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My story

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
It all started with a knife...two weeks before the season my cousin gave me a hand made knife and I lost it. It crushed me as my words to him were "next time you see this knife it'll be in a picture of me and a deer". That'll never happen because I have no idea where it's at!

From that moment on everything seemed to spiral down...from injuring deer due to faulty equipment (I don't blame the equipment, I should've caught it before), to going out with equipment I was familiar with and injuring ANOTHER deer, to basically giving up after I missed a damn solid buck with my ML.

My season was shit and I wasn't sure I should be out chasing these animal anymore. I felt like I was the shit Hunter that everyone hates and gives us all a bad name.

Gotta pee...hold that thought.
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
I had a pile of new equipment and didn't have the "go" to even go out anymore. Even going out with Brock, Mason, and Jamie I didn't carry a gun because I couldn't take another failure. No way could my mind handle that. I was flat ass on my bottom.

Last week I decided fugg it, I'll go out. Even if I didn't see a deer, at least I was out and that's what mattered. I'd been shooting that new crossbow a couple times a week and getting pretty ballsy with it. Even shooting it out to 80 yards (not that I'd ever shoot at a deer that far. But I was aiming small) and grouping 4" circles.

I basically shut off from everyone, even Michael about hunting. I was no longer proud and didn't have anything to prove to anyone but myself. So I set out to prove myself wrong.

I went out Saturday and put myself in a spot that my farthest shot would be 50'ish yards in one little window. Most everything else was inside 20 yards.

Sitting on the ground with my back against a tree I was at ease. The most relaxed that I'd been in a while. I lost some time that evening...up until I caught some movement. Sure enough, it was a deer. Little thing, but it was a deer! It slowly worked its way down the wood line and in my direction.

Right past the trail I thought it'd take! I only had a couple seconds to think about taking the 50 yard shot. That's when Rick came to mind "I wouldn't hesitate to take a 50 yard shot with that bow and those broadheads in a wide open field"... Next thing I know, I was looking at this.
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
After the excitement I text my wife and she ask how I'm gonna get it home. SHIT! My damn truck is in the shop AGAIN and I have her car. She wasn't very happy about what happened next...but that deer didn't make a mess in her car.

The next day I was pretty worn out from dragging that little dude and fighting a head cold. So I laid around the house basically all day. 2 rolled around and it was time to shower up and smoke my gear. I didn't have the motivation to go to the spot I wanted so I hunkered in at a spot I'd never hunted before. Sitting there on the ground for 20 minutes I noticed a set of sticks. I'll be damn, about 40 yard from me was a stand this guy had been telling me hunt. Up the tree I went! Sitting in stand is something I'm not used to, im a ground hunter. But with the snow falling, things felt good.

About the time I was thinking it wasn't gonna happen a buck popped up from that ledge. He was running...and then another one. They ran to my right and they both stopped. Stopped long enough that I couldn't see them anymore. Then I noticed another deer come up that ledge. This one a blonde colored doe. She walked towards them and they locked up a little with each other. (No kidding, antlers tickling in late January!) She acted like the rich bitch in the club and turned her nose high and walked right to me.

At this point, I knew that one of those bucks would follow. At one point I looked down and she was directly under me looking up at me. I never looked at her again...I looked in on the bigger of the two bucks and never looked away.

Sure enough, 15-20 minutes later he starts running right at me! Jumped the little creek and stopped. Safety was steady off and I squeezed one off at around 18 yards. Double thwack! Mule kick and off be bolted. I smiled as I knew I had smoked him. I instantly text my wife and told her I thought I got one. No waiting I got down and seen this.

Knowing he ran towards the road I opted to not wait and see if I could push him towards the road some more of he wasn't dead already. I walk toward where I'd last seen him and look down to see a ton of blood. Bad part is...it went straight down this cliff. You've got to be shitting me!

Nope, he had plowed his way down this damn thing and I still couldn't see him. WTF?! I leave my crossbow up on the hill (no way I could've gotten down it with it anyways) and start my decent. A few minutes later and many acrobatics later, I was at the bottom. I'm following a very solid path of blood and can't believe I can't see him.

I follow this for about 40 yards before I look down and see this in a hole.
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
I'll be damned...I Fuggen did it! Again!!! Then I remembered the cliff...SHIT!

So I got my phone out and started texting people, Michael being the first. He was more than happy to come help and thank god he did... 1.5 hours to drag this guy 200 yards.

To top the story off, I'm 95% sure that's a coyote den he died in. After talking with Chad tonight it got me thinking even more. There was fur all around...I'm wondering if they didn't drag him in and didn't have a chance to eat on him before we showed up.

He's by far one of the smallest bucks I've killed, but possibly my second most proud of. My first being the most.

Thanks for reading folks. This has been a hell of a season!
 

OO2

Well-Known Member
2,566
111
In the Uplands
Congrats glad to see it worked out for you!

But...

Now that you have your deer and have a confirmed possible yote den location, your TOO family would like to know your next course of action. Lol
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,741
274
North Carolina
Glad them junk Chinese heads worked for you lol..... Looks like some serious penetration..... On that tree lol....

Congrats buddy, glad your season turned around for you....


 

xbowguy

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
29,632
234
Licking Co. Ohio
Real glad you stuck with it Dave. Sometimes when things are bad, we need to keep in mind that it HAS to get better sometime! Congrats again on your buck!