It sure is funny how I choose which stand to sit sometimes. I actually drove past my usual parking spot heading to another stand I already had in place. BUT...I hit the brakes and backed up. Maybe I should try this stand one more time. So off into the darkness I go with bow in hand and my climber on my back. I busted some deer on the way in but that's becoming routine. Got situated in the stand and checked my Fantasy Football teams to see if my waivers went through. As daylight approached, I heard the worst thing you could hear. My flashlight dropped out of my pocket, hit the bottom platform of my Summit, rolled a bit, and then fell to the ground. I gave it a while and then hit the grunt call. It was a bit breezy this morning so I made sure to throw out 10 or so grunts, loudly. Ten minutes later, I repeated the process and I spotted a buck...he just seemed to appear. He's definitely on edge looking for the "other buck." I bino'ed him and decided not to shoot but I stand up for some reason. Then my hand reaches for my bow. Why am I doing this if I'm not going to shoot??? Guess the KILLER instinct kicked in. I bino'ed him again and recognized that this is the buck I passed on opening day at 25 yards. That day I didn't want to use my only buck tag on him. A couple years back, I was in a predicament where I killed a buck and could not kill a doe to save my life in order to earn my second buck. Didn't want that to happen this year. I've since gotten a doe so I have two bucks I can kill. Anyway, he continued in and stopped at 25 yards and was really looking for the source of those grunts. I decided I would take him. Drew my bow back when he looked the other way and settled the pins behind his shoulder. Squeezed off the release and he took off and then stopped and started walking. I knew the shot was perfect but I still second guessed myself. A few seconds later, I heard the most eerie groan (death moan). I've never experienced this before and it was pretty chilling to hear. It echoed through the woods. I waited about 30 minutes, packed up my stand, and took it back to the truck to get my game cart. Don't let anyone tell you a game cart makes getting a deer out of the woods easy. Easier maybe...but I still worked my tail off getting him out. :D He has 9 score-able points. Exit Wound This is how I roll!
"Why am I doing this if I'm not going to shoot"...that's good stuff, sometimes instinct just takes over - nice buck!
