“The streak is over,” read the text as I hit send; Over five years of “should’ves” and “could’ves,” misses and mess-ups, a streak of “bad luck,” came to an end. With the release of a single arrow, every mistake I ever made seemed to vanish as that arrow connected with my greatest nemesis.
The entire story actually begins several years before, but in order to get through this quicker, we are going to start with 2010. There was a lot of buildup to this season, as Kate and I had bought our first house with a nice chunk of land that year. Running trail cams proved there were great deer in the area, but we had no idea where to start. The first year I spent trying to figure out the lay of the land and how the deer traveled, but I just couldn’t put the pieces together. I ended up chasing a nice buck around behind my parents, and had two close encounters with him, but was never able to connect.
The following year, 2011, came in with high expectations, as there were three great bucks that had survived the previous season, and were looking better than ever. There were also several great up and coming bucks, including one we called Long Neck, a buck that earned his name thanks to his long, skinny neck. Kate and I put in our time scouting and felt prepared for the season. The first four days, Kate and I hunted together, as we were in search of a candidate for her first bow kill. The second morning, we had two great encounters with nice young bucks, but they were too far for her comfort level. That evening presented her with 12 yard shot on a nice doe, but she refused to shoot because she had a “baby” with her. The fourth day was a wet and dreary one, and Kate had work. I skipped out on the morning hunt, as the rain was pouring down. Kate came home, excited to get out and hunt, as she felt it was going to be a great night. There was still a light drizzle, so we packed up and headed for the ground blind. The blind was set up on the edge of a hayfield, overlooking a low spot where deer like to cross. I had just got the camera set up and ready and we were talking when I noticed movement and told her to get ready. As the buck crested the hill, I recognized him. Kate couldn’t see him yet, due to the fact that he was to her right, and she whispered, “Is it a baby?” I replied with, “It’s Longneck,” and she was instantly excited. The buck came in on a string, and gave her a broadside shot at 13 yards, resulting in her first deer ever, a mid 120’s eight point. I was so excited for her, and she was very proud of her accomplishment, so we decided that Longneck deserved a spot on the wall.
The deer went to the taxidermist and came back home several months later, and Kate insisted we hang him on the wall in MY mancave. There was no argument from me, as it fit in well in my deer themed man room, despite the fact that the only buck on the wall was killed by wife. The jokes came one after another, and I couldn’t help but laugh about it. I had my chances, but I always seemed to blow them. Truth be told, I was and still am more proud of that deer than any I have ever killed, because I was there with my wife when she harvested her first deer.
The 2012 season began much like 2011, with high hopes and trail camera pictures. With the hayfield being planted in beans, we were seeing more quality deer than we ever had. It seemed like we had half a dozen bucks we considered shooters running around. I ran cameras all summer and scouted my butt off, and felt confident going into the season. There was two particular bucks that I had watched off and on all summer and knew they were staying close, one was a tall eight, a mid 130’s eight, and Stickers, a 150+” main frame nine with a split brow on one side and several stickers on the other, hence the name. I hunted hard and had an encounter with the tall eight in November, and let him walk at 35 yards because I wasn’t 100% sure it was him. See, my rule of thumb for shooting a buck is there has to be no question in my head as to whether or not a buck is a shooter. If there’s any doubt, he walks. It’s kind of ironic though, because I kicked myself in the butt as I watched this buck “walk” away. Gun season came and went, and I was still getting pictures of Stickers, so I decided to make a move on him. I borrowed a muzzy from Jesse, and went after him the first two days of the late black powder season with no luck. He came in five minutes after I left the second evening, and was there the following morning, too bad I was at work. Stickers continued to make appearances on camera, and I was feeling confident that I would get a crack at him with my bow if I stayed persistent. Suddenly, he vanished on camera, and I couldn’t figure out why. It didn’t take long to figure out. I went out one afternoon to check the cameras and found footprints in the melting snow headed towards my camera. As I approached the camera, I see an old torn up hat laying just outside it’s trigger area. Dumbfounded, I started looking all around and also found a pair of rubber gloves turned inside out with the nastiest smelling stuff I’ve ever smelled buried under the leaves next to a big tree, again, just outside the trigger area. Someone was trying to mess with me. It all made sense as to why the deer disappeared; someone found my cam and knew this deer was using that area and sabotaged my setup. I know it sounds crazy, but the same person I assumed sabotaged my setup also killed that deer that same week. Coincidence, maybe, but there’s more to the story that I’m not going to get into.
And so we come into the present year, 2013. This year started with the welcoming of our first child on April 21[SUP]st[/SUP]. I knew this precious little girl was going to have a great impact on my life, but I wasn’t sure just how much. Everyone says time flies once you start having children, and I am here to tell you, it feels like life is on fast forward, this year has flown by. Our baby girl is now five months old, and Kate is back in school, working on her RN.
Knowing that my time in the woods was going to be very limited this year, I decided to take a different approach to hunting. I had been running cameras for 5 years, and I loved getting pictures, but running cameras never helped me to kill a deer, at least not a buck. I felt like the cameras were turning me into a lazy hunter, relying too heavily on what the cameras say and ignoring the obvious signs and patterns. Since my time in the woods was going to be severely limited, and I was having issues with other people boogering up my setups, I decided to take a different approach: No cameras and no permanent hunting setups. I’ve had some of my most successful hunts back in the days when I used a climber and moved around every day, so I decided to get back to the basics. Plus this wouldn’t allow others to hone in on me. After running cameras for two months, I pulled them the end of July and stayed out of the area all together. Truth be told, I just didn’t have time to get out and scout. That wonderful baby had given me a new passion in life, and I could care less about how much time I got to spend preparing for bow season, as it had taken a back seat.
