7 PT BUCK… DOWN AT THE BUS

It’s a pleasure to share that I finally killed my first deer of the season, and 2nd buck of my hunting career. This season has been a lot of fun, but also somewhat frustrating. I’ve seen a lot of deer, but I swear everyone of them have been button heads, or spikes, which are illegal to kill in hancock county. The first deer I ever killed was a button-head and since then, I’ve tried to learn from my mistake and make sure i 100% knew what i was shooting at. I’ve hunted 4-5 weekends in Hancock County and 2-3 days in Fulton County, and at both properties i’ve seen plenty of deer, but again they’ve all been spikes, buttons, or very small does. I’d say i’ve seen 40+ deer come and go by my stand that I let walk. I’ve also been hunting with my bow a good bit, which is a whole different ballgame. While hunting with my BOW there was two exceptions on deer that would have been legal and a good deer to kill. The first was a nice size doe that i actually drew back on… I could have easily stuck her with an arrow, but right as i was about to pull the release, i heard something else behind her. It was early in the evening and early in the season, so i decided to let the doe walk in order to see if MR Buck was behind her. Unfortunately for me, Mr. Buck never came by, so the doe got away! The 2nd instance was when i was also bow hunting, i saw a nice buck in the distance. I knew from the spread that it was def a nice deer, but it was 50+ yards out, and it was on the move. I was able to zoom in on it with my Binoculars and see his 8PT Rack, but ultimately he never came close enough for me to have a realistic kill shot. Seeing that big deer, really got me excited, but bummed at the same time.

Since then, I’ve been predominately gun hunting with the trusted 30.30, mainly because it was getting late, and I was 100% out of meat, which doesnt make the wife happy. She let’s me hunt often, but man she’s not happy when i spend all weekend in the woods, and dont come home with anything to show for it. Well… All that changed last weekend, following the Thanksgiving Holiday. I hunted Friday and once again saw 2 Spikes, one of them was the big spike we keep seeing that we call “Baldwin County Spike”, the 2nd was just a small buck with 2 inch horns. I woke up Saturday morning and asked Richard, where i should hunt, and he recommended a stand that i had not hunted before. It was a lock on stand above our middle foot plot. I was dubious about hunting it because my original stand i was planning on hunting was the Ridge, which is the stand i’ve killed the most deer out of on the bus property, but i did decide to go ahead and take the recommendation and i’m glad I did. From 6-9:30 AM i didnt see anything. At 935ish, i turned my head and saw a buck. I tell you, that buck moved so quietly and swiftly that it’s amazing i even caught a glimpse of him. He was a nice size deer, but when i zoomed in on his head as he was walking away, it was clear he was only a 5 point buck, with a 3 v 2 rack. He was moving so quickly that I wouldnt have had a great shot anyway, but man was i bummed. About 45 mins later, i turn my head around again as i heard something and sure enough, another buck came walking by. However, he quickly moved into the thick and i couldnt tell how many points he had. I lost him for a minute, but kept my eye on that area. 15-20 minutes later, i saw movement in the thick, and continued to watch him. He finally made his way back towards my stand, and as he came out from behind the tree, i was finally able to count the points. I counted 4 on one side and saw some big browties so at that point I had committed to taking a shot. As he stepped out, I said a 10 second prayer ( as i do before each and every shot) and just asked god to give me a steady hand, but to also let my deer die quickly and rest in peace. BAM. 30.30 goes off, and deer dropped and died within a couple seconds. He didnt even run 5 yards. I was so happy, excited, and relived. When i got down from the stand, I walked over and noticed how pretty of a deer he was. No it wasnt a trophy size rack, but he had such a pretty coat. I also told myself at the beginning of the season that i was not going to shoot a buck unless it was bigger than my first buck.. We’ll mission accomplished. Good things happen to those who wait, and those who are willing to learn from their experiences. I cant say how thankful i am to have the opportunity to hunt and enjoy the outdoors! I also appreciate all of the guidance and knowledge shared to me from my hunting family ( Brain and Richard) as well as my friends and neighbors who have been giving me tips along the way. It’s only going to get better and better! I did decide to mount this deer, and look forward to having him on my wall to share my story with anyone that comes over! Now that the pressure is off, and meat will soon be in the freezer, i’ll be putting the gun away and focusing on accomplishing my goal of getting my first bow kill. Stay tuned!
Cheers!