Have you ever had one of those mornings where as you were getting ready to leave, you just knew this was going to be the day? Actually, I had this feeling all week that today, October 20, 2014, I was going to shoot a good buck. I kept telling my best friend all week that it was going to happen and for whatever reason, it did. The alarm went off this morning at 4:30AM and I hit snooze several times before I finally realized it was now 5AM and I was still laying in bed! I showered, got my gear loaded and was pulling out of the driveway by 5:25AM. A short 15 minute drive to my spot, and I was on my way to my favorite tree, The Rut Stand. This stand has been very good to me over the years, taking several good bucks and missing plenty of opportunities at others. Its also gotten better as well thanks to a little logging that created a fantastic bedding area not more than 500 yards from this tree. Add two food sources on either side and a funnel leading into the bedding area and its situated perfectly. I save this stand every year for Halloween week on. I was situated in the stand by 6AM and had an hour to kill before first light so I closed my eyes and took in the still calmness that I absolutely love this time of year. About 20 minutes before shooting light, I heard deer, lots of them, coming into my location. It was still pretty dark, but I could still easily make the deer out as they headed by my stand, toward the other food source location. After this, several other family groups of does worked by me as light was starting to win over the darkness. The sunrise this morning was spectacular from my point of view. Picture perfect day in the whitetail woods. 38 degress, west wind at 7mph, October 30. What more could I ask for? I decided to rattle at first light and it wasn't long until deer started filtering into the area. From about 7:30AM on, I was covered in deer. I saw my first buck at 8AM, head down, moving constantly. Yes, the rut is winding up and his tell tale gate didn't suggest anything but. Around 8:30, I caught movement to my right, some 80 yards away. I good racked buck appeared. He was working from left to right, but away from me. I grunted twice, and he stopped. Shooter for sure. He stared in my direction for a moment, flicked his tail and continued on. I then gave him a snort wheeze. He spiked the breaks again and actually turned and started my way for a second, but then stopped, stared for what seemed like forever, then turned around and continued on his way. I waited a while for this deer to move out of the immediate area, grabbed the Pack Rack and did another short, one minute rattling sequence. My buddy texted me around 9AM to see what was happening and I gave him a quick run down. Things slowed down a bit around this time so I decided to sit for a bit and take a break. Around 10AM, I did another rattling sequence. This time, it was a little more than sparring and a little less than an all out fight. I don't typically rattle much this late into the AM, but I figured what the heck. I put the Pack Rack back into my pack and waited. Not much more than a minute later, I heard the unmistakable sound of a buck approaching. Looking slightly to my left, not more than 60 yards out was a buck, a good buck and he, along with turns out to be second buck were on their way to a shooting lane I had prepared. Its showtime. I slowly grabbed the bow, turned my body and readied myself for a potential shot opportunity. The larger of the two bucks was in front and as he approached 30 yards, I began to draw. I didn't have a lot of cover between he and I and the only thing I could do was point the bow directly at him and draw slowly and smoothly. I hit my anchors. Still coming. Still coming. "Crap!" I thought to myself, he's walking right at me, no shot and I'm at full draw. He keeps coming and he'll end up under me. Just then, he turned to his left. At 18 yards, I settled the pin behind his shoulder and started following him. "meh", I stopped him and pushed the pin a little harder into his vitals. Then, all of a sudden, just like I'd practiced over and over gain, the string came loose and the Nocturnal vanished behind his shoulder. He did a big mule kick into the air and tore off to his right, disappearing behind a few smaller pine trees. I flipped at first, as I realized immediately the shot looked a bit high. But that mule kick stuck in my mind as I replayed in my mind what just occurred. d I hung the bow on the hook and tried to calm my nerves and replay over and over again what I recall seeing. I grabbed my binos and scanned the ground around the shot area for my arrow. It was actually laying about 8 feet from where I shot him. Hmm, thats sort of odd I thought. I text my best friend and told him I believe I have a good buck down and talked to him about the shot and his reaction. I just knew though, this guy was finished. After about 30 minutes, I started my way out of the tree, taking my time, packing up my gear and climber. At the shot site, there was small sapling right behind him when I shot. The arrow hit this tree, knocking the bark off and spraying blood all over the tree. I grabbed the arrow and examined. Lungs... no doubt about it. Blood was easy to find as I slowly made my way in the direction he ran, slowly and quietly scanning the woods in front of me. Then, not more than 40 yards ahead, I saw him. In total, he made it about 100 yards on the double lung hit. Upon inspection, the arrow passed through the top of the first lung and the bottom of the second. The shot was 15 yards. I walked the final 40 yards and laid my hands on him. Great PA eight pointer with nice mass, and tine lengths. I couldn't be happier with how the season has gone so far. I have actually hunted a bit less this year, but smarter, picking optimal days based on weather fronts, winds, etc. This was also the first buck I have taken with rattling. I've rattled in many, just never sealed the deal on one. I'm also tickled I could get one on ground prior to leaving next week for a week long Missouri hunt. This buck, and the doe earlier has my confidence high heading into this trip. Hopefully the good Mojo follows us west next week. A huge bonus was being able to recover and share this experience with my best friend, JR (vertical_assassin on here). I've known this guy since we were 12 years old and it means the world to me to be able to share this with him. Now, bring on the midwest giants.
