Your first one - Tell us the story of your first deer!! [Archive] - Bow hunting ohio

mrbb

11-12-2010, 10:49 PM

first year I hunted, had a uncle that said he knew how to hunt, after 2 weeks with him, going where he wanted.
he gave in and took me where I wanted to go,
first morning, at first light I killed my first deer, a small doe, at 100 yards with 1 sjhot from a 30-06, it was cold, had 2 ft of snow on the ground, almost couldn't drive in snow was so deep!
never forget that hunt! even thought it was like 25+ yrs ago!

first bow kill was a spike buck, at 30 yards, hunting by myself the next year!
the whole hunt was self taught, I found the area, had a 2 mile walk to the treestand I built!
it was a poor hit, gut shot!
so I tracked it some, then was going to look for help
as I was walking out I ran into a local guy I knew out for a drive in the woods
he was a great hunter and tracker, a retired guide from maine, and a ex vietnam vet( AKA crazy guy!, still is!)
he told me he would find me my deer no matter where i hit it!

we tracked it a mile or 2, found it still alive, I shot it a second time, and a done deal!!

we were now a good 4 miles from where I needed to get it, on the wrong side of a steep mountain!
thank god he had a truck, as I would have been dragging that deer for days!( too young to drive, and no atv's back then either!)
this guy dragged my deer to the road, we got his truck, and loaded it up, and he took it to his house ,and he butchered, freezer wrapped it for me!
then gave me a ride home!
He was a god sent, I would never have found that deer had it not have been for him!
he is still till today the best tracker I ever meet/ know
have that deers head on my wall, and its a trophy in my eyes!!

and with that my bow hunting illness began!
hope I never find the cure!

RUT NUT

11-12-2010, 11:51 PM

I was first introduced to hunting by my old ladies step dad and step brother. At the time they both owned bows and bowhunted....but weren't that serious about it. They live for gun season! Big group of guys doing drive after drive after drive! I didn't know anything about hunting at the time so agreed to get my license and tag and go along. Of course I was never put on stand that year due to being new. Instead I was an all time driver. It was on the 6th day of gun season that I shot my first deer. I was a driver sent down a hollow that was dang near straight up and straight down! The driver off to my right was also walking down a hollow about 75 yards away. He must have jumped the deer because it came from my right. I looked over....pulled the gun up....rested my sight....and squeezed the trigger. BOOM! She took off running right in front of me and piled up 40 yards to my left! I was told no matter if you shoot a deer or not....you are to finish the drive. I finished the drive fist pumping and screaming under my breath! I was so excited! Once we got done with the drive and all gathered up....I told them that I was the one who shot and that I saw where she ended up so there was no need to track her. A couple guys went with me to help me with my first ever gut job. What an experience! They had me covering my face with blood and everything! I looked like a dagon umpa lumpa! Lol! Then the jokes began about how small this deer was I shot. I didn't care....it was my first deer and no one was going to burst my bubble! I have to admit....I could have put this deer in a back pack! Lol! Never forget that!
My first year bowhunting came the following year. After shooting the old ladies step brothers bow all spring....I decided to by one of my own. His bow being about 5 inches to long in draw length for me and a black and blue 4arm sure played a big part in me buying my own bow! Lol! It was an old PSE that had to weigh about 10 pounds! I got it sighted in and hunted all year without killing a deer. I missed a bunch of deer that year....but I was HOOKED! Gun season came around and I decided to go....but all I could do is think about bowhunting. I would catch myself looking at trees that I would put a stand in....looking for bedding areas and everything else you would do in scouting an area to bowhunt. I just wasn't interested! Hearing lead fly over my head a couple times sure didn't help either! I ended up taking another doe that year during gun season....but it would be my last deer taken with a gun. I WAS A BOWHUNTER! Next spring came along and I had landed a good job and decided to save money to by me a brand new bow. I bought a ROSS....the bow I still shoot as I write this. I do have to say....I thought me missing deer the year before had something to do with the old bow I was shooting....but I know now that it had nothing to do with it....but after shooting my new bow all spring dang near every day....when season arrived I felt confident walking into the woods. I had a rough start to the season with very little deer sightings and no opportunities to shoot. It all came together on October 11th that year when I took my first archery deer....and it was a BUCK! Made a drag line....flipped the can a couple times and grunted a couple times. I could hear the deer coming before I even got the grunt tube off my lips! He came to a fence....stuck his nose up in the air....smelled the estrus....jumped the fence and began my way with his nose to the ground. He came to 15 yards in front of me where I had hung the wick I drug. I drew back and smoked him! It was the best feeling I have ever had! I heard him crash and knew he was done but I was going to need help dragging this deer out. I went to the old ladies step brothers house opened the door and yelled for him. He said....WHAT!?....I'm poopin! I said....I just shot a buck! I heard the toilet flush as soon as I said that. I don't think he even wiped his a$$! Lol! We jumped in the truck and recovered my first bow kill! I now call him stinky! Lol!

BowGuy2

11-13-2010, 09:55 AM

y first deer kill was a buck and was with a doe. i had hunted hard for 3 years straight ad didnt harvest a deer and think i only missed like 1 or 2 times. so i got into my stand befor daylight. i texted my cousin im in my stand he said yah me to. i texted him back like 30 min later right at day break and said i think your going to get one this morning not 5 min later i had shot and had my first deer first buck and first bow kill all in one he dropped 30 yards from my stand i was screaming and fist pumping i dont think i even climbed down my tree i think i jumped out hahah i had waited so long to take a deer and i got one and i had never been so happy. we loaded it up in my granpals truck he had just passed away 6 months befor and this was out first hunting trip with my grandpals truck and he was a huge hunter he has a 14 pointer from like 1986 hanging on his wall! we were ridding home got a tag on it and what not and when we always drive home we drive past my aunts work and the antlers were stickin up a little bit and he got stopped at the red light in front of her work and she looks out waves and looks in the bed of the truck and sees horns sticking up and says whos was it and i said mine and she got all excited she ended up leaving work early lol it was a great day in life for me.

BowGuy2

11-13-2010, 09:58 AM

first deer kill was with a bow and it was a buck

radicalxl

11-13-2010, 03:33 PM

I am sitting here reading the stories, and I seriously don't mean any disrespect by this, but it is very amusing to me so far. Here's why. The first question asking if your first deer was a buck or a doe. Back when I first started deer hunting the only thing you could legally shoot was a buck, and gun season was only 3 days long, and don't forget the fact there wasn't that many deer back then. The next thing that got me laughing was the texting on the day of the first kill. I keep trying to tell myself that I'm not that old, but you guy's keep proving to me that I am. LOL.
But anyway, the first deer I shot was a small 8 pt when I was a senior in high school (1973). I had started deer hunting probably when I was about 14, so it took me three years to get my first one. I had only ever seen a couple of bucks in the woods up untill this point, none of which were in range. As a matter of fact, a joke amoung hunters back then was not to look at the does too long or your mind would play tricks on you and put antlers on them. That's if you were lucky enough to even see a doe.
It kinda was a given back then that alot of kids took off from school on the first day of season. My uncle who was my hunting mentor couldn't get off of work that day so he told me to go ahead and use his old model 12 winchester 12 guage, no deer barrel, no scope, and the old cardboard shells from back then.
So off I go towards the gas line that went up through the edge of our property. Best place of all to sit against a tree and wait as we did back then. After a couple of hours I decided to walk up the gas line to the top of the hill. (I couldn't do that now.) There was a path that went across the top of the ridge, good spot, still is. I was only there a few minutes when I heard a couple of shots down over the hill. I stayed completely still, and soon I heard the crunching leaves getting louder and louder. I looked in that direction and I saw the buck and a doe running up the hill. I waited untill they got broadside on a dead run and led the buck like I had done on alot of rabbits. Didn't know enough to try and stop them back then, but the first shot knocked him down (pretty lucky). I had to walk up to him and put him out for good. And here is one thing I will never forget. I leaned the old model 12 against a tree, dressed the deer, probably not a good job, and drug him to the house, about a half a mile through the woods. My uncle took off early from work and was at his house when I drug it into the back yard. Man was that a great moment! The bad part came when I found out that he came home early to go out on an evening hunt and asked where his gun was. Yeah, you guessed it I left in the woods! No biggie, I was young then and just went back up and got it.

Big_Holla

11-13-2010, 05:02 PM

Started deer hunting when I was 12 years old. In Michigan back then that was the soonest you could start and it had to be with a bow. I didn't get my first deer until I was 15 years old when I shot a button buck. The following year when I was 16 was when I shot my first antlered buck, a small 9 point, also with a bow.

hortontoter

11-15-2010, 10:40 AM

My deer hunting career started on a whim. The first deer hunt I was ever on was on a Saturday in 1968. It was, I believe, the last day of the gun season. I hunted just outside of Newcomerstown with my one brother and a fella he worked with at Miracle Mart. I carried a single shot Winchester Model 37 in 28 gauge. We covered most of the earth that day, at least it felt that way at 5:00 PM when we quit. I did see some tracks, but never a deer. I only went that day because my brother bet me he would get his first deer before I did. Now, my brother was three years older than I was and I had seen him take his first, rabbit, squirrel, pheasant, quail and duck. My dad wouldn't let us use a shotgun until we were 16. I started hunting with an old Iver Johnson single shot .410 on Nov. 5 1967 my 16th birthday. Before Christmas I had killed my first rabbit, squirrel, pheasant, quail and duck. But, I had also killed my first woodcock and my older brother had never done that. So up came next years deer season and he was going to get one up on me by getting a deer before I did.

After the deer hunt in '68 I thought that deer hunting was a waste of time. Like Chris said, very few deer around anyways. Well I graduated high school in '69 and got a job in a sheet metal shop on my 18th birthday. I just happened to work on an assembly line right smack between to guys that were deer hunting fanatics. These two guys ended up buying the first two compound bows ever owned in Portage County. To make the story shorter all three of us got to be really good friends and I was invited to go on a hunt with them in 1974 for the PA rifle opener. I didn't even own a rifle. But, I accepted the invitation and bought a Savage 99 in .243. I went to PA and saw the first "live" buck of my life. God knows I was a greenhorn and had no idea what I was doing. The buck was about 200 yards away, which looked like a mile further than I had shot at anything in my life. I aimed about a foot over his back and fired. He never even flinched, wonder why. I walked to where he had been looking for a sign I had hit him, not even close.

Next spring rolls around and I sold the 99 and bought a brand Ruger 77V in .243 and topped it with a Redfield 6-18X scope. I had decided to become a groundhog hunter. I hunted every chance I got and learned a ton about trajectory and even started reloading. By fall I was consistently killing groundhogs up to 300 yards. That summer my one brother had married a girl that had relatives in WV. I went to WV with my brother one weekend to his wifes relatives place. Somehow the conversation turned to hunting and her one uncle said I could come down and hunt with his son in rifle season. I agreed to do just that.

I drove down on Sunday morning and checked my rifle to see things were ready for the next day. The Ruger was ready to go. The next morning was Nov. 24, 1975, a day I will always remember. A half hour before daylight I climbed a long steep hill to sit beside a huge ash tree that overlooked half of Preston County. I had found this spot a few weeks before on a scouting trip. I had leaned a piece of split rail fence against the tree to put a sandbag on to rest my rifle on. I was watching a long power line opening that offered me shots out to 500 yards.

It was a cold, crisp morning and I remember the sound of the humming of the powerlines overhead. As day broke everthing was covered in a heavy coating of frost. I had decided this would be an all day sit, simply because I had the best spot in the whole state, so why move. About 10 o'clock I heard a strange sound in the woods I had never heard before. It almost sounded like a person hitting a drum in a very slow steady beat. The sound was about every 2 seconds. I heard it and knew it was in front of me and to my right. I sat there thinking, what is that. Next thing I know a deer comes out of the timber to my right on to the power line. The deer rears up on its hind legs and comes down on its one good front leg making the drum sound I had heard. He had clearly been wounded that morning. I looked through the scope and clearly saw a four point rack. I judged the distance at 275 and flipped of the safety. I thought, a piece of cake. I have shot many ground hogs at that distance. I take the first shot and the buck just looks around. I couldn't believe I missed him. I bolted in the next round and missed him clean again. Now, being wounded this buck was traveling very slow and had to cross and 80 yard wide powerline. I bolted in the third round and told myself to pick a spot and squeeze. I took careful aim and squeezed the trigger. The shot just felt right. I heard the 95 grain Nosler Partition bullet hit and the deer was out of sight when I could see through the scope after the recoil. I couldn't see him, but I knew he was down. I grabbed my pack and stated the walk towards where I assumed he was. Five minutes later and I had my hands on my first set of antlers. I was by far the happiest guy in the state of WV. This set of antlers hangs on my basement wall and I still get that silly grin every time I look at them.

To this day my older brother has yet to take his first deer. But, he hasn't hunted in over 30 years. I tell him all the time he ought to get back out, but he seems to have no interest.

heelbilly

11-15-2010, 11:41 AM

My first one was a button buck that I killed with an old Sears and Roebuck 30/30. It was the first year dad and I were members of this hunting club in Green Swamp, NC. We had run dogs all day and were sitting around the skinning shack when a fella who was hunting the game lands drove up to us and asked if we had permission to shoot deer on this property. We said yes. He said there are 4 does standing in the cutdown on the corner. So dad and I got in the truck and drove slowly down the road towards the cutdown. We got within 100 yds of them, slipped out of the truck and both of us fired at the same time (two different deer). They both fell in their tracks. Getting them out of that muddy cutdown was almost as fun as pulling a double with my dad.....not. I was sinking up to my thighs in the muddy muck. I was 13 and I remember it like it was yesterday.

4arms

11-15-2010, 11:45 AM

I had shot and killed just one deer prior to my new found love for bow hunting. My dad bought me a Coast to Coast model 267 for my 12th birthday (1988). It's basically an old Savage/Stevens model 77 pump action 20 smooth bore. No scope, just a single bead.

