before. The light breeze blowing across the tips of the trees and swooping down to brush across my face. As most hunters are, I was covered from head to toe except for my eyes. I pulled my face mask down to feel some of the breezes across my entire face. It really was a beautiful morning to be in the woods. Not long before, maybe only a few weeks, the trees were green and lush and the foliage covered the floor of the woods, only allowing little bits of sunlight through. Now as I sat the leaves had already began to change and fall. You could see the morning sunrises peek through.
I've
hunted
a LOT this year. I had seen some good bucks early on then movement dropped to
almost nothing. I have hunted all week and with the bright moon the deer
have
been moving at night. There is a creek about 40 yards to the left of my
stand
that winds and twists up parallel to me and I kept hearing something but assumed it was the cows, who happen to
LOVE
screwing up my hunts as of late. I kept watch out of the corner of my
eye but
for the most part dismissed it as a cow. I kept watching where I
"thought" the deer would come from in front of me and to my right but
when I glanced back to where the noise was coming from I see movement
easing
down the middle of a dry creek bed. It was the backside of a deer. He
lifted
his head and I didn't dare stare at the rack for fear I was dreaming. All I knew is that it was one I wanted to
shoot. I had a grunt call in my pocket that was zipped up and I didn't dare go
for it. I have been playing around at home in the evenings buck grunting at the
kids at random times so I used my mouth to buck grunt. It turned him around!!!
Oh wow! I could not believe that worked!! He came up the bank of the creek and was
behind a couple of small trees. My stand
is located in the middle of three trees that meet up at the base. The tree to the left concealed me from his
view…but also caused a moment of panic because I couldn’t see him either. I am leaning back to see around the tree and
he is nowhere to be found. My heart is sinking and I keep telling myself to be
patient. I leaned forward and there he was at 25 yards! I could feel the nerves rising but I held my focus on what I needed to do next and praying that I got a good chance to shoot him.
I had the bow aimed down from peeking around the tree and knew that I could hold it back for a while if I had to so I tried to draw. Well, that’s not how I practice and I couldn’t get it back! In my mind I am thinking “are you kidding me?!” I leaned back as he was headed towards me and then back across to what I had already measured as 18 yards. He slipped behind another small tree and I jerked that bow back RIGHT this time and settled the pin in front of him. He stepped right into it and again I do a mouth grunt to stop him. It could not have even been scripted any better! He was a slight angle away and I hit him double lung! Complete pass through on the arrow......and a beautiful blood trail. That's when the nerves hit!
I am shaking like crazy when I called my husband Jonathan. He and a buddy Kurt was almost an hour away heading the other direction but they headed back to help me drag without much thought. He could hear the excitement in my voice as the phone rattled against my head from shaking so bad. I sat in the stand after retrieving my arrow and waited thanking God for such an amazing animal and for just an all around beautiful morning. I sat with my eyes skyward watching the breeze blow through the leaves reliving everything that had just happened and how many hours I had been in the woods the last few years. It was a looooooooong wait!! I texted Jon and told him I hoped that it was as big as I thought it was. I was starting to wonder if it would have the infamous “ ground shrinkage” that all hunters fear. After all I had never seen this buck on trail cameras, and it was already feeling like a dream. When they got to where I was we blood trailed him about 80 yards and a deer blew at us and took off running. Nothing like that feeling of “oh noooooo, we jumped him” to make my heart feel like it dropped out of my chest. ....but when we peeked over the hill....there he was in all his glory!! I didn’t know that he had a drop tine until we walked up on him. He didn’t have ground shrinkage at all...he had the opposite! He seemed to be growing right in front of me! What an amazing feeling!! What an amazing hunt!!
Fortunately later we found out that even though we didn't have him on trail cameras that other people did! Not only this year but in the years past. I am so happy to have the history of that buck.
Since that hunt we have went into business as "Tine Zone" and this buck is the official logo of company. You can find this at www.TineZoneApparel.com It is a new company so be patient with us as we get it going but we are very excited about where this is headed. We have always been hunters and look forward to sharing and hearing stories from our readers. We will also be sharing quick and easy meal tips with you. You can share your hunts and tips with us at on facebook!
I had the bow aimed down from peeking around the tree and knew that I could hold it back for a while if I had to so I tried to draw. Well, that’s not how I practice and I couldn’t get it back! In my mind I am thinking “are you kidding me?!” I leaned back as he was headed towards me and then back across to what I had already measured as 18 yards. He slipped behind another small tree and I jerked that bow back RIGHT this time and settled the pin in front of him. He stepped right into it and again I do a mouth grunt to stop him. It could not have even been scripted any better! He was a slight angle away and I hit him double lung! Complete pass through on the arrow......and a beautiful blood trail. That's when the nerves hit!
I am shaking like crazy when I called my husband Jonathan. He and a buddy Kurt was almost an hour away heading the other direction but they headed back to help me drag without much thought. He could hear the excitement in my voice as the phone rattled against my head from shaking so bad. I sat in the stand after retrieving my arrow and waited thanking God for such an amazing animal and for just an all around beautiful morning. I sat with my eyes skyward watching the breeze blow through the leaves reliving everything that had just happened and how many hours I had been in the woods the last few years. It was a looooooooong wait!! I texted Jon and told him I hoped that it was as big as I thought it was. I was starting to wonder if it would have the infamous “ ground shrinkage” that all hunters fear. After all I had never seen this buck on trail cameras, and it was already feeling like a dream. When they got to where I was we blood trailed him about 80 yards and a deer blew at us and took off running. Nothing like that feeling of “oh noooooo, we jumped him” to make my heart feel like it dropped out of my chest. ....but when we peeked over the hill....there he was in all his glory!! I didn’t know that he had a drop tine until we walked up on him. He didn’t have ground shrinkage at all...he had the opposite! He seemed to be growing right in front of me! What an amazing feeling!! What an amazing hunt!!
Fortunately later we found out that even though we didn't have him on trail cameras that other people did! Not only this year but in the years past. I am so happy to have the history of that buck.
Since that hunt we have went into business as "Tine Zone" and this buck is the official logo of company. You can find this at www.TineZoneApparel.com It is a new company so be patient with us as we get it going but we are very excited about where this is headed. We have always been hunters and look forward to sharing and hearing stories from our readers. We will also be sharing quick and easy meal tips with you. You can share your hunts and tips with us at on facebook!
Buck
stats: Official gross score 183 4/8ths. Official net score: 174 even.
Showed no signs of being in rut.
Equipment
used: Covered head to foot in Scent-Lok Full
Season in Vertigo Grey, Hoyt CRX32 bow
with drop away rest, NAP stabilizer, and Spot Hogg bow sights. Tru-Fire release in pink, Victory arrows with
NAP 100 grain Thunderheads.
