Hey guys, Been away for a while but I finally am finding time to get back online. So we bought a new house on 50 acres in SE MN in June. I ran one trail camera because my others were in use at the property we usually hunt. Got some nice ones on cam and couldn't wait for the season. I went hunting in AK this Sept. so I didn't get out much early season. About a week before gun season started I was in a treestand on one of the best pinch points on the property. This big 8 comes by and I get ready with my bow. He is a great buck, but the season is early, and I wasn't quite ready to be done buck hunting...he wasn't a giant, but it was really hard to hold back. I finally decided to let him walk, and took my phone out and recorded him walking away. Then right before dark I grunted in a nice 10 I had on cam but he was in the brush, and hit my scent before he hit my shooting lane. Walked away not spooked too bad, but no shot. I must have watched that video 100 times and now I was really kicking myself. He looked so good walking away(they always do) and I was thinking....you idiot! that could have been the first deer off the property the first time owning my own hunting land! Damit! Well fast forward to Fri evening the night before gun season. I had my dad and my little brother in my best 2 stands, so I grabbed a metal folding chair from around the card table in my gameroom and headed to a spot I thought was really good and had been wanting to try. I wasn't happy about being on the ground, but I only had 2 stands up and wanted my dad and brother to have the best opportunity so I found a down log and put the folding chair right behind it. About 1/2 hour before last shooting here comes this big 8 down the trail... The wind was right, and as his head disapeared behind a big tree I drew...well almost drew. Sitting in the chair, my big winter coat was all bunched up, and as I drew my jacket sleeve caught on my coat and stopped my mid draw. The buck comes out from behind the tree and looks in my direction, and I am thinking....it's over. I can't hold half way and he is going to see me. Well he turns back and continues on and now I have to let down or complete the draw RIGHT NOW. No time to wait for another tree...so I horse it back and as soon as my pin settles on his shoulder....THWACK. He takes off and stops 60 yards away and starts getting wobbly....and i'm saying in my head go down go down go down go down....then he shakes and seems to recover some and takes a step! I'm thinking I know I hit him good but I can't let him walk away so I knock another arow and try to thread the needle through the branches and the arrow doesn't even get to him and he bounds off. Oh no. I screwed up. I should have left him alone and he probly would have dropped in front of me, and now......shoot....that was a stupid move. Well it turned out OK. He didn't go another 60 yards and myself, my dad, and my 2 brothers tracked him and hour later. Come to find out that my dad shot at a 10 and hit a branch, and my brother got busted standing up in the stand by an even bigger 10 that I had on camera. We each had a shooter buck come by in range on the same evening stand on a 50 acre piece of land!! Crazy. Well, here he is. Not my biggest, but he's going on the wall. He's a pretty special deer to me. After passing him a week before, he looked HUGE sitting on the ground 20 yards away! Glad he gave me a second chance.