That same year, my dad and uncle were driving an area near our little farm. I heard a deer running toward me and saw it was a doe. She slowed down to a walk and kept looking behind her. I can still remember how hard my heart was pounding just to see a deer and have an opportunity about to unfold.

She was only 15-20 yards and turned broadside. I leaned against a tree to steady myself and the gun and let her have it. She ran like 10 feet and watched her run into a tree with blood splattering all over the woods. By the time Dad got to me, I had her gutted (easily 30-45 minutes later). No gloves to use at the time. Dad was proud enough to wipe a little on my face, then watched me drag it to the road by myself.

I'll never forget the smell of field dressing a deer. It was awful at the time. It would be 19 years before I got back into the woods and shoot my 2nd deer, my first buck (2007). Since then, that smell always takes me back to that day.

Stonegod

11-17-2010, 07:39 AM

ohiorut

11-17-2010, 12:21 PM

I took my first deer during the gun season of 1996 if I remember right. It was a doe. She crept up on me to about 20 yards. I was sitting on the ground overlooking a river bottom about 10 yards off railroad tracks.

It had been shortly after light when she came walking along the top of the cliff cut into the hill the tracks ran through. I was basically sitting on the trail she would have continued to follow if I hadn't put a 12 gauge slug dead center in her. She was facing right at me.

Well, I forgot to mention that this was my first year deer hunting as well, so, when she bolted off like lightning and started down the side of the cliff towards the river bottom, I emptied the chamber on her. I didn't know I hit her on the first shot. Shot 5 times at her total, before the 3 round restriction, and hit her a total of 3 times...2 of which were on the run, down the cliff, full speed. She dropped and died at the bottom of the cliff.

Adrenaline was pumping!

It was the following year, same identical location, I took my first buck with a gun as well. A small 7.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r256/JasonMacy/Deer%20Hunting/Mount_2.jpg

It wasn't until 2005, 5 years after I picked up bow hunting, that I had taken my first deer with a bow. It happened to be a buck at that. 9-point.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r256/JasonMacy/Deer%20Hunting/11.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r256/JasonMacy/Deer%20Hunting/Mount_3.jpg

Great memories made and ones that you will remember for years to come. The buck stories are a little longer because I documented them well in a journal. Maybe I'll share them later.

Is there a 'journal' thread where everyone can share stories of their past experiences?

Capt. Al

11-17-2010, 12:45 PM

I shot my first buck at the age of 12 w/ my Darton xl45 bow. It was on November 13th, 1988 at 4:05pm. This was my last day to bow hunt before the gun season that was to start on November 15th (I wasn't old enough to hunt w/ a gun at that time) and I also had basketball practice starting the next day.

I had encountered several other opportunities throughout that year, but always seemed to get too excited and the arrow would come off the rest at the moment of truth and the deer would spook, or I would miss. However, this time I tried to concentrate more...relaxed a little, picked a spot, and released because I knew this was my last good chance for a buck that year.

Once I saw the arrow actually hit the deer I went hestatic....whistling, calling for my dad, humming to the tone "Welcome to the Jungle"(it was popular in middle school that year)...you know everything you are suppose to do once you have a deer take off after they are hit....

My dad came over....lots of blood at first....then nothing. After an hour or so of tracking my dad finally yelled "I found your buck"......a narrow racked 4pt....(mounted on my wall).

It sure is crazy how I still can remember all the details over 22 years! That is why I love this sport.

jsyn

11-17-2010, 05:21 PM

worst hunter in the world to my first deer (all in the same day)

Hello all, this is my first year hunting, I got started because my wifes uncle and cousin both hunt, they kept bugging me to go and i never really had much interest in it, then I decided to give it a try, I shot my cousins ten point cross bow a couple of times and was hooked, I went out a got a wicked ridge crossbow at gander mountain and all of the needed items to hunt. I got hunting privledges for a land owner in huron county, and on Sept. 25 I went out and scouted the area, the land is 90 acres with a swamp covering about half. the rest of the area is very over grown with thick brush weeds and prickers, after scouting the area 3 times i found lots of rubs and scrapes and really started to get excited. On novemer 13 I decided to go out about 1:00 pm and see what was going on out there, I had a tree stand set up there from the week before, but I am afraid of heights and decided to go to another area to hunt and not use the stand since I was by myself. I found a nice open area with a clear opening leading to a corn field, i saw a nice shooting lane and found a tree 35 yards away to sit and wait. At around 3:00 pm, A six point buck snuck up on me to my left, he was about 15 feet from where i was sitting. I raised my crossbow and relized that My safety was still on, at this point, i am shaking with excitement (i didnt expect that) so I take my safety off and aim, I then realize that I never turned on my red dot scope, as i turn it on the young buck runs away. I am now a bit upset, thinking how nice it would be for my first deer to be a buck. I text my wife " I am the worst hunter in the whole world" and explain what happened. she said" aww honey it's ok you will get one". So now it is 3:30 and I just know that this buck is telling all of his friends that I am there and not to go over there. I think that maybe I should go and try another day, but I decided to stay since it will be dusk in an hour and a half, at 4:50 I can hear leaves rustling in the distance, I use my grunt call and the noise is getting closer and closer. this time I make sure the safety is off and scope is on, I already learned my lesson with that, ten minutes later the deer appears out of the trail I saw earlier and right into my shooting lane. I waste no time AIM AND FIRE!!!!!! I hit him in the right spot, he jumped up about 6 feet in the air and took off. Now from all the reading I have done I know I am not supposed to get up and look for him, so I called my wifes uncle and tell him I just shot a huge deer. he said to go back to my car and wait until he gets there. An hour and a half later he shows up, now it is pitch black out. I show him where I shot the deer and we looked for some blood, we didnt find any for about 10 minutes, then just a few drops every couple of feet. he siad this is not good, there should be more blood then this, we continue to follow the blood trail and 30 yards away we see my bolt, covered in bright red blood, he says this is a good sign, now I am really excited, we continue to follow the blood trail some more only seeing little blood spots, after 2 and a 1/2 hours we are ready to give up, then as we flash the light ahead we see the dear layong on the ground, as I am behind my wifes uncle standing on the last blood drop, he turns around and says "oh my god, that is huge" we get to the dear and see a beautiful 11 point 6 year old(or so) buck laying in the thickett. I assist in the field dressing and drag my first deer to the truck. that is my story for my first deer.
I will try to figure out how to post some pictures of my 11 pointer
thanks for reading.

bigbuckhunter

11-18-2010, 02:25 PM

I was 14 when i killed my first deer it was a buck small rag but old barly any teeth. I went with my father and his hunting buddy in tionesta P A It was early sat afternoon we were walking up a dirt gravel road to another spot to leave our stands go to lunch then come back and hunt. As we were walking up we noticed a single buck feeding in a field to our left i had my bow so i lowerd my climber from my back and started a stalk the road and field and road were divided by a brush or sticker bush row. About 30 yards up was a opening and they way the buck was acting he was gonna break into a run and cross at the opening i got my self into position and drew the buck started a light run and came out in front of us i yelled and led him released my arrow at that time shooting with no sights it seem like forever everything was in slow motion i could see the arrow in flight and watched it hit just a little back. My dad yelled you got him you got him he was pumped i was still taking it all in we walk up to impact spot and walked his trail it took about 20 yards to find blood but it was good another 50 we found the arrow about 8 inches penitration and it seem i hit main artery. This was a long trac in tionesta its all mountains up down up down we finnaly got to him and he still alive i settle my bow and put another in him he went another 5o yards and died in the creek small but very old 6 point. At that point i already had the fever but it got hotter from there i stiill have that mount 16 years later and will never forget that 30 yard shot on the run without sights not a shot i would take now and i have went to sights also but something about being introduced to hunting by your father then killing a deer with him by your side is pretty awsome no matter how many or how big the buck i shoot and i have shot some booneys i will always appriciate and remember that one the most.

bigbuckhunter

11-18-2010, 02:27 PM

Thanks guys........ your stories are great and were/are a blast to read, especially for someone still waiting to write his "first" story! Hope you enjoyed this tread as much as I did/do and maybe there'll be a few more stories posted!!!! It's better than reading the stories in the hunting mags!!!!!

Stonegod i have been watching your post most of the year so far and you seem like a awsome dude i cant wait to read your story keep hunting hard and smart and it will be sooner then later. Good luck man

taylor6400

11-18-2010, 02:39 PM

First deer was a buck, probably around 92 I think...10 years old or so. My dad had never really hunted. He started because I wanted to. Shotgun season. I missed a doe right at first light at about 10 yards! Then early afternoon I shot a little basket rack 6. I was so excited! I was sitting on a huge rock and he came in up hill behind me. I layed on the rock with a perfect rest and shot...I expected him to drop when i shot (870 12 ga) like in TV, and when he didnt i started pumping as fast as I could! This was before plug days. Then I saw him drop! We walked over to him and it was a perfect shot right behind the shoulder. I think my dad was more excited than I was. Remember, he had never hunted either...field dressing that thing was quite the learning experience for both of us.

Stonegod

11-24-2010, 12:49 AM

Hey guys doesn't anyone else have a first one story, yours, yours wives or kids? ANYONE!!!! Sorry but I just love reading these damn stories!!!

tjskinhead

11-24-2010, 05:45 AM

bds9

11-24-2010, 09:11 AM

My first deer was a trophy five pointer!! I have lost the rack due to a piece of crap dog that I had!! Anyhow,It was 1995, I was 9 years old, I hadn't deer hunted in my life, I hunted the crap out of every type of small game there was with my stevens 67f that my grandpa had given me the year prior. Mom wouldn't let me go out by myself which was probably a good thing but the neighbor boy who was a year older wasn't allowed out by himself either. So we buddied up and started hunting together pretty much teaching each other what we thought we knew. So anyhow, Saturday night at church, My neighbor tells me that he's gonna skip school to go deer hunting on monday. So after hours of begging my mom to let me play hookie monday she finally agreed to let me go! So I borrowed 5 slugs from my buddy and he gave me an old grunt call he had, asked him where we were going, and he said "I'll let you go to my treestand, I know of another good spot I'll just go there and sit" So Monday morning I head up the hill and climb into my buddy's 10' ladder stand. Right at daylight, I see a glimpse of a deer back behind me, I looked and she was about 75 yards away, and I thought that was way too far to try and shoot a shotgun!(again rookie) so I let her walk through my shooting lane hoping she would come closer. And sure enough she got about 30 yards from me and turned broadside and stopped. BANG!!!! She ran over the hill never to be seen again! So I'm sitting there kicking myself in the butt when I hear a grunt!! And then another, and another!! I couldn't get that grunt call out of my pocket fast enough!! So I grunt back, and then he grunts!! I hear some scratching in the leaves and stuff so I'm getting really nervous!!! And then just like that, it was all gone....So I sit another half hour and my buddy comes walking to me asking if I got anything, I tell him that I had missed a doe but had heard a buck. So as were walking out, I show him right where that doe had come from, and just as I say "she was standing right, HERE" I look down at the ground and see a huge puddle of blood!! I said wow!! I hit her!!! so we follow the 2' wide blood trail about thirty yards down over the hill, and there she was!! So I thought!! I grabbed her by the ear and pulled her head up and, there was antlers!!! 5 points!!! He was so dark racked that I couldn't tell he was a buck! and he was letting out some death grunts and I was trying to call him in!!! Definately wont ever forget that hunt and is still one of my favorites of all time!!! Wish I still had his rack!!! So after about 5 years of gun hunting and shooting a few respectable bucks(100-110" 8 pointers) I upgraded to a bow!! and fell in love!! So after I got my first bow, I told myself that I wasn't gonna shoot anything small and was only shooting a giant! So after 4 or 5 years of tag soup (I did kill quite a few does but no bucks) I decided I would lower my standards and shoot anything respectable. So one friday evening, while I was on a date with my now wife, my best friend went hunting in the pouring rain out at my parents farm and was going to try a new spot we call "the bowl" So I come home from my date and my best friend says "youre not going to believe what happened to me tonight!" he said "I had a really nice eight pointer at twenty yards making a rub or scrape one, and just as I was grabbing my bow I hear a stomp at the base of my tree, I look down and it's a GIANT ten!" of course I told him he was full of crap and he swore he wasn't! So anyhow, the next thursday, I called him while he was at work and said, "hey you care if I go back there to the bowl and hunt this evening? I'd like to get a crack at one of them bucks!" He of course being a true friend said "yeah, it's hot out so you probably wont see nothing but go ahead!! Its your farm!" So I head to the stand, my girlfriend at the time now wife was mad at me and had wished that I didn't see anything! anyhow, I'm sitting in a tree, and see two does coming my way, they come in to twenty yards and the big nanny spotted me! So after two solid minutes of her blowing her head off I decide I'm gonna try and grunt at her to her to run off or something.. So I grunt, and I hear a buck grunt back!! I turn around and its that giant ten!!! he runs that doe around for a few minutes and eventually 30 yards in front of me, I release and watch the arrow go in him, A HORRIBLE shot!!! right in the hind quarters!!! I was so happy and mad at the same time I didn'tknow what to do!! So I get down, nock another arrow, and go check things out. I find my arrow and look up and there he is!!! Dead as a doornail!!! And he is even bigger than I thought!!! I literally run back to my house and immediately call my buddy!!! He was just as happy as I was and left work immediately!! He truly is a giant and my pride and joy!!! You all know my buddy as villebilly, and to this day I still owe him a 173" deer!!

