A J
Active Member
I'm 57. Retired Army combat veteran. Never been deer hunting. Always wanted to give it a try. The fact that my wife can't eat park or beef (due to allergies) gave me additional incentive.
A few months ago I bought a license and started tip toeing through my woods. No luck. On December 27th my luck changed.
As soon as I hit the woods I saw 4 deer. They saw me but weren't that impressed. Trotted just out of range. I decided to circle around the back of my property hoping to catch them upwind. It worked.
Just as I emerged from the branches,of some white pines, I saw a big doe standing atop a small hitt at a distance of only 50 meters. She was staring at me motionless; a perfect broadside. I braced my shotgun against a tree, aimed carefully and let loose a 12 gauge slug. The deer jumped and disappeared. I racked another round and walked up the hill.
The deer was laying only about 10-15 meters from initial impact. Stone cold dead. It was the cleanest of kills; exactly what I wanted. When I walked up to the animal I felt a tremendous sense of responsibility. I immediately texted all my experienced deer hunter buddies asking for their help in gutting it. No dice. I decided to do or myself, not really knowing what I'm doing and treating it like very big bluegill.
When I arrived at the butcher, he complimented me on the "excellent" job I did cleaning the animal. He was also very pleased that I brought it to him right away. The other big compliment I received was from my neighbor. When hearing that I stalked the deer, he said "you earned that."
It's all in the freezer. About half of it will be be gifts to close friends. The rest will be special meals.
A few months ago I bought a license and started tip toeing through my woods. No luck. On December 27th my luck changed.
As soon as I hit the woods I saw 4 deer. They saw me but weren't that impressed. Trotted just out of range. I decided to circle around the back of my property hoping to catch them upwind. It worked.
Just as I emerged from the branches,of some white pines, I saw a big doe standing atop a small hitt at a distance of only 50 meters. She was staring at me motionless; a perfect broadside. I braced my shotgun against a tree, aimed carefully and let loose a 12 gauge slug. The deer jumped and disappeared. I racked another round and walked up the hill.
The deer was laying only about 10-15 meters from initial impact. Stone cold dead. It was the cleanest of kills; exactly what I wanted. When I walked up to the animal I felt a tremendous sense of responsibility. I immediately texted all my experienced deer hunter buddies asking for their help in gutting it. No dice. I decided to do or myself, not really knowing what I'm doing and treating it like very big bluegill.
When I arrived at the butcher, he complimented me on the "excellent" job I did cleaning the animal. He was also very pleased that I brought it to him right away. The other big compliment I received was from my neighbor. When hearing that I stalked the deer, he said "you earned that."
It's all in the freezer. About half of it will be be gifts to close friends. The rest will be special meals.
