We are only three days into the season, and I'm not sure it could possibly get any better. Tonight Kate released her first arrow at a deer, and connected on a buck that dwarfs anything I have ever killed. Let’s backtrack a bit and go back to 2010, where it all began.
Last year was Kate's first serious year of bowhunting. After expressing interest in getting into archery, I bought her a Diamond Razor Edge. Not knowing what her draw length would be or how much draw weight she could handle, I felt this would be a great bow for her to start with. She took well to shooting, and proved to be a better archer than I had ever expected, consistently working to improve her skills. Before I knew it, she was up to shooting 47lbs and shooting well enough to kill a deer at 30 yards.
Knowing that we were going to be spending a good amount of time in the woods and hunting together, I decided to purchase a HD video camera to document out time together. Opening week came of the 2010 season, and on the second morning, we had a close encounter with a respectable ten point. He came in at ten yards with another young buck, but the foliage was too thick for her to shoot. I managed to get parts of it on film, but being new to operating the camera, I struggled with keeping the deer in focus through the leaves.
Between her work schedule and mine, it was hard for us to get out a whole lot, but on a cold November morning, she was presented with a second opportunity on a deer. It was very chilly that morning, and just after sunrise I heard the familiar sound of crunching leaves. Looking off in the distance, I see a young spike headed right towards us. I whisper to Kate, “deer” and she stands up in anticipation of a shot. He works his way down into the creek bottom and crosses up the bank and right in front of us, stopping for a bite to eat.
As the footage rolled, Kate attempted to draw back, but due to the frigid temperatures, she was really struggling. After her third try, she got her bow back. I panned in on the deer, waiting for the shot. Nothing… I look down, and see her struggling to find her anchor point with the face mask she has on. Finally, she let her bow down and pulled her face mask out of the way, and attempted to draw again. This time, the young buck caught movement and was long gone before she could get on him. Flustered, Kate was almost in tears over what had “almost” transpired. I told her to keep her head up, and that her day would come.
That day has finally come. The third day into the 2011 season was a wet one. I had gone out that morning before the rain with no luck. After climbing down, I decided to take a few minutes to add some more brush to the groundblind I had set up along a field edge, since the ensuing rain would cover any scent I would leave behind. Kate had school that morning, but would be home in time for an evening sit in the groundblind.
Since the weather had been so warm, we hadn’t been heading out to the blind until 5:30 or so since the deer weren’t moving until just before dark, but with the front moving through, I knew the deer would be moving good. Five came, and the rain was still pouring down, but Kate still wanted to go, so we showed up, smoked up, and headed for the field. Just before we walked out the door, we checked the BEC on the PC and saw that a deer we dubbed “Long Neck” had already been through. I told Kate that more than likely, he would be back through. I just had a feeling.
We got to the blind with the rain still pouring down around us. I discussed with Kate that I didn’t want to risk her loosing a deer in the rain, so we were limiting her shots to 20 yards and under, and the circumstances had to be perfect. I got the camera set up and ready to roll and the hunt was on. The blind sits on a bit of a slope, so Kate can’t even see out the blind without stand up. In the evenings, I zip the windows up so that we can’t be seen sitting down, and I use the camera as a “periscope” to watch for deer out the front window while peeking out the side windows.
We hadn’t been in there for 20 minutes when I see a rack appear over the horizon; it was Long Neck coming back for another bite. I told Kate, “Deer. Long Neck is back,” and instantly I began to shake. I was so nervous/excited for her that I could hardly contain myself. Heck, I didn’t even have my bow, I was just along for the ride. As he crested the hill, already inside 30 yards, he was angling from out left to right, and I was certain he was going to continue on past us and head down over the hill. He kept coming, 25, 20, 15, and that’s when he turned and walked broadside right in front of us.
By this time, Kate was on her feet and in the corner where the shadows were the best. You could hear me breathing heavy on the camera, but Kate kept her composure. She whispered, “How far,” but sitting down and panned in on the deer, I couldn’t tell exactly where he was. I told her I was pretty sure he was only about 15 yards, but she was going to have to estimate where she thought he was based off some points we had ranged the day before. As he worked from right to left grazing on the field, Kate drew her bow and took aim.
At this point, Long Neck was completely calm, and I felt confident Kate was going to make this happen. Just as his left leg went forward, I knew what was coming; a G5 Montec tipped Eason Epic headed straight for the lungs. As she squeezed the shot off, he ducked, jumping the arrow a bit. The shot went in just below the spine, dropping him right in his tracks! She knocked a second arrow to finish him off, and she did just that.
At first, she was upset with herself, thinking she had made a bad shot and made this animal suffer. I told her that I was pretty sure he had dropped some on the shot, and that she had done everything right. After watching the footage, we confirmed that he had indeed ducked the shot from 13 yards. That’s when the sign of relief came, and the real celebration began. We high fived and hugged, then said a prayer thanking God for allowing her to take such a magnificent creature.
After a few phone calls, Facebook posts and pictures, we were on out way back to the house to get the truck and haul her prize out of there. I gutted her deer for her, and then we loaded him up, and headed for the house. As we crested the hill, I looked to the back corner of the field where I had been getting pictures of Claw, STT, and Big Sixx, and there Claw stood, in all his glory, 100 yards away.
I can’t tell you how pumped I am, and the kind of high I am riding after getting to share something I am so passionate about with my wife. It truly has been wonderful having her out there. The only problem now is that she will have a deer on the wall before me!
Here is a timeline of the events as played out on the BuckEye Cam. Pretty awesome to have two different perspectives of the hunt.