sjj1856

11-24-2010, 09:31 AM

After years of hunting small game and birds, I took up bowhunting last year. My first year was not a very good one, as I did not kill any deer. However, every time in the wood is a learning experience for me. I sat for hours on public land and never saw a thing, or when I did, I wasn't ready. Public land deer can be very wary. Anyway, the point of the story is my first deer, which I got about a week and a half ago. It was the first cold day we had this year, Nov 15. I had serveral deer around my stand in the am. I had a doe come in about what I thought was 30 yards (rangefinder batteries were dead) and I took the shot. Missed!! About an hour later, a group of about 7 does came walking up from downwind of my stand and stopped and turned about 50 yards out. Too far! Another 30 minutes later a small spike walks right under my stand and I pass on him. I gave up and went home for lunch. When I came back in the afternoon, I sat untill almost sunset when I see two very young does chasing each other and playing all around me. A couple more does later, a larger deer steps out and I am ready. The shot was a little far back but hit him for sure. I was right at sunset and by the time I got down it was very dark, so I decided to come back in the morning. Next morning, there he was about 100 yards from where I shot him. All 5 points of him, were laying at the end of a massive blood trail. He is now in the freezer and his antlers are on my wall, much to the chagrin of my dogs. I hope he is the first of many to come.

ohiobuckhunter

11-25-2010, 12:55 AM

My first deer was a westvirgina 8 point. I was 11 years old. My father and a few other family members hunted the first too days of the season then my dad drove back home and picked me up that night . I was abel to hunt wendsday morning because I was off school for thanksgiving. Wendsday morning my father takes me up the holler and taks me to an open field and tells me to go to the end of the field and go into the woods about 50 yards and find a log to sit on. He told me he would be about 80 yards from me and if I needed him to just walk over. As I was crossing the field the sun was comeing up enogh to see as soon as I got in the woods I could hear footsteps in the leaves on the flat below me I got in the woods maybe 25 yards and I saw the 8 pointer feeding on acorns. I pulled my 30-06 up and shot the buck in the shoulders he ran about 80 yards to the creek bottom and died. My father never made it to his stand he came running over thinking I had tripped and my gin went off. When he saw I was ok he asked what I was shooting at. I told him I just shot a nice 8 point buck. We went and got some help to get the deer out of the woods when everyone saw the buck they couldn't believe that I killed this good of a buck on the 3rd day of the season because this farm has alot of pressure and everyone is meat hunters in this area so a buck with 6 or more points is not a common thing. On opening day there was 6 bucks killed on this farm all spikes and 4 points. The second day nothing was killed and on the 3rd day my 8 point and nothing else that week. My buck was far from being a big deer he scores 95 inchs but for this farm and the 3rd day of very heavy hunting pressure he was pretty good and being in the woods for a total of about 5 minuts wasn't to bad either.

Stonegod

11-26-2010, 07:16 PM

Well I guess that we've run out of first time stories? How about just a few more? Hey what can I say, they're the best reading on here!!! How about your wife or kid's first or grandkids??? Thanks

CdBurner

11-26-2010, 11:38 PM

I'll chime in...

It was fall of 1996. I had hunted the year before maybe 10 times and never saw any deer in bow range. I only bow hunted back then.

Back up to to the season before, on opening morning 1995, my buddy had been talking for weeks about the deer bow opener. Well by 9:30am opening day he was at my work with a 140" 9pt. I was hooked when I held those horns. Went right out got a bow, shot it a few weeks and hunted his stand. Never had any luck but learned that I loved the woods and the bow.

Forward to 1996 season. I see my buddies at the bar (my work, I owned it) around lunch time the second week of October. They were eating lunch then headed back to work, I was headed to the woods.

They all had questioned me for going into the Pennsylvania woods at 1pm when it was over 70 degrees out deer hunting. They all said wait till last two hours before dark.

I figured what else was I going to do since I had taken the day off. So I drive down the road to my hunting ground and find a new tree to hunt that was 500 yards down the hill from my regular spot.

I get climbed up in my stand, sweating like a hooker in church. It had to be near 80 by now. Way unseasonably hot! Funny how things work because I am not there for 20 minutes and guess what shows up?

A whole bachelor group of bucks come busting by my stand. Had to be 6 or seven bucks. Later on I figured a dog or a coyote spooked them up.

Anyways, there were bucks running all around me on the bench I was on. I came to full draw but they weren't stopping. Everyone went by me inside of ten yards. Busting hard.

I tried stopping them by whistling but to no avail. I let down the bow then the last one came running in. As luck would have it (luck was on my side this day) the deer bedded down not 6 or 7 yards away from me, directly infront of me, in some thick lush green stuff.

Now I was shaking like a leaf. I had a nice 8 point right in front of me bedded down an it was looking down the hill right past me. I wanted to draw and shoot but there was a sapling right between us that was blocking most of the vitals.

I'm sitting there, not only first encounter with a buck, but to have it bedded right in front of me. I sat there like a statue wondering what to do. After about 10 minutes I figures I have to do something to shoot this deer.

So I hook my leg around the bottom of the stand and draw back the bow.
Then I hung off the side of the stand as far as I could so I just got the sapling out of the way. I was stretched out as far as I could without falling out of the stand.

I let that 2216 Easton fly. And I hear a big swack!!! I immediately think, I smacked him. He jumps up and runs 20 yards, stops and stands broadside, looking right past me. I'm thinking I don't see a hole, blood or an arrow.

So I hurry up and nock another arrow. He is now staring at me stomping. I put the 20 yard pin on him and let that 125 grain thunderhead eat. It's a clean pass through both lungs. The deer runs 50 yards and crashes!!!!

I was so overcome with adrenalin and emotion! Never have I felt such a rush. Not knowing any better, I immediately get down, look at my first shot and it's burrowed into a log he was laying up against. It acted like body armor for him.

I was amazed. As it turned out that second shot was the one that mattered, and it got the job done. When I called my buddies by 2 o'clock and said I had a nice 8pt down, they were in shock. Saying deer never move in this heat.

Well, they were wrong. It turns out I have never had such a crazy hunt in all the years following. It was enough to get me hooked for life. I've been addicted to whitetails ever since. I've made it a personal quest to study, read, watch and learn all I could about these majestic creatures.

Thanks for letting me reminisce. It's been a long time since I told that story but it seems like just yesterday.

varmint_sniper

11-27-2010, 05:29 PM

My first deer was back in 2002 if i remember right?......Was opening day of gun season and my friend took me i walked in a logging road 2 miles and set up 1/2 way down the hill with a good trail coming over the side and behind me 4hrs after daylight i heard a noise behind me and turned and seen a head peeking over the hill i slowly turned and crouched as low as i could turned out i had 14 does in a single file walking this trail i put the Remington 870 20ga. on the lead doe she was a huge doe probably 250lb live weight then i remembered reading that buck's will follow doe's so i held off the trigger and waited let them all walk by at 25yds and to my disapointment no buck was behind them :banghead: The rest of the week i seen a few doe's running but held off the trigger having never shot a slug at a moving target b2 i wanted to make a 1 shot kill and a clean kill so i kept my kool last day of gun season i was helping my buddy load his van for the ride home and we were in my dad's backyard and i heard 3 shot in the woods by my house i tol my buddy how kool would it be if they ran into our field and stoped he laughed then it happened .......I looked up and hear came 3 doe's and 1 bog doe my 20ga was in the house and my buddie's gun was packed up they stood 50yds away stareing at us and them broke hard left into our field then i felt a gentle nudge it was my buddy handing me a S&W 44mag he had under the seat fully loaded got behind out grage and used the corner of it for suspot and cocked the hammer and let the big lead doe have 1 1st sot with a pistle ever hit her in the hing leg she took off down hill into our little 1 arec wood's and i emptied the gun trying to drop her few sec. later my dad came out asking what happend with a 12ga browning a 5 in his hand and some slug's told him i hit a deer but was a bad hit he said you know what to do so i set off tracking her in the wood's found her stuck in a little creek running through out wood's big enough she wedged her self in she was stuck and hurt i had 2 shot's 1 shot was from 20yds she had her head on a log and just as i squezzed the trigger the mover her head and dirt went every where :banghead: 2nd shot i moved in closer know knowing she was stuck and got behind her and put her down i was so excited i ran to the house to get my orange hat and to get dad took 3 of us to get her outta the creek she wedged he self in and up the hill i was so excited she was so heavy i had to call a buddy to come over and have him help the 3 of us get he hung in the grarge dressed weight was 300lbs what a rush even though it was not a buck it was my 1st deer and a huge deer would not trade it for the world I was hooked after that dad was never a buck hunter he was a meat hunter and I'm the same way i will bow hunt buck's but i shot gun and M.L hunt what ever walk's in front of me hope y'all like the story ........Sniper

varmint_sniper

11-27-2010, 08:36 PM

My 1st buck story ......... It was opening day of gun season in ohio 2006 at the time i lived in logan co. ohio I had hunted this small wood lot all season for squirrels with my 17hmr and was it over loaded with squirrels i got a total of 85 that year any how back to my buck story......There was a cut corn field on 1 end and a tore up rail road bed on the other and a thick hay field on the other side of the old r.r track's i figured the deer were bedding in the tall hay fiels so before daylight i got to the tree i wanted to sit at busted a deer on the way in now this wood lot was mabey 5 acer's total i could hunt at 1st light i seen a coyote but was not ready or i would have shot him (note my screen name ) then 20 min's later i see a wild boar coming down a deer trail i take a shot and hit him square and he goe's down i leave him it's 40deg. out and raining my buddy give's up at 10am and is wet and tired and tell's me in crazy for staying i say i took the day off work and i'm gonna hunt at 11:20am i hear a noise behind me and i turn and look and i see nothing i turn back around and there he is 1/2 his head is behind a tree and i can see 4 point's on 1 side of his rack he is not 15 step's in front of me he appered outta no where let me rewind a little bit when i was born i was a twin and my brother and i were 7months old when we were born i was a 1 1/2lb baby when born my brother made it 6 months and passed away:Angel_anim: now back to my story before i got outta the car that morning i said a prayer to my brother i asked him if he was listening if he could let me see a buck and he if could let me have a shot at 1 ....Well now before me i have a what i think is an 8point buck 15 step's in front of me all i need is 1 more step i raise my mossburg 500A 12 ga and senter the scope on his off side front shoulder and he step's out the gun goes off and the 12ga roars from the 3in winchester rifled slug and i feel little recoil from it he take's off on a death run and i shoot 1 more time hiting him a 2nd time and he goe's down I let him be for 5 min's i can see him from where i was sitting under the oak tree he never move's again i get up and pack up my gear and slowly walk over to him then i see it he is a 1/2 rack buck with a toal of 4 point's a young deer but he is my deer and my 1st buck ever i kneel beside him and run my hand down his hide and thank my brother for giving me this buck and i look up and smile (Thank you Nathaniel ) I get him dressed out and start the short drag to the car but it's a big bodied deer and it take's me and hour to to 75 yrds i get him to the road and go get the car now i have to get him into the car by my self (yea right ) :banghead: Some guy going down the road stop's and offer's to help me (Thank you gain Mr sorry i can't remember your name) and he tell's me how nice my 1/2 rack buck look's and what a good shot i made. I get him home and it take's a pick up truck to hoist him into the tree he was that heavy . I was so excited as i was cutting up my deer i got to the off side shoulder and i hit some thing hard with the knife but the bone was not there there stuck into the off side shoulder i find my winchester rifled slug all mushroomed out and flanted i still have the slug i dug outta my 1st buck it was pretty kool hope ya like this story i know kind long but i wanted you to feel like you were there with my .......Also the wild boar was my 1st and it was good eating also.............Sniper

varmint_sniper

11-27-2010, 08:56 PM

http://www.bowhuntingohio.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6090&stc=1&d=1290909295 hear is a pic of the rack,slug and the flanted out slug i got outta my 1st buck

Hooligan

11-27-2010, 10:14 PM

I think my first deer was a doe in 1993. Killed near Newcomerstown with my .45 cal muzzle loader. My late Grandfather was there with us and he got to see me kill my first deer. I was hunting a ground blind very near my brothers stand. He let two does walk right past him knowing I was yet to kill my first deer. I picked out the biggest one and let loose a 325 gr. Great Plains bullet. That heavy bullet knocked her off her feet and she died where she fell. I had hunted several times with my Dad years before that like 1980-81 but kinda lost interest in it. My Dad liked taking me grouse hunting in Ohio which can be alot like looking for a needle in a hay stack, which may be why I lost interest for so long. However, since that first deer I've killed a few more deer and a few of those with my antique Raptor Carbonite. In 1994 I think I hunted geese for the first time. Since then I have focused more on waterfowl than deer. I've won several duck and goose calling cotnests all over the country even finished as high as 5th in the 2003 World Goose Calling Contest. Currently on a little break from the contest stage. Now my focus is getting my kids out from infront of that damn television and in the woods. But time is scarse with all the sports they play and work etc.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m65/MattHougan/Hunting/MATTHOUGAN.jpg

I am by no means a pureist when it comes to deer hunting. Just read my signature. I do admire those that go through the effort to scout and hunt a particular deer. For me, I feel too much emphasis on the antlers and not the blessing of the hunt and the harvest.

Anyhow, I'm glad to have found this forum and look forward to watching you guys chase those big antlered deer!

Honk!

Stonegod

12-01-2010, 08:01 PM

I wish they could make this a sticky thread, everytime it goes to the top of the list it picks up another 3 or 4 great stories!!! I'm so sneaky!

hortontoter

12-01-2010, 10:47 PM

Maybe you could start a new thread "Your Second One". P.S. my second one is my best buck thus far. Nice chattin with you today.

Stonegod

12-01-2010, 11:01 PM

Hey hortonotor if your second one was your best one, then it's your first best one(hey work with me here) so let's here the story!!! As you know there are some knuckleheads are here that don't stick to the threads subject atleast yours will be in the ballpark!!!LOL so start the story we are waiting to hear it!!!!

rthensley

12-02-2010, 09:52 AM

I THINK my first kill was when I was 14. That would be about 28 years ago. (Darn, I'm old!)