The entire story actually begins several years before, but in order to get through this quicker, we are going to start with 2010. There was a lot of buildup to this season, as Kate and I had bought our first house with a nice chunk of land that year. Running trail cams proved there were great deer in the area, but we had no idea where to start. The first year I spent trying to figure out the lay of the land and how the deer traveled, but I just couldn’t put the pieces together. I ended up chasing a nice buck around behind my parents, and had two close encounters with him, but was never able to connect.
The following year, 2011, came in with high expectations, as there were three great bucks that had survived the previous season, and were looking better than ever. There were also several great up and coming bucks, including one we called Long Neck, a buck that earned his name thanks to his long, skinny neck. Kate and I put in our time scouting and felt prepared for the season. The first four days, Kate and I hunted together, as we were in search of a candidate for her first bow kill. The second morning, we had two great encounters with nice young bucks, but they were too far for her comfort level. That evening presented her with 12 yard shot on a nice doe, but she refused to shoot because she had a “baby” with her. The fourth day was a wet and dreary one, and Kate had work. I skipped out on the morning hunt, as the rain was pouring down. Kate came home, excited to get out and hunt, as she felt it was going to be a great night. There was still a light drizzle, so we packed up and headed for the ground blind. The blind was set up on the edge of a hayfield, overlooking a low spot where deer like to cross. I had just got the camera set up and ready and we were talking when I noticed movement and told her to get ready. As the buck crested the hill, I recognized him. Kate couldn’t see him yet, due to the fact that he was to her right, and she whispered, “Is it a baby?” I replied with, “It’s Longneck,” and she was instantly excited. The buck came in on a string, and gave her a broadside shot at 13 yards, resulting in her first deer ever, a mid 120’s eight point. I was so excited for her, and she was very proud of her accomplishment, so we decided that Longneck deserved a spot on the wall.
The deer went to the taxidermist and came back home several months later, and Kate insisted we hang him on the wall in MY mancave. There was no argument from me, as it fit in well in my deer themed man room, despite the fact that the only buck on the wall was killed by wife. The jokes came one after another, and I couldn’t help but laugh about it. I had my chances, but I always seemed to blow them. Truth be told, I was and still am more proud of that deer than any I have ever killed, because I was there with my wife when she harvested her first deer.
The 2012 season began much like 2011, with high hopes and trail camera pictures. With the hayfield being planted in beans, we were seeing more quality deer than we ever had. It seemed like we had half a dozen bucks we considered shooters running around. I ran cameras all summer and scouted my butt off, and felt confident going into the season. There was two particular bucks that I had watched off and on all summer and knew they were staying close, one was a tall eight, a mid 130’s eight, and Stickers, a 150+” main frame nine with a split brow on one side and several stickers on the other, hence the name. I hunted hard and had an encounter with the tall eight in November, and let him walk at 35 yards because I wasn’t 100% sure it was him. See, my rule of thumb for shooting a buck is there has to be no question in my head as to whether or not a buck is a shooter. If there’s any doubt, he walks. It’s kind of ironic though, because I kicked myself in the butt as I watched this buck “walk” away. Gun season came and went, and I was still getting pictures of Stickers, so I decided to make a move on him. I borrowed a muzzy from Jesse, and went after him the first two days of the late black powder season with no luck. He came in five minutes after I left the second evening, and was there the following morning, too bad I was at work. Stickers continued to make appearances on camera, and I was feeling confident that I would get a crack at him with my bow if I stayed persistent. Suddenly, he vanished on camera, and I couldn’t figure out why. It didn’t take long to figure out. I went out one afternoon to check the cameras and found footprints in the melting snow headed towards my camera. As I approached the camera, I see an old torn up hat laying just outside it’s trigger area. Dumbfounded, I started looking all around and also found a pair of rubber gloves turned inside out with the nastiest smelling stuff I’ve ever smelled buried under the leaves next to a big tree, again, just outside the trigger area. Someone was trying to mess with me. It all made sense as to why the deer disappeared; someone found my cam and knew this deer was using that area and sabotaged my setup. I know it sounds crazy, but the same person I assumed sabotaged my setup also killed that deer that same week. Coincidence, maybe, but there’s more to the story that I’m not going to get into.
And so we come into the present year, 2013. This year started with the welcoming of our first child on April 21[SUP]st[/SUP]. I knew this precious little girl was going to have a great impact on my life, but I wasn’t sure just how much. Everyone says time flies once you start having children, and I am here to tell you, it feels like life is on fast forward, this year has flown by. Our baby girl is now five months old, and Kate is back in school, working on her RN.
Knowing that my time in the woods was going to be very limited this year, I decided to take a different approach to hunting. I had been running cameras for 5 years, and I loved getting pictures, but running cameras never helped me to kill a deer, at least not a buck. I felt like the cameras were turning me into a lazy hunter, relying too heavily on what the cameras say and ignoring the obvious signs and patterns. Since my time in the woods was going to be severely limited, and I was having issues with other people boogering up my setups, I decided to take a different approach: No cameras and no permanent hunting setups. I’ve had some of my most successful hunts back in the days when I used a climber and moved around every day, so I decided to get back to the basics. Plus this wouldn’t allow others to hone in on me. After running cameras for two months, I pulled them the end of July and stayed out of the area all together. Truth be told, I just didn’t have time to get out and scout. That wonderful baby had given me a new passion in life, and I could care less about how much time I got to spend preparing for bow season, as it had taken a back seat.