Long Neck passing through @ 5:18
Us going in
On the way to get the truck and digital camera, Long Neck in background
Dragging him off
Kate with her first deer
Proud Husband
Last year was Kate's first serious year of bowhunting. After expressing interest in getting into archery, I bought her a Diamond Razor Edge. Not knowing what her draw length would be or how much draw weight she could handle, I felt this would be a great bow for her to start with. She took well to shooting, and proved to be a better archer than I had ever expected, consistently working to improve her skills. Before I knew it, she was up to shooting 47lbs and shooting well enough to kill a deer at 30 yards.
Knowing that we were going to be spending a good amount of time in the woods and hunting together, I decided to purchase a HD video camera to document out time together. Opening week came of the 2010 season, and on the second morning, we had a close encounter with a respectable ten point. He came in at ten yards with another young buck, but the foliage was too thick for her to shoot. I managed to get parts of it on film, but being new to operating the camera, I struggled with keeping the deer in focus through the leaves.
Between her work schedule and mine, it was hard for us to get out a whole lot, but on a cold November morning, she was presented with a second opportunity on a deer. It was very chilly that morning, and just after sunrise I heard the familiar sound of crunching leaves. Looking off in the distance, I see a young spike headed right towards us. I whisper to Kate, “deer” and she stands up in anticipation of a shot. He works his way down into the creek bottom and crosses up the bank and right in front of us, stopping for a bite to eat.
As the footage rolled, Kate attempted to draw back, but due to the frigid temperatures, she was really struggling. After her third try, she got her bow back. I panned in on the deer, waiting for the shot. Nothing… I look down, and see her struggling to find her anchor point with the face mask she has on. Finally, she let her bow down and pulled her face mask out of the way, and attempted to draw again. This time, the young buck caught movement and was long gone before she could get on him. Flustered, Kate was almost in tears over what had “almost” transpired. I told her to keep her head up, and that her day would come.
That day has finally come. The third day into the 2011 season was a wet one. I had gone out that morning before the rain with no luck. After climbing down, I decided to take a few minutes to add some more brush to the groundblind I had set up along a field edge, since the ensuing rain would cover any scent I would leave behind. Kate had school that morning, but would be home in time for an evening sit in the groundblind.
Since the weather had been so warm, we hadn’t been heading out to the blind until 5:30 or so since the deer weren’t moving until just before dark, but with the front moving through, I knew the deer would be moving good. Five came, and the rain was still pouring down, but Kate still wanted to go, so we showed up, smoked up, and headed for the field. Just before we walked out the door, we checked the BEC on the PC and saw that a deer we dubbed “Long Neck” had already been through. I told Kate that more than likely, he would be back through. I just had a feeling.
We got to the blind with the rain still pouring down around us. I discussed with Kate that I didn’t want to risk her loosing a deer in the rain, so we were limiting her shots to 20 yards and under, and the circumstances had to be perfect. I got the camera set up and ready to roll and the hunt was on. The blind sits on a bit of a slope, so Kate can’t even see out the blind without stand up. In the evenings, I zip the windows up so that we can’t be seen sitting down, and I use the camera as a “periscope” to watch for deer out the front window while peeking out the side windows.
We hadn’t been in there for 20 minutes when I see a rack appear over the horizon; it was Long Neck coming back for another bite. I told Kate, “Deer. Long Neck is back,” and instantly I began to shake. I was so nervous/excited for her that I could hardly contain myself. Heck, I didn’t even have my bow, I was just along for the ride. As he crested the hill, already inside 30 yards, he was angling from out left to right, and I was certain he was going to continue on past us and head down over the hill. He kept coming, 25, 20, 15, and that’s when he turned and walked broadside right in front of us.
By this time, Kate was on her feet and in the corner where the shadows were the best. You could hear me breathing heavy on the camera, but Kate kept her composure. She whispered, “How far,” but sitting down and panned in on the deer, I couldn’t tell exactly where he was. I told her I was pretty sure he was only about 15 yards, but she was going to have to estimate where she thought he was based off some points we had ranged the day before. As he worked from right to left grazing on the field, Kate drew her bow and took aim.
At this point, Long Neck was completely calm, and I felt confident Kate was going to make this happen. Just as his left leg went forward, I knew what was coming; a G5 Montec tipped Eason Epic headed straight for the lungs. As she squeezed the shot off, he ducked, jumping the arrow a bit. The shot went in just below the spine, dropping him right in his tracks! She knocked a second arrow to finish him off, and she did just that.
At first, she was upset with herself, thinking she had made a bad shot and made this animal suffer. I told her that I was pretty sure he had dropped some on the shot, and that she had done everything right. After watching the footage, we confirmed that he had indeed ducked the shot from 13 yards. That’s when the sign of relief came, and the real celebration began. We high fived and hugged, then said a prayer thanking God for allowing her to take such a magnificent creature.
After a few phone calls, Facebook posts and pictures, we were on out way back to the house to get the truck and haul her prize out of there. I gutted her deer for her, and then we loaded him up, and headed for the house. As we crested the hill, I looked to the back corner of the field where I had been getting pictures of Claw, STT, and Big Sixx, and there Claw stood, in all his glory, 100 yards away.
I can’t tell you how pumped I am, and the kind of high I am riding after getting to share something I am so passionate about with my wife. It truly has been wonderful having her out there. The only problem now is that she will have a deer on the wall before me!
Here is a timeline of the events as played out on the BuckEye Cam. Pretty awesome to have two different perspectives of the hunt.
Long Neck passing through @ 5:18
Us going in
On the way to get the truck and digital camera, Long Neck in background
Dragging him off
Kate with her first deer
Proud Husband