I was using one of those old climbing stands that essentially was just a platform with a sharp blade on the back that dug into the tree. I THINK it was an old Baker stand. With the stand on the tree, you would put your feet in what looked like homemade straps, reach up and "bear hug" the tree, then lift up your feet. Keep repeating this until you get to your desiered height. Of course you also ended up wtih a bunch of tree bark all over the front of your shirt/jacket. To go down the tree, you simply reversed the process.

Obvioulsy there was no place to sit once got up in the tree. You just stood as long as you could, and then sat on the platform to rest your legs.

Safety harness? Not.

I was using an old Bear (I think) recurve.

I had a doe come right under my stand. My shot was a little high and forward. I remember seeing the arrow sticking out of her as she ran away.

Could not find any blood, so I just walked in the direction she ran. Found her maybe 80 yards away. Pure luck I found her.

You never forget your first! (Man, that reminds me of another story! I was pretty lucky then as well.)

Lowpass21

12-09-2010, 11:22 PM

With Stonegod's prompting...

I just got my first deer ever 11/23. An estimated 135in. 10 pointer. I'm 35 yrs old, so it was a work in progress to say the least. I posted my story here for the looooong version
http://www.bowhuntingohio.com/forum/1st-shot-taken-t14551.html

I've hunted in the past a few years in WI on private land but always got skunked, or passed on does. This year I was determined to get a deer period. I had to start from scratch as this was my first year hunting in Ohio, and my first time shooting a bow, and no private land to hunt on. I put it together, picked out a few spots to scout, and got out hunting. After 4 solid days of no chances at a shot, and feeling defeated, in comes what I knew at least was a deer. I remember someone on this site saying first thing they did was once seeing a deer was to turn on the red dot sight. I remember thinking I didn't want to be the guy who goes to shoot and forgot to turn off the safety or something stupid like that. I actually thought of whoever said that so that was the first thing that went through my mind, "turn on the sight, turn off the safety." Next gap through the thick trees, I saw antlers worth shooting at! Behind more trees and still on the move. Had to look ahead for the one gap that would provide a shot, and it was a 2ft diameter window through branches. That moment, knowing this was it, pulling the trigger and realizing what was going on, was AWESOME. He turned around and bolted back where he came from. (Insert the natural high that went on for days.) I found a bloody arrow and later found em in the thick brush about 40 yds away. I couldn't believe on top of the how great things were already that this buck had a decent rack once I got a good look at it.

First time shooting a crossbow, first time gutting a deer by myself, first time looking like I murdered someone with blood all over my clothes, first time dragging a deer by myself, first time stuffing a deer into my car, first time hanging a deer in my garage overnight by myself, first time taking a deer to the butcher to get it skinned with my son, first time driving back with a shit eating grin to drop off this deer at the taxidermist in WI (dad's friend). Can you tell I loved every bit of it?
http://www.bowhuntingohio.com/forum/gallery/files/2/3/6/9/buck1_11-23-2010.jpg

bporter

12-27-2010, 04:15 PM

Great read so far guys(and gals maybe?). Anyways 2010 is my first full hunting season. I am 27 years old, no on in my family hunts really. I got into hunting from a few guys I used to work with. Well last year in Nov. I ended up getting a bow from BPS. Got myself a Redhead Kronik. First time out, me and a friend were out shooting at my 16 acre farm. We were there for almost an hour shooting sighting this bow in when we decided to do a little scouting for our hunt that coming weekend. Me being the excited newbie I was I decided to nock an arrow and see what would happen. My buddy being a seasoned hunter thought I was crazy, but he said bring it anyways. This is about 2 p.m. 2nd week in Nov. I still had corn up on the farm and we were just walking around the outside. We get maybe 150 yards from the truck and my buddy stop and ducks. I look up and see a mature 8-10 point MONSTER (in my eyes a spike would have been a monster, this guy was like bambi's dad) about to clear the wood line giving me a 20 yard broadside shot.... Let me tell you that buck fever is something not to mess with lol. I shot my arrows MAYBE 15 yards straight into the ground. We got a good laugh out of that. My friend tells me that would have killed hunting for me if I would have taken that deer. Great story that I will remember the rest of my life.

Now for the good stuff. This year I was laid off the 2nd week in August. The wife told me to look for a job but also enjoy my time off (yes she is the best wife anyone could have). First week of bow season i was in the stand 5 out of the first 6 days. The first 4 sits I didnt see a thing. I get a phone call from another friend of mine and he asks me to go out to his land in Adams County. I agree and get to his house at 4:30 for a nice hour drive to his farm. We get dressed and head into the woods. I get to my stand about 20 mins before sun up. I am getting all set up in the stand, I had literally just put my bow hook into the tree and hung up my bow when a yote comes out and is sitting at 20 yards. I grab my bow and come to full draw and he scoots away. 2 hours go by and out of no where a BIG doe shows up. I was not prepared at all for this and just watched her walk by at about 30 yards. What a RUSH!!!! Now that I am alert looking all around with my bow in my hand. 30 mins go by and I see 2 doe making their way towards me munching on acrons. I stand up slowly, and clip on my release. The doe i decided to shoot was about 15 yards away. I put the pin behind her shoulder and let it fly........ WTF happened? i look down and my arrows is laying right next to her with out a broadhead on it. She only ran maybe 10 yards away. She goes behind a group of cedars and I knock another arrows. I come to full draw, she gets her vitals out from behind the tree..... I let it fly, SMACK!!! she goes MAYBE 15 yards and shes down!!!! The amount of emotion that came over me was amazing. I call my wife and tell her i got one. I text my buddy "doe down!" He tells me to stay put hes on the way. 30 mins go by and I was beaming with a smile from ear to ear. We get to her, and my buddy says "aw look a doe fawn." Gutted my first deer even though i did get sick once, I still did it all myself. Put her on my shoulders and walked to the truck.....

I will remeber that for the rest of my life..... The woods is somewhere I want to be all the time. Nothing is better then seeing the sun come up/go down in a tree. Hunting is just iceing on the cake.

YouthHunter

12-27-2010, 05:11 PM

Don't really have time to get the full story or what not. I shot my first one when I was 11 with a .410. It was the second day I ever hunted and shot it at 11. It was a small 7 point, the day before on my first day out I missed a big 10 point and wanted to quit hunting already lol

offtheground

12-28-2010, 03:31 AM

My Dad would take my brother and I rabbit hunting on Thanksgiving morning. That was all the hunting he did. Back in 1980 I hunted with a Browning compond bow, at that time I might go two weeks without seeing a deer. The main reason, I did'nt have a clue how to hunt them. Remember wearing a two bottle mix skunk sent, and old Baker climber stand, what would that be worth today! Any how had three doe come in one evening under white oak tree that was their staging area before going into bean field. I slowly stood up and pulled back my bow and set sites on largest of the three. When I released, (was using leather finger tip shooting glove then) the arrow was short by at least 5 yards. All three does just froze and so did I, totally shook up by now. My biggest problem was my quiver was clipped on side of stand, so I slowly set back down watching three deer at once. Unclipped arrow number two, by then the doe I shot at the first time was now raised up on two legs getting leaves off a tree, that is when I shot again and this time was dead on. Amazing how you never forget this kind of stuff.
My first buck was a young fork horn shot the next year with 12 gage, slug! The last time I gun hunted for deer, it just seamed like no sport in it., each to thier own! I then chased a big brute for next three years, with no luck.

Started back bow hunting last year for the first time since them days.

Stonegod

01-15-2011, 08:40 AM

GREAT STORIES HA..........NOW TELL US YOURS!!!!!!!!!! IF YOUR A GUEST THEN JOIN THE SITE!!!!!!!:banghead:

OHPA

02-03-2011, 07:38 PM

My first was when I was 17 in 1981. My third year of deer hunting. It was in Warren Pa. (Mountain area). I was with a group of about 6 of us including my father, uncles and cousins. First day of Pa. buck season. For those of you that have hunted in the mountains of Pa. back then, that was a special time. Hunters were everywhere. Rarely saw large bucks, but we would see 25-30 deer opening day. Very exciting. It was about 11:00 AM and I was sitting on a large boulder by myself and 4 does came by. I had seen plenty of does before that. One was an pure white albino. What a sight. As they were heading out of sight, a spike was following their trail with nose to ground. I took him at about 60 yards with my 270 rifle. Went right down. Had to go get my uncle to teach me to field dress him. After my dad and I left to take my buck back to camp, my cousin sat on my boulder and took a 5 point about 3 hours later. A day I hope to never forget.

redneckross

02-03-2011, 09:47 PM

12-4-03 gun season, franklin county.

i took a few days off work and stayed with my friends at school. hunted tuesday and wednesday in athens county and didnt see a dang thing. wednesday evening jon, another friend stoped by for a few beers and said he was wanting to know if i wanted to hunt his familys land in grove city. having been to his house and been on the land and seen all the pictures he has taken and some of the bucks he has taken i was excited to say the least.

4am thursday we loaded up in his "monty"carlo and headed to grove tucky.

breaking dawn found me about 200 yds behind his uncles house sitting against a giant cottonwood tree in a small drainage. he was sitting about 10 ft to my left where he had a view of an old access road. with 71 and 270 humming in the background we waited.

not long after daylight we heard a twig snap and then the loudest deer blow i have ever heard. 55 yds behind us there was a big doe up on the edge of a thicket on a hill side. we checked the wind and knew there was no way she was smelling us. so i rolled around the tree and got to my knees stedying the gun on the side of the tree. he wisperd and asked you want to shoot a doe this early??? i think he got my answer when he heard the saety click off. just as i rested my cheek on the stock he said wait. theres always a few bucks hanging around here mid day. so reluctantly i put the winchester 1300 back on safe. sat back down and we listened to that doe walk into the thicket and bed down.

it couldnt of been 5 min later he got my attention and motioned with his hand on his head and fingers in the air BUCK!!!!!! how far i wisperd. 50 yds. i got ready for the shot but had no idea where he was looking. i had no view of the deer untill he was on us. and when i say on us i mean 14 yds. jon was between the deer and me but off the side a little. he was in full view to jon for a minute or so and i wasnt shooting. well from my point of view i could only see his head and his rump. i had to wait. the deer seen us sitting there and kept looking us over but never showed any sign of fear. urban deer... i could see jon getting an itchy finger and was going to raise his gun the next time the deer looked away. just then the deer took 3 steps forward and gave me the shot. BOOM!!!!!!!!! the deer took off about 40 yds to where i could just see his head over the creek bank. i seen him do the death wobble and heard him fall in the leaves.

jon showed me the ins and outs of blood tracking. what the bright red and bubbles ment. and as he explained things to me i started getting excited. we found where my slug had slammed into a tree and there was hair and blood in the bark. once we walked up on the deer he showed me the trick of touching their eye to see if they are out. HE WAS OUT! i had just killed my first deer. a 2.5 year old 7 pt buck. i picked his head up and shouted all kinds of things i dont remember. then jon said wtf is that where his head was laying. i look down and theres a mink skull laying right under where my deers head had fallen. for those of you who have never seen a mink skull they are only slightly bigger than a quarter. he showed me how to gut then we dragged.

when we returned to school we hung him up and got drunk. really drunk. when i returned to school after working the fall qtr. i took the head and made a euro mount in the lab i was a tutor in.

wow. i cant believe i remembered all that as i started typing. now im looking up at that skull mount hanging on the wall and the mink skull sitting on top of it. good times and great memories.

now theres a golf course on that land and most of his grandmas land has been sold off to walmart and other developers. but... o grams is smart. she took that money and baught more land just down the way. ha ha.

eubie

02-09-2011, 10:47 AM

Ok, Stonegod here it goes.
Jackson county gun season 1989, Sat to be exact the last day in those years. I was a senior in high school hunting with my cousin, he showed me allthe in and outs that first year. Well that morning got to his in-laws farm before dawn and he yold me where to go. I remember thinking first morning I ever hunted and he wants me to walk through the wood in the dark with a gun, Ok man whatever. Got avbout 50 yards doen a tractor path and jumped a grouse scared the living crap out of me. Decieded then and thare to what for it to get daylight. Day now I can walk again and see what is out here to get me. Found my spot and stood next to an osk tree. After a couple of hours got bored, the ADD kicken in, and walked across the field to look in other woods, saw nothing and went back to my tree. Not 5 min. later I hear him shoot and scared the crap mout of me again, second time so far that day. Well 10 mins or so later a hear something behind me and see a deer, then I see antlers. What do I do? I jump to the next tree, how that deer never saw me I will never know. Now the buck is walking to me and will pass me. When he was behind a tree I raised the 12 ga. single shot FIE and cocked the hammer. He stepped out and I pulled the trigger and saw him drop in his tracks. Shot him at 8 yards. Now what?
I hollered for Griff my cousin and he came running to me. I had no knife so he showed me how to gut. I still can hear him asking if I had a weak stomach before he started. My 8 point was the first deer I killed but the last time I ever got to hunt with Griff. I went to college and hunted other places and was never home again for gun season. We tried but schedules never matched up and Griff passed away in Aug of 2000 from a heat attack.

Man writing this makes it fell like yesterday, I can close my eyes and still see everything about that morning.

Curran

02-09-2011, 01:30 PM

Did some searching and found this in an older thread...

Here's mine: Taken during shotgun season in '99.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z8/Bux-n-Dux/firstdeer.jpg

I don't remember much about the weather conditions, the moon phase, or any of that stuff. Mostly what I remember is hearing a distant shot ring off from behind my stand, followed quickly by another. By the time the second shot echoed off the hills, I think I was on my feet, facing the tree I was up in, and watching the movement of a deer making it's way toward me. Before I knew it, the deer was trotting up the side of the hill, stopped at about 30 yards, turning to look back in the direction from which he'd came. The way the deer stood I didn't have a shot unless I leaned to the right of the tree, while swinging my left arm around to opposite side. Basically, I'm hugging the tree, gun on the right, left arm around the tree for stability and grasping onto the slide on my 870.

Everything is just a complete blur, with all of the adrenaline coursing its way though my veins I'm not sure how I didn't wet my pants from the excitement. Somehow I managed to click off the safety, as my front & rear sights aligned themselves on the deer's shoulder. Bang, the deer buckles and jumps as the first slug finds it's spot, the 870 slide ejects the spent hull, and chambers another. Since the deer doesn't fall immediately, I swing around to the forward facing side of the stand, lower the sights again, and throw another lead sled at him. A short stumble later the deer wobbled, flopped, and met the ground. The whole time I'm watching it, saying out loud, as if to command the deer... Come on, drop, drop, drop, drop, YES!!

bigcountry

09-01-2011, 11:21 AM

Well my first kill came to my when iw as 14 yrs old back in 2003..i still remember it like yesterday. It was tuesday nov. 19th, 2003.. I just woke up and realized i had over slept and was late for school. Went into my moms bedroom cuz i was gonna have her run me into town but when i opened the door she was sleeping, so i thought to myself " eh, ill just sneak out back...shell never know..hehehehe" well i hurried up but quietly got my bibs and jacket on and waited till got outside to put my boots on and as i walked out the door i grabbed my grandpas Remington 870 wingmaster and quietly shut the door. I started walkign down the 2 tracks to get to the woods and i looked down at my watch it was only 8:45.." OO yea perfect time to catch something sneaking from corn to our woods"..as i approach the woods on the edge of corn field.. i see these 3 does just 30 yrds into the woods right on path to enterance.. so i wait about 10 minutes and they didnt move a ft. Well there was a steady drizzle coming down and with the leaves being wet i figured i could get closer without them knowing.. so i did..i managed to get within 25yrds..so i pull up the ol 870 look down the scope picked the biggest one i seen that was broadside..and i dont even remember pulling, squeezing, or touching the trigger..the shot went off and it seems like i shot a million miles away everything froze..until i relaized what had happened...i just shot my first deer..:)..but when she took off i seen her drop in the tall weeds we had in front of woods...so im thnkin all right this one is in the freezer..take 3 steps and she jumps back up and runs..by this time im thinkin there is NO WAY i missed so i bleat and she slowed a lil bit and was broadside long enough for me to squeeze one off...and she dropped right there...take about 20 yrds up to her and she jumps up and runs another 40 yrds...( she is just running in a circle really) and i stalk up to where i last her and there she is around 40 yrds broadside and she looks like she is goin down so i pumped another one in her to make sure it was FOR SURE...well that was her last step..i was soo happy..i know it was unethical to shoot her that many time but i knew i hit her good the first shot and i was young.. well when i went up to her i looked down and ill be darned.. 3 round right in the lungs...so now i have to figure a story to tell mom why i didnt go to school..hahaha yea right..so i head up to the house just thinkin of stories to tell her..i mean everything was goin through my head..well everyone else skipped school...is was middel scholl skip day..ya cant just tell a boy he cant hunt...and the one i actually used was What would grandpa have done..think about that mom"..lol..but it was my first kill and it was during gun season up in southwest michigan...god i miss that place..lol

Hos230

09-01-2011, 12:11 PM

My first was back in 1990, during gun season, and I was 14 years old. I was hunting with my uncle on the land of a cabin my family used to own in Fairfield County (I'm originally from Columbus). It was snowing....HARD. The day before, I had developed a case of Buck Fever, and completely missed a roughly 10 foot shot at a nice 8 pt that wandered just behind me, on the other side of a tree that I was sitting at the base of. Suitably embarassed, I set myself up the next day on the tree line on the other side of the field from that failure. I had been sitting at the base of another tree for probably 5-6 hours, and was surrounded by about a foot worth of drifted snow, when I heard movement on the other side of a slight mound in front of me. I watched a little spike buck work it's way toward me, and stop dead about 20 yards directly in front of me. It stood there, facing me, staring at me for what seemed like forever, but was most likely more like 10-20 seconds. I was hoping he would turn broadside, but I got antsy, lined up dead on the white of his chest, and let my 16g Winchester rip. The little spike turned and ran. At first, I thought I missed again, but as he tried to jump a fallen limb, he missed and crumbled, not 10 yards from where I hit him. I vividly remember saying "well, son of a ..." We quickly recovered him, an I was properly instructed on how to field dress a deer. Strangely, or maybe not so much, I still, to this day, think more about that 8 pt that I missed than the spike I hit. Sure, I've killed bigger bucks since, but I WANTED that 8 pt.

backstrapassassin

09-01-2011, 02:21 PM

I began hunting three years ago as a junior in college and killed my first deer just last year. It was the Sunday after opening day of archery and I was pumped to get out into the field because I had just got a Horton crossbow that summer. I was upset to find that as I climbed into the treestand that morning, the ratchet strap securing it to the tree broke. I was forced to sit on a stump in the middle of a thicket (which I had very low hopes for). I thought my day was over before it started. Just a short hour later I had three deer walk up within seven yards of me. To say I was hit by the fever would be an understatement. I shot the lead doe (or so I had thought). In my mind, I had shot a decent sized doe. To my surprise when I recovered the deer, it had been much bigger in the red dot scope than in reality. This yearling button-buck (oops!) dressed out at an astonishing 42 pounds, but I couldn't have been prouder. Just a month later I shot my first legit buck (a small 6 point). All it took was that first deer to make deer hunting seem much easier!

Seeker Bp

09-01-2011, 04:17 PM

OK, here go;s ::: In 1988, I was driving home from a local establishment here in Town. While driving my 1978 CJ5 on my normal back road out of town a very mature doe decided to jump out in front of me and i ended up clipping her. Low and behold, not one for wasting grub, proceeded to load her into the front seat of my jeep upside down. Well to my suprise, about 400 yards from my home, she decides she is not dead, and a great tussle erupts in the front of this cj5. I manage to get into my ddriveway, and its just my luck that my pissed off wife is waiting for me on the front porch. Well to her dismay, The doe lost the fight in the front seat....And that Stonegod was my first deer kill... And, my wife never said a thing about stopping at the establishment that night. Needless to say, no more driving from establishments anymore...Its just not worth the cuts and bruises. Seeker

ghunter

09-01-2011, 05:20 PM

My first deer was back in 2002 opening day of shotgun season I was 15 at the time. This was the first time I have ever gone hunting and went with a family friend down to public land in southern Ohio. I sat in stand all morning not seeing a thing so we started to do a few drives in the warm weather. I was only on stand for maybe 5 minutes when I heard movement in front of me and a small 6 point was trotting down the hill. I line up on him when he was about 50 yards away and pull the trigger and I completely missed him. As disappointed as I was I still sat there about another few minutes went passed and I hear movement in front of me and I think its the 6 point coming back down. When I look up I'm surprised to see a bigger 8 point so I let him get really close and pull up on him and squeeze a shot off and he starts running up the other side of a hill and I watch him drop about 30 yards from me.

spike

09-02-2011, 09:22 PM

Ok ,here's mine back in 1989 I got married and my new father-in-law decided that I was worthy enough to become one of his hunting buddies and decided to take me out during shotgun season on one of their "famous " drives ,he dropped me off at the corner of the woods as a stander and told me not to move until i could see the whites of his eyes when he was to come and get me after the drive was over.So as he got into the truck to drive away a decent 8 pointer came out of the woods not 20 feet from where I was standing stood there looking at me ,so the old 12ga.let out a bang and the buck fell over dead . So my whole hunt lasted less than 10 minutes and that's my story.

firemedic0306

09-03-2011, 08:06 PM

My first deer was on halloween day, I was 16 yrs old, 3 years of hunting deer with no success. On the way home from school on the bus me and all of my friends were making plans to all meet up and go trick or treating. One stop away from my house a big buck ran infront of the bus right into the the small wood lot my parents owned which I was bowhunting. When I seen that buck my trick or treat plans changed. My friends were all pissed but I didnt care. I was so excited to get into the woods, i wore my school shoes becuase I was to excited to put my boots on. . I got dressed in my one piece camo suit that was 2x to big for me, got my stand and bow and got into the woods within about 5 min. of getting off the bus. Climbed up a tree on the edge of a soy bean field, and sat untill about 15 min. till dark and said scew it all my friends are having fun im getting down. Lowered my bow and as soon as it hit the ground I seen the buck from earlier about 50 yards from me heading right towardards me. Somehow got my bow up and a arrow nocked with out him seeing me. He was ten yards away I shot him right in the sweet spot watched him drop. Was so excited climbing down I got hung up on a knot onthe tree about 10 ft up and just jumped spraining my ankle. Skipped up to my house taking the short cut through the swamp ruining my shoes. It was a 130ish 8 point. My first deer.

zach-the-deer-slayer

09-06-2011, 12:47 AM

I was 8 or 9 when I killed my first deer. Earlier in the year I had gut shot a small doe, tracked it forever and it wasnt meant to be. Fast forward to the youth gun season. It was a cold day, flurries in the air, just an awesome day to hunt. My dad took me and dropped me off with my brother on an old fence line across from a 10acre patch of perfect deer habitat. We have killed a hundred deer out of here over the years. Anyway, I'm standing there with my brother waiting on dad to walk through this for me. Were waiting.... And waiting... And waiting.... *SNAP* there's deer coming out of every opening! I pulled up my brothers old 870 and laid it on the first deer I saw coming head on at me. *BOOM!* this deer turns around and goes back in, runs about 150 yards and dies. I shot it's leg off. I remember seeing my first spot of blood. I was on that trail like a dog, and just so happened one of the farm dogs helped find the deer! A big fat button buck! I was tickled to death, hooked, and proud all at the same moment.

We took that bad boy home, showed it to mom, then headed to the gas station! I was struttin like a banty rooster! All the gals in the gas station were talking me up something awful lol. After that we took him to be butchered at my long time friends place. He did it for free!

I'll never forget that day. I don't exactly remember my first bow kill because I've killed so many deer with gun and bow since my first but I'm sure I was pumped! I killed my biggest buck to date last Halloween with a bow, a 140" 8 pointer dogging 3 does! My first buck was a tiny 6 pointer, hit him in the shoulder and he got away. Dogs found him later on though, but I still take credit for the horns lol.

jem101

09-06-2011, 02:52 PM

Just joined and I am loving these stories. Just thought I would add mine. I started hunting when I was 11. The first year I missed a small doe with a shotgun from 20 yards. I remember shaking like a leaf. Such a great memory. One year later I took up archery hunting and lved every minute of it. From the summer shooting to being able to hunt for four months. It was awesome. Unfortunately, I had the worst luck and I didn't take my first deer till I was 15.

In 2006, I had another gut wrenching archery season with no luck. As gun season approached my Dad and I planned our annual trip for a weeklong hunt (perks of being homeschooled) in South East Ohio. Unfortunately, right before gun season my month old cousin tragically passed away. Anyways, we were unable to make it to SE Ohio until Thursday evening. The next morning, we headed out to sit on stand. I had my climber and was 20 feet up the tree. Later that day we planned to do some drives and my dad was going to swing by around 9:30. In the first two hours, I heard my cousin on the opposite hillside shoot several times. As I sat on stand without seeing anything I became really jealous. "What if I had sat over there?" I kept thinking. As 9:30 approached I became more and more discouraged. Around 9:10, I caught movement to my left. Out of a draw came a buck. I caught antlers, but didn't dwell on them. At this point I didn't care how big or small it was. As the deer moved across the hillside in front of me. I steadied my 20 gauge and unloaded from about 50 yards. HE gave a mule kick and took off the hillside in front of me. I thought I had a good shot, but I emptied two more rounds into him. After running maybe 60 yards he piled up. I couldn't believe it!

I don't think I've ever gone down a tree so fast! As I ran up to him, I was in disbelief! This buck was huge! My cousin joined me and said my dad would crap his pants upon seeing it. My dad din't quite go that far, but it was a great experience when he walked up. After gutting him, I had an 150 yard drag to the truck. While dragging it began to pour down rain. I looked to the sky and laughed out loud. I was on cloud nine! God truly blessed me that I was able to experience this great moment with my Dad. This is something that I'll never, ever forget. In the end, he scored 149" and is my best buck to date. To all those who may be discouraged, keep hunting. It does get better. Good luck!

Myst3rium

09-22-2011, 08:48 AM

My first deer was a spike buck about 7 years ago.

It was youth gun season and I was using a Sears and Roebuck lever action .410 shotgun. I still have that thing today and it still shoots awesome.

Me and my dad had stopped next to a fence just to get our bearings and figure out where we were going to go next (we never hunted from a stand, just walked around). It must've been during the rut because this little spike buck came walking up a hill about 20 yards away with his nose to the ground. Didn't even look our way. I shot him right through the lungs. We waited a while and then walked over this little hill and he was sitting there looking at us. I shot him again and that was that :D

I've shot several more with a gun but I'm looking to get my first bow kill this year :)

TexasPete

10-02-2011, 11:06 AM

7638

Lots of blood, sweat and tears (and money!) has allowed me to harvest my first yesterday. It was a great day to be out in Hocking Co.

Quartering away shot 11 yards out under my tree stand -- the buck didn't know what hit him. I let the arrow fly--a solid hit, and the lumenok danced through the edge of the woods maybe 50 yards. He bedded down and keeled over within moments with my glowing red nock pointed in the air!

What made it even more exciting was that Mushi was with me and he filled a tag too. Two deer in one morning is a nice hunt!

Safe and Happy hunting!

Pete

Split_G2

10-28-2011, 04:22 AM

Wow, excellent stories guys. Thoroughly enjoyed reading each and everyone of them. Thanks for taking the time to put them up.

From the time I was 4 years old, I have gone deer hunting, altho I was not allowed to actually "hunt" them with a gun in my hand until I was 12. Late compared to some and really late compared to todays youngsters. I lived under the strict hunting thumb of my father, a man you had to prove you had what it took, a man who took his deer hunting very serious and a man to this day I will swear that before his passing that he forgot more about deer and how to hunt them than the vast majority will ever know. The man was a master.....and not just because he was my dad. My uncle was also very good at this hunting game too.

I'm just shy of 32 years of age now, I have gun hunted and bowhunted with a weapon in my hands since the season of '92, with the last 13 years being very intense and maticulous hunting. I have been fortunate enough over the years to kill many deer. I've killed some small deer, killed some big deer and even killed an elk with my bow, created a lot of great memories over the years but my first deer still tops them all. There's not one thing about that hunt that I don't remember, I probably learned more about how to hunt deer on that hunt than any to this day. Because I can remember every single detail, it would take forever for me to type and for you to read, so I'll give you the short version.

December 5th, 1992, 6:53am my dad and I arrived at our hunting grounds to a very cold, soggy, damp woods with a half-heavy fog laying over our grounds like a blanket. As we loaded our guns, he told me that we had perfect hunting conditions to spot and stalk or maybe even track a deer down....it would be my first attempt at either. Dad was incredible at tracking deer, he was a big Benoit Boys fan.....for those of you who don't know the Benoit Boys, I highly suggest you look them up because those guys know how to get it done on deer and get it done on old mature bucks in areas old mature bucks are very few and far between and they have been doing it for generations!!!

Anyways, little did I know that my dad was right, we were going to track a deer down and exactly 5 hours and 50 minutes later, at 12:43pm, from a distance of 40 yards I delivered a Winchest Super X 20 guage slug, courtesy of my Winchester 1100 20 guage, right thru the deflation station of a small 5 point buck. Just after sunrise, we spotted this buck bedded down across the hollar 150 yards from us with no way for us to do a spot and stalk. With luck on our side, the buck didn't bed long but because of the distance I couldn't shoot and had to watch the buck ease out the hillside, out onto the gasline and into the next hollar over. Instead of just going to where we last saw him and getting on him so I could possibly get a shot, my dad took me over to the very spot where the buck was bedded and upon arrival at the bed, his exact words were "boy turn your ears on and keep your mouth shut, you're in school now and I'm the teacher. Do that and you'll shoot that deer." Man, was he right!!!!

Of course we knew the general direction the deer went and the path he followed. We tracked that buck for around 800 yards before we found him in his new bed, completely oblivious to our existence. The track job to get to him sucked, I just wanted to run him down and kill him already but that track job was my hunt of a lifetime. He knew we were gonna find that buck, he knew I was gonna get my oppurtunity but he wanted me to understand how and why I killed that buck. On that hunt, I learned why that buck bedded in that spot. I learned how and why you pay attention to the wind. I learned that not every smell in the woods is "just a smell in the woods" and that I was smelling deer. I learned to distinguish specific tracks instead of just seeing all tracks as "deer tracks", I even learned how to distinguish my bucks track from all of the other tracks that I seen. I learned that nothing in the deer woods is accomplished by speed. I learned why my buck likely took this path or that path to get where he was going. And the 2 most important things I learned that day was.......never accept "just cause" for an answer as to why deer do this or why deer do that and that everything in the whitetail world can be explained, everything a deer does, it does it for a reason and its up to YOU to figure it out. And I'll never forget these words "the day the hunt becomes all about the kill and not about the hunt itself, what it takes to get a kill, is the day you need to hang it up because this game just ain't for you!!!"

That deer to me was a world record and I shot the deer as far back on the 296 acre farm as you could get from the road and in the deepest hollar on the property. Getting the deer up outta that hole and getting it to a spot where dad could drive the truck to it and pick it up was miserable at best.....a miserable, muddy, steep ass mess but at the very same time, in a situation so miserable, I have never recieved so many hugs, so many high-fives and heard so much laughter. Both he and i were at the heigth of our glory.

quackaholic

10-28-2011, 08:03 AM

First deer? You would think I couldn't remember back that far. BUt something about the first one that burns in your memory.

It was 1984, on a juvenile hunt at Chuck Swan WMA. Funny I wasn't even supposed to have gone there, but Dad's work schedule messed up our original plans. We were flying blind. The morning stand only produced one doe which was off limits. TN had yet to allow juveniles to shoot does. However this was the first hunt where any buck was legal. No 3 inch requirement; after this season it was all either sex. We moved locations and we walked down an old logging road where I spotted some tracks exiting a corn field. I followed the trail back in a pine thicket and put my climber in a good opening in the pines. At 1:00 a doe came in and urinated beside my stand at 10 yards. Then bedded down about 20 in front of me. 15 minutes later I heard a deer snort. Back then I thought only bucks did this. LOL. Then I was surrounded shortly after. But where was that buck? No antlers anywhere. Deer were real small in the WMA back then as it was overpopulated and alot of inbreeding occured. Then I noticed something odd about one of the deer; it was smelling where the doe had urinated. Then it would lift it head and check the wind. When he lowered his head back down I put my scope on his head and saw the knots. A button buck!! I raised my cross hairs on the 30-30 Marlin to between his shoulders and squeezed the trigger. It fell dead in its tracks. I was so excited , I could not whistle for Dad. I know he was supposed to be beside me, but that is just not how we done it. I had been on many small game hunts and lots of scouting trips and knew how to read sign and identify trees as well if not better than most adults. Finally he showed up and I told him I shot a button, concern filled his face as he walked to the deer and lifted its head then looked up at me, grinned and said," You done good". When we got to the checking staion the warden asked how I could even tell he was a buck. I relayed the story and he was impressed. The buck was a runt that field dressed 68#, and was aged to be 1 1/2 years old. The GW said that they wished all of us had killed 1 like that as that was the goal of the hunt. Chuck Swan still has not made a full recovery, but there are better deer there than in the past. And that thicket has yielded several deer for us over the years.

eastwoodhunter

10-30-2011, 05:10 AM

My first and only deer so far was a doe killed with a bolt action 12 gauge. It was my second year hunting, last year, on the last day of gun season. A friend let me borrow the gun the night before,and I decided last minute to go the next morning. The weather was perfect, 30 degrees with a light snow. I was hunting my grandmothers farm and right at daybreak I heard gunshots all around. This went on for about an hour and I thought "you gotta be kidding me, theres deer everywhere but right here?" Not long after that 3 doe came strolling along a creek bottom, and right away I knew one of them was going down! The doe dropped in her tracks and suprisingly enough one of the others came back and almost wouldn't leave. When that doe finnaly left I got down down and field dressed my deer and proceeded to drag it to the top of the hill I was hunting. Man was I exhausted after that! It was awesome though, and completely worth it. Now I am waiting for my first bow kill and first buck kill.

mneal

10-31-2011, 02:54 PM

I have killed a few deer while growing up... all button bucks and does with shotgun slugs.When I was 40years old, I moved to Muskingum County, OH and that's when I was introduced to bowhunting. The guys at work all viewed trailcam pictures during lunch in the fall and talked about the deer they had captured on camera. They always got together on Thursday nights during August and September and practiced with their bows. It sounded like fun, so I asked one of the guys if he would help me find a decent used bow and teach me to shoot. He did both, and I bought a used Jennings Speedmaster from a 20 year old kid who said he had harvested several deer with it. It was a solid shooter, but noisy! I practiced for a couple weeks in early November and then climbed a tree stand for the first time the week prior to Ohio Shotgun season. The second time in the stand, I had a wide 8 pass by at 15 yards and stop dead in his tracks when i grunted. I was so excited that my leg was shaking and I forgot to use my peep sight. I shot directly under him and he sauntered away. He was killed on that same property the following Tuesday during gun week. The following year... I purchased a Mathews Outback, practiced at my buddy's house, and then attended two 3D shoots with several of the guys from work. I harvested my first bow kill (a button buck) on Monday, October 17th. The following Saturday morning I had an 11 point split brow tine 150+ deer walk directly at me within 10 feet of my same tree stand. I never had a shot other than straight on and I knew better than to wound a deer like that with a poor shot. He is still out there, and so am I! I don't think i will ever gun hunt again!

You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something ! Winston Churchill

quackaholic

11-19-2011, 10:27 AM

Courtney just shot her first deer!!!! Same rifle me and my son used for our first ones. 7973 She is shown with my Dad. Check that grin!!!

quackaholic

11-20-2011, 08:06 AM

Hey ya'll! This is Courtney. Thanks for all of the congratulations, they mean the world to me; I've never been so proud of any thing in my life! It is a feeling that I will never duplicate again because it was my first deer. It is a feeling that I would never have experienced without my Daddy. I don't think Daddy will ever know how thankful I am that he is close to me and will take me hunting! He told me that I should get on here and tell my story so if you want to hear about it read the piece below that will be entirely longer than it probably should be!

When I got settled under the trees I sat and watched straight ahead toward the field where Daddy told me would be my best bet. I waited for about 30 minutes and heard alot of rustling in the leave by me. I texted my brother who was just over the ridge and asked if he was rustling leaves; his reply: I am as quite as a church mouse. I watched closer as the sun started to rise and discovered none other that two squirrels wrestling (got your hopes up didn't I!) I watched in that direction for a few minutes before turning my attention back to the field I was sure I would kill my first deer in. After about 15 minutes I looked to my right where I thought I heard faint footsteps; there it was, the deer I would take home. I looked at the deer and started to shake. "This is the deer I am gonna bust today. You're mine doe," I told myself. At the time my eyes were adjusting and I thought my deer was a doe! The deer looked like it was gonna walk a straight path right behind me and wouldnt give me a shot. Then about 20 yards away, it turned and started to go down the ridge beside me; just a few more steps and I would have a shot. Two more steps and I could see that this deer had a rack! "YES! A spike! Even better! Mommy and Daddy will be so proud!" I kept telling myself. I shook even harder! When I saw that I was for sure going to have a shot, I began to turn toward the spike. It was a constant cycle: He would move, I would move; He would stop, I would stop. There it was, the shot I was waiting for! I looked through my shaking scope and tried to calm my convulsing self. BOOM! BAM! RING! BOOM-the 30/30 Daddy used for his first deer, the 30/30 Tristan used for his first deer, The 30/30 I just shot my first deer with! BAM-My first deer falling less than a split second after the Boom from my rifle. RING- My phone in hand calling Daddy twice not even a second after the deer was shot and laying. "what?" Daddy asked sounding rather irritated to be recieving a phone call in the woods. " DA DA DADDY DADDY! YOU GOTTA COME GET ME! I I I I SHOT AND AND HE FELL AND AND I CAN'T STAND UP(at this point I am falling against the tree from trying to stand on my shaking knees)! DADDY DADDY YOU GOTTA COME HERE!" I exclaimed into the phone. "OK darlin! I'll be right there! I'm proud of you!" said my now very happy Daddy. I stumbled across the 20 yards between me and my spike. I approached the deer and looked down. WOAH! 4 points! Then as Daddy and Papaw(who heard the news from daddy) came to me and the deer Daddy said "Hunny thats a 5 point!" I thought that since the other wasnt over an inch it didnt count. Papaw had the happiest glow I had seen on him in a long time. I felt so accomplished! I took pictures with my deer and basked in the happiest moment I could remember!

On a side note, Daddy I love you and I am so thankful that you take me hunting and that I got to share this experience with you! I wouldnt have had it any other way! Thank you Daddy-O! I love you!

bbowman41

11-21-2011, 10:09 AM

I apologize in advance for how long this is but I felt compelled to tell the whole story. On 11/19/2011 I went to the stand for a dawn til dusk hunt and I sat there all day. The Stand site is located on a south facing slope full of oak and hickory trees that funnels down into a natural field full of tall grasses and lined with a run off pond that follows a highwall. The pond is divided into sections due to beavers building dams. All in all this spot is a funnel point with a lot of deer traffic. It is the only spot for a 1/4 mile in both directions for the deer to decend down off the hill because of the high cliff and ponds that line the bottom. The wind was perfect and I thought for sure that day was going to be the day. I saw tons of activity but everything was in the field in front of me and nothing was traveling through my funnel. I must have seen 6 bucks and all of them were 75 yards and further. They all seemed to be heading to or coming from one corner of the field. I sat in my stand frustrated and texted my father at one point and told him I was going to make a mid-day move down to that corner of the field. He said I had better do it with enough time for things to settle down before they moved at dusk. The more I thought about it the more I leaned toward staying put. Because the spot I was in is a very high vantage point and I could atleast see the activity and try to submit to memory where they were moving and where they were coming from and at what times. I was in a screwed if I moved and screwed if I didn't position. Because if I moved and didn't see anything then I would wonder if there were something at my other spot, and if I didn't I wouldn't get a shot at all the activity in front of me. I decided to stay put and atleast I would be able to see if something would have moved up the trail where I was going to move. Sure enough at 5:00 pm I spotted a very nice 8 pointer moving up the trail literally 10 yards from the tree I was going to hang my stand. I tried making some grunts and tipping the can a few times. I got his attention but he wasn't curious enough to climb the hill after me. My hunt ended with me empty handed and walking the trail back home with lots of frustration but also I knew exactly where I was going the next morning and I was sitting all day again. I felt confident in moving to the new spot the next morning.

The First thing I did when I got home that night was look up the weather for the next morning. Sure enough it said 65% chance of rain with thunderstorms and it looked to be an all day occurrence. I jumped on here and read all I could about deer movement during the rain. After reading I had decided to hunt as long as it was not a down pour or thunderstorms. The morning came and sure enough it looked like rain but it was not currently raining. So I packed my stuff and headed to the stand. I had a perfect set up once again the wind was right and the position of my stand had natural shooting lanes to heavily traveled deer trails. I broke out my rangefinder and ranged some possible shots off and there I sat..... I saw absolutely no activity all day. The entire sit it looked like it was going to pour down rain at any moment, but it held off. I passed the hours by getting on my phone and seeing what you guys had to say and reading any pointers that pertained to my current hunt. Then it happened. The skies opened up and the rain came pouring down. I said to myself well great... So I got back on this site and there it was, the perfect thread to read "Does Rain effect RUT activity". So I read every post and kept myself occupied. I laughed out loud when I read Stonegod's post about dragging a couch to the woods just to be able to say it can be done. Just as I was finishing up reading I heard movement in front of me. A yearling and a doe moved in to feed on some honeysuckle about 20 yards in front of me. I sat there all day and the rain held off but I had seen nothing. As soon as the rain hit two deer moved in within 10 minutes of the rain starting. I watched them feed for 10-15 minutes or so when I was almost startled out of my stand. I doe came bent and hellbound running with a buck pacing step for step about 10 yards behind her. It scared the S@!% outta me. I watched them run in circles around my stand in literal 100 yard circles and at one point they ran right down the primary trail I was hunting and had previously ranged in at 17 yards. I grunted and tipped the can and absolutely nothing was going to interupt that chase. Once they were out of site I heard more movement and it was another buck hot on the trail. He was grunting and frantically sniffing the exact steps of the previous chase trying to catch up. I told myself this was my chance and I had just hoped he followed that same trail they did that went right past my stand. He was sniffing more than he was chasing so I thought I may be able to get him to stop long enough for a shot. Sure enough he followed the trail but I couldn't get him to stop by grunting, he crossed into my last shooting lane on that trail and he froze and bent over for a quick sniff, I had my pin set right on him and I let it fly. I made a clean shot and I watched the deer stumble about 50 yards from my stand. I got on the phone and called my dad and told him to come up and bring some lights we had a deer to find. I was worried about the rain but I knew my shot was good(I shot from such a high point that my arrow pentrated just behind the shoulder but it was high on one side and it exited the by the leg on the side in the pictures). I gave him a little time and climbed down and waited on my dad. My father does not hunt anymore but as a child he grew up on a farm and hunted with his grandfather. He told me since his grandfather had passed that he has never hunted since. When I saw how he reacted and helped my find my first deer I think I may have rekindle his love for the hunt. He never left my side all night as he helped to field dress, skin and hang the deer for aging. All in all it was an amazing hunt with a good clean kill that I got to enjoy with my father. I just wanted to thank all of you for being patient with my very amateur questions and helping me out as much as possible. This is a great community and I couldn't have got to this point without all of your help. This was my first deer ever. An 8 point buck shot with my compound bow at 17 yards, I know he is not huge and had room to grow for sure, but I'm happy. THANKS AGAIN!!80038004

tusc.hunter17

11-21-2011, 11:27 PM

My story is not gonna be glamourous, but here it is. My first deer was a doe shot at an ex's property during gun season when I was 18little years old. Bad thing is I started hunting at around age 14. Got my first bow at age ten and my dad made me pratice shooting instinctive with no sights and no release. Im now 29 and am still waiting to kill my first buck and my first bowkill. Boy that sounds like a sad story. Women kids and fast cars side tracked my hunting for years so maybe that's why im paying for it now. I've bow hunted hard this year with no luck I've had chances to shoot a deer with my bow this year but I was holding out for bigger deer. Maybe someday ill get mt first bow kill

switchXTindiana

11-23-2011, 03:50 PM

Well, my first kills were with a bow believe it or not. I didn't have a dad who hunted. My friend's dad got me into shooting a bow when i was 12. My first ever hunt w/ a bow, I had been once previously w/ a gun, I was 13 at his place in Adams County. He bought me a deer tag and a turkey tag since it was fall bow out there. He said "you get in this stand, you stay still, you shoot whatever deer or turkey you can boy" Well 1.5hrs later, sure enough, 3 turkeys come up on the ridgetop at 25yds and i ended up smoking a tom w/ my bow. I honestly can say that i had no idea it was a tom,jaek, hen or what, I knew it was a turkey and he told me to shoot it,lol. First kill period, first time hunting w/ a bow. I've since learned how frickin hard it is to kill a turkey w/ a bow. Mt first deer was a doe the following year at age 14, w/ my bow, at about 12yds from a ladder stand on the first sunday of bow season. My first buck was about a 100" 8pt when i was 16 with my bow. I've actually only killed one deer w/ a gun and it was a buck during a deer drive in Adams county.

Dan

11-24-2011, 11:23 AM

My buddy had been hunting a small urban woodlot for a very large buck. It was the day before NY gun season and the last day to use your first buck tag. I hadn't killed a deer yet so my buddy offered to put a drive on for me at the wood lot he had been hunting. The weather was kinda crappy cold and rainy i wasn't to excited about going but grabbed a stand and my gear. We made a plan and headed into the woods. I reached my stand location and realized I forgot my steps. Since this was before cellphones I had no way to tell my buddy i didn't have steps and I needed to get them. I set the stand about 5 feet off the ground and pulled myself up and got set. About ten minutes later I heard a crash in the thicket up wind of me and two does busted out across a nearby clearing. A moment later I noticed movement coming towards me and could see it was a buck. I drew my bow as it rambled down the funnel towards me. It stopped 8 paces from me and I drilled it. It ran off into the thick cover. A few minutes later my buddy showed up and I gave him the thumbs up. He ran over thinking I had just drilled the monster he was hunting. I quickly told him it wasn't the monster he was after and told him what happened. We drove over to a local pizza shop for a slice and to give the buck alittle time. As we drove into the parking lot there stood the monster my buddy was telling me about. It was a solid 170. I was pretty impressed that my buddy would offer to push his spot and give me a shot at that trophy buck. True friends are rare. We found my little 8 point about 60 yards from were I shot it. A few weeks later the big buck was hit by a car.

nwohiobowstruck

11-30-2011, 09:58 PM

My first deer was during my second season of bow hunting. It was the wed before the youth weekend. i just got out of my truck got dressed and sprayed down with sent cover and started across the field to the woods. i got about 75yards from the truck when i saw him. He was about 200 yards away layin down in the edge of the woods. So i dropped to my knees and decided to try to get close enough for a shoot. I started to crawl across the field on my hands and knees. (only a 100 yards from the state highway right behind me i sure all the cars going by were thinkin what the hell is this guy doin) I crawled to were there was a tree between me and him and kind of crawled/walked low to the ground in to about 50 yards for the woods. Luckly for me there was round hay bales on the edge of the woods so from here i started to crawl and try to get into postion. so i got up to the hay bales and peaked out around the one and all i could see was the left side of his rack but decied he was going to get shot. (by this time he is standing) So i crawled over about 2 hay bales got on my knees and went to come up from my crouched over postion while drawin my front hand bow hand hit the bale. I was to close. So i came back down to a crouched postion backed up about a foot took a breath came back up drawin while risein put my 20 yard pin on him and relased. I hit him and he took off runnin with my arrow in him all i saw was the arrow stickin out alot and i thought i was screwed. untill he turned to go up the hill and his front feet came off the ground and he fell backwards. He was done. I was so excited. the hunt over in about 20 min. i was fist pumpin and yellin i actully walked up to the farmers house instead of to my truck (truck 300 yards house 900 yards) i tryed callin my dad to help come gut it but he was not home from work yet so i had to wait. that was my first deer and buck ever and it was with my bow. that is the deer in my pic.

Genesis 9:3

12-05-2011, 02:21 PM

Just curious to hear about your first kill, when,how and how long did it take you before you tagged your first deer? Was it a doe or buck? What did you use, bow, gun, crossbow,how old were you? ect. Also if your first wasn't a buck, how long did it take to get your first buck? This should be some fun reading!!! I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I have!! Thanks guys.....If you do enjoy them... Then.....PLEASE!!! TAKE THE TIME TO TELL YOUR STORY FOR EVERYONE TO ENJOY......CAN'T BECAUSE YOUR NOT A MEMBER?????..........THEN JOIN THE SITE!!!!!!!! 50 stories would be nice before the end of the season!!!!!!!

This was my first buck (first deer actually). I took it with a shotgun. I'm almost 30... but I don't think this is the right place for my story... so I put it over here (http://www.bowhuntingohio.com/forum/showthread.php/16209-My-first-buck!-%28Or-deer-for-that-matter!%29?p=132471#post132471). (Click on the "here" or this is the link: http://www.bowhuntingohio.com/forum/showthread.php/16209-My-first-buck!-%28Or-deer-for-that-matter!%29?p=132471#post132471)

ManOfTheFall

01-16-2012, 12:13 AM

My First Buck With A Bow!!!!!

I was starting my second year of bow hunting. It was about 2 weeks into the bow season and I already shot my first deer with my bow on opening day. It was a pretty nice doe. It was now October 19th, 1997, and I was going to hunt down by an area I call the soy bean patch. I have a stand in a corner of a bean field. A river is just to my left, a huge soybean field is out in front of me, and there is a little bit of woods and a hay field behind me. I have always seen a lot of deer driving by this area and it was public land so I thought I would give it a try and hang a stand there.

The morning was a good one. It was a starry sky and a cool 30 degrees. There was frost on the ground and quite a bit of fog laying low to the ground. I was up in my stand 1/2 hour before legal shooting light and had already heard good movement in the area. Legal shooting time arrived and I had 7 or 8 does feeding out in the beans in front of me. I heard some crunching come from behind me and it was a little 4 point buck. I gave a few grunts on my grunt call and he came right over. He presented a number of opportunities but I was going to pass on this buck. A few more deer joined the feeding frenzy and I had about 12 to 13 deer between 20 and 25 yards away chowing down on some beans.

Then, from behind me. I heard some more crunching going on. This time it was a very large doe. I was really tempted to shoot her but I wanted to wait on a buck. I used my grunt call again and I was amazed at what transpired. This large doe made her way in front of me. She was about 13 yards away. After I let out a few grunts on the call this loud crashing noise coming in from behind startled me. I thought to myself, this has to be a buck. Sure enough, I slowly looked and saw he was a nice 8 point. I got my bow up and got ready for a shot. I did not have to wait long. He placed himself between me and that large doe and stomped a couple of times. I had already drawn my bow and he was probably less than 10 yards away. I shot the arrow and I saw it was a good hit. It was a clean pass through right behind the shoulder. Now, I had one problem. After the shot I looked up and saw deer scattering everywhere. I watched them run and they all started out going the same way. They got out to about 75 yards and with the fog I really couldn't see them anymore. I thought I saw one turn left and all the others went to the right. I sat up in my stand about 1/2 hour before I got down to look for the arrow and blood.

I got down out of the stand and immediately found the arrow and it was just as I suspected. A very good hit. I followed the blood out until I saw where that one deer went to the left. I looked around but didn't see any blood. But with the cool morning and the heat of the buck's body his location gave him away. I knew he was down. I cautiously approached him and he never moved. He was definitely dead. I had now killed my first buck with my bow. I was definitely hooked on bow hunting for good. I gutted him out but I had one problem, I could not get him in my vehicle. Being on public land I was kind of worried because I would have to go home and get my wife to help me load him up. I hid the buck and went and picked her up. We didn't live too far away so that was a good thing. We went back and loaded him up on the truck. My wife and my kids all congratulated me and I knew at this point the gun was going down and the bow was taking over. I hope you all enjoyed the story.

ManOfTheFall

01-16-2012, 12:44 AM

My First Deer With A Bow!!!!!

My second year of bow hunting had arrived. It was October of 1997. I decided to go out for an evening hunt with my bow. I arrived at my treestand around 4pm. I was hunting up on top of a hill in a small apple orchard. This apple orchard is surrounded by hardwoods, mainly oaks, and a small country cemetary.

I settled into my stand and began the waiting process. I had about 3 and a half hours of legal hunting time. The weather was sunny and mild, right around 60 degrees. As time ticked away I watched several different species of wildlife come and go. There were turkeys, squirrels, groundhogs, and of course several different kinds of birds. I knew the closer we got to sunset the better my chances were to see some deer coming up by my stand. Right around 6pm I saw my first deer. It was a group of 3. A doe and a couple of fawns. They stayed down below me and did not present me with a shot. After about 20 minutes they ventured back into the woods. another 15 minutes went by and I saw another deer. Once again it was a doe. She was making her way up towards my stand as she was feeding. Then the action began.

I drew my bow on her as she got to about the 15 yard mark. She looked directly at me and began stomping. Then she started doing the old head bob. After going back and forth with her for about 15 minutes she slowly turned and walked away. I was able to get my bow up and draw when she turned. I let out a meep and let the arrow fly. I saw it was a perfect shot. She took off like a bolt of lightning and I watched her and saw her fall about 40 yards away. YES!!!!! I just got my first bow kill. I was so pumped. I gave her about 15 minutes then climbed down and went to get her. The blood trail was phenomenal, even though I didn't need one, I knew right where she was. I began to gut her then dragged her back to the farmhouse. I shared my moment with my grandma, wife, and kids. She had a lot of good meat on her. I got a little over 50 pounds of meat. I used her hide for a throw on my couch and her feet we used for curtain holders.

ManOfTheFall

01-16-2012, 12:53 AM

My First Deer Ever!!!!!

It was December 1st, 1988. Deer gun season had arrived. I was looking forward to the season with anticipation. This would be my 10th year of hunting and I had not shot a deer yet. I have shot at a few here and there but in some years I didn't even see any. This year was going to be different I just had that feeling.

On the first day there was a couple inches of snow on the ground and I was going to sit on the edge of a field. I got to my spot early and I was waiting for first light. Suddenly up above me on the ridge I heard alot of commotion. I turned around and saw about 14 or 15 deer running past me to the right. There was no way I could get a shot off though. I just sat on the field edge hoping those deer may turn and come down into the field for a morning snack. Well, about a half hour went by and I heard another ruckus above me on the ridge again. I turned and looked again and I believe what was that same herd was running back the other way. I began to question myself. Thinking, should I go sit up on the ridge? I decided to stay put. Then, it happened a third time. I wasn't wasting anymore time. I was going to move up on the ridge.

Each time I saw these deer running back and forth I heard gun shots coming from the opposite direction they were running. I figured if this was going on I would place myself between these two areas and hope fully to get a crack at one of them when they came back by.

I was now sitting in my new spot. I was up against an old dead tree sitting there on the ground. Figured, I was sitting there about an hour and nothing. It was now about 8am and I heard someone walking towards me. Just in case it was a deer I slowly looked to see who or what it was. To my surprise it wasn't a person, it was a nice size doe walking straight at me. She was about twenty yards and closing fast. Now I had a dilemma. I really couldn't move because I didn't want to spook her. But I had to do something or I would miss my opportunity. She was now at 10 yards and still walking towards me. There was one thing I decided I could do. I would let out a hey, jump up, whirl around and shoot from the hip. I know this sounds crazy but at the time it seemed like my only option. The time had come. I made my move and yelled out hey. She looked startled and froze and I shot from the hip. Luckily I hit her right in the neck. She dropped right on the spot. I couldn't believe it I had just shot my first deer at 5 feet away from me. I think she was just as shocked as I was. I had heard all the stories about tasting the blood from the first deer you shoot. So as crazy as it sounds as I was gutting her, I took a lick of her blood off of my thumb. I really don't know if it did anything for me or not.

After I got done gutting her which took me about an hour and a half, I dragged her down the hill to the house. I got back and celebrated my first kill with my wife and two sons. My daughter wasn't born yet. My youngest son was very excited even though he was only 6 months old. He did not want to stop touching the deer. Today he is a deer hunting machine. Just like his dad. I'm sorry I don't have a pic of the doe but I don't have a scanner and couldn't get her on my computer. By the way, I gut most of my deer in under 10 minutes now LOL.

THEREEZEN

01-18-2012, 10:48 AM

Ok my first kill came on opening day of gun season in 95 i was nine. Dad told me you watch this side of the gully and il watch the other and he walked to other side of the dead fall. I felt like a big time deer hunter all by myself (i was ten feet from my dad but i had a good imagination) At about 9am a monster came up from the gulley i tried to remember all that dad said about waiting til the head is behind a tree before you pull your gun up, breath, pick a spot and the long list of things to remember. Id like to say i did some of it but im pretty sure all that went out the window a soon as i saw that monster basket 6. As soon as i shot the deer ran right at me being it only my second year deer hunting i didnt know what to do luckily my shot was true, but he did make it over the deadfall pretty much in dads lap. Dad was pretty much asleep when i shot so it took him a few to grasp what was going on. lol. I remember my dad gave me a huge hug and started crying and telling me he loved me and how proud he was of me, at the time i didnt know what to think and he must be crazy. Well all these years later my dad is still my main hunting buddy. And this past muzzleloader season found me and dad in the woods together again. I was fortunate enough to take a mature button buck lol and my two year old son Colton got to go help daddy find it after seeing all the excitment in his eyes I now know what dad meant on that hillside so many years ago and i cant wait til i have little man with me, then il have the two best huntin buddies out there. Il get to my first bow kill at another time this took me long enough to type im a chicken pecker one finger style

Big_Holla

06-26-2012, 08:45 AM

Great time to get that story together BHO members!! Get it up here and tell us how you broke the ice on your first deer....buck or doe....gun or bow....doesn't matter!!

fullcontactk

07-10-2012, 01:12 AM

Nice blog, your blog is realy nice.

ohiohunter96

11-09-2012, 10:22 AM

Shot my first deer with a bow yesterday evening. A medium sized doe at about 30 yards in a alfalpha field. Ran about 80 yards and bedded down. Even though it was a doe i still got the shakes

teej89

11-27-2012, 05:24 PM

I'll always remember my first one, I can even picture the deer in my scope still. Anyways it was the first day of gun season in Pa and we set up behind this log and there was snow on the ground and my dad said they'll be coming right down that hollow. So it's bout 20 degrees i'm bundled up like whats his face from the Christmas story and eating my soup and sitting by the tiny fire my dad built for me. Bout 9:30 he goes here they come get ready and grabs me by my hood and drags me outta my chair, campells chicken noodle soup flying everywhere haha and 6 came down and I took the first one my scope landed on and they all took off, I reloaded asking if I should shoot again and he said no don't. We walked up, couldn't figure out where she was, my dad had no idea which one I shot at and then we found her, I dropped her in her tracks.

My first decent buck was in gun season also, we never hunted this neck of the woods and it was the last day, my day checked it out earlier that week and figured we'd set up here since he found a lot of sign and rubs. Anyways I wake up and it's raining, not cool, but we go anyways. We get to the top of the hollow and sit down well before dark and after 10 minutes in the dark my dad says lets move up more. We move up 50 yards and can see into the hollow now. Well it gets light and see nothing and then at 8:30 my dad goes buck TJ there's a buck in the bottom. Here I think the bottom is like 50 yds away so I'm searching for a deer close, and I can't find him in my scope on 3 power. He goes it's right there and grabs my barrel to point towards it, still nothing. Then I get a little glimpse in my scope of something moving and here he was 100+ yards haha and one shot and dropped him in it's tracks. We named that hollow the 8 point hollow. A couple years later I was walking around in the hollow, not sure whether I was scouting or hunting, here my dad carved 8 pt 2006 into the tree we sat at, was pretty cool finding it.

teej89

11-27-2012, 05:26 PM

oh and the funniest is my first squirrel, was 12 years old, I shot it and he said for me to go get it and I went up and it's still flopping everywhere and I run back and tell him and he looks around and I'm thinking what is he doing, and he holds up a branch and gives it to me. If only I coulda seen the look on my face when he said to smack it in the head haha

Stonegod

08-26-2013, 02:33 PM

Well it's that time of the year when alot of new members join the site....so how about adding the story of your first deer kill to the long list of great stories already on this thread...bow...gun...it doesn't matter as long as it's the story of your first one.

Stonegod

11-22-2013, 11:57 AM

Well I finally get to post the story of my first deer!!!.....it's been more than three years since I started this thread ....and a long wait to add my story to it. It's not a story of a monster buck...but it is a rather weird and funny story. Last season I started posting with SeekerBP about how the barometer readings effect deer movements so I started following kills posted on here and other deer hunting sights....peak time is when the pressure is between 30.01-30.40...that was supposed to be when the deer were most active and 30.20-30.30 was the "sweet spot" when deer activity was at it's highest....so as I checked and studied reports of kills, it seemed like most were taken during readings of 30.01-30.40....so I started hunting accordingly. On 11/20/13 I decided to go hunting, only my third time out this year do to business. The first two times were simply times that I could get away and hunt....the barometer readings indicated that my luck would be poor with readings of 29.88 and 29.76 my first two times out. Sure enough....ZIP!!!....not a deer....squirrel nor even a bird was sighted on my first two outings. On the 20th the winds were perfect and the barometer reading was 30.26....this was suppost to be the perfect day to hunt...so off I went. I'm hunting my front blind that is only 50-60' feet inside the wood line on a heavily traveled deer trail, so I take the golf cart back to save my aching back a half mile walk. I settle in and squirrels and birds are all over the place.....I'm feel pumped and positive now. I catch something moving about 100yds in some think stuff and see it's a big buck with a doe but everytime she moves to go to the trail and down towards me and the food source he steers her back to the dense cover....but I wait...and wait.....and wait. Then I hear the sound of a kid yelling, I figure it's a son who gotten separated from his dad while hunting and is lost....then a minute later I hear PAPA!!....PAPA!!!. It's right behind me to my east...I'm pissed...really pissed and peek out of my east window to see my 7yr old great nephew driving away in the frigging golf cart!!lol He had just got home from school and thought gramps (my little bro) had gone to check game cams.lol So now it's 4:34 and I figure my hunt is over and there's not a deer anywhere near me...but I see the buck and doe are still out there so I sit.....hey....it's the "magic hour" right!!! Next thing I hear is the cadence of a deer walking so I ready my xbow at the feeder area 22yds away but she shows up 7yds in front of my shooting window!! Well as some of you my know I had my share of bad luck....so I grab my iPhone and take a pic just to prove that she's there just in case I mess things up.....again.lol She comes broadside and I let it fly, as she runs away I remember the shot I took last year that clipped the bottom of my window and missed the deer....so the first thing I did was check the window flap for another hole lol....no hole, so now I'm feeling good!!!.....turned out to be a perfect double lung that only sent her another 45yds, the boltcutter head smashed through ribs and bone and buried itself into a tree 15-20yds away. When I told my bro about the pic I took he said "you actually STOPPED to take a pic?" shaking his head in disbelief..LOL.....I didn't tell him I actually took the time to take two pics.lol When I called him to tell him I just shot a deer, he asked me if I hit it and at first he thought I was joking with him. Then when he got back there (as I've mentioned in another post), even though I could see my doe....he insisted that I find the blood trail and track it to the doe just to get some practice. I did my own gutting...but my nephew helped because he felt bad about yelling while I was hunting and yesterday I processed the deer with bro's help and now I'll brain tan and smoke the hide so my trophy will be a nice piece of buckskin. I've brain tanned smaller hides/pelts but this will be my first deer hide.

mrbb

11-22-2013, 01:43 PM

well again congrats, but where's the picture??

Stonegod

11-22-2013, 01:46 PM

I can't post pics since the sites been running again for some reason....buckstalker17 posted a pic of me and my doe on the thread the hortontotor start about my first deer kill.

Big_Holla

11-22-2013, 02:08 PM

I can't post pics since the sites been running again for some reason....buckstalker17 posted a pic of me and my doe on the thread the hortontotor start about my first deer kill.

Don't rely on the site for your pics, make a photobucket.com account and it's easy as pie!!

nomad_archer

11-22-2013, 02:16 PM

Did someone say pie....mmmmmm

Stonegod

11-22-2013, 02:54 PM

Don't rely on the site for your pics, make a photobucket.com account and it's easy as pie!!

I've tried getting the photobucket app and it just tells me that it's incompatible with my iPhone. My iPhone is a 3G that I got back in October of 2008 and I was told then that the phones battery life was about 3yrs....4yrs if I was lucky. It's been more than 5yrs now and everytime I go into the AT&T store to pay the bill, they ask me "is your iPhone is still working?" and I when I say yes.....they just shake their heads in disbelief.LOL

mrbb

11-22-2013, 03:23 PM

hahaha, I agree just ope an account on photobucket and its easy to place pic's here
I just thought a good story deserved a good pic with it, all the more so since in the stopry you told of taking that pic of the before, and now have an after to add to finish the story
you'll get them when you do I gather !

HuntingAgain

11-20-2014, 11:24 AM

My Very First Deer

I was finally blessed to harvest my first deer ever and fortunate enough to do it on my 60th Birthday. This year has been pretty busy so I have not had much time to hunt. Other than a few hours putting up trail cams and checking my ladder stand I did not hunt at all until November 15th. I decided to go that morning as I had time to do it before work.

I climbed into my Big Game Spin Shot at 6:15 to watch the sunrise in a little over an hour and hopefully see some deer. I am enjoying hearing the birds and watching the squirrels with my coffee as the sun rises. I am facing to the north as I hear the rustling of leaves to my right. I watch as a small doe galloping at a fair pace runs through the woods about 40 yards north of me. Maybe she is being chased so I sit motionless watching and hoping for what may be pursuing her. My Ten Point Titan Extreme XL resting on the shooting rail with a Black Eagle Executioner tipped by a Slick Trick 100 grain fixed blade broadhead at the ready.

Nothing appears so whatever if anything was chasing that doe, never made it my way. I quietly spin around (a great feature of the Spin Shot Ladder Stand) to look a full 360 degrees around me and decide to face to the south for a while as the sun is continuing to rise. A glance at the time and it is a little before 8. I have already decided that I can only hunt until about 9 as I need to be at my store to open at 10am. Nothing but birds and squirrels for a while now, but they can be enjoyable to watch also. I make the decision to turn again and face to the north northeast. I pour myself another cup of hot coffee from my thermos as I continue to enjoy my time in the woods.

The blessing begins with a little luck included. For a reason still unknown to me, something catches my attention over my left shoulder behind me. I see a small doe in my peripheral vision and am facing the wrong way to get a good view, or any chance of a shot. I very slowly but deliberately raise my crossbow to clear the tree and start to spin counter clockwise to see the doe. It seems like I spent 10 minutes making the turn but I know it wasn’t that long in reality. I get turned around and the small doe is now directly southeast of my stand about 20 yards away. A closer look and I see a second doe, larger in size about 15 yards behind her. They are slowly walking from west to east being very observant of their surroundings. The smaller doe looks directly at me as I froze and did not move fearing of being busted by her. She is now slightly to my left, quartering towards me with no clear shot due to some small limbs. As she continues to move I decide that if the larger doe follows in her tracks I will take a shot when she is between the two trees I have selected as my best shooting lane.

I raise my Ten Point into position; taking the safety off arming my crossbow. I lower my head and locate the larger doe in my scope. I follow her movement needing her to walk only another few yards into my chosen shooting lane. She makes that walk and I make a noise to freeze her for a hopeful shot. She freezes and I place the crosshairs of the scope on my desired location for impact. I squeeze the trigger and see my Lumennock glowing brightly on its path. I watch as her front legs buckle and she collapses, her chest hitting the ground in the view through my scope. Both does are now running to the east at a frantic pace, their raised white tails showing brightly. I can’t see my arrow in the deer of my choice as she runs from the area. I study the area of the shot with my binoculars to try and locate the arrow hoping my Lumenock would show me the location but unfortunately do not see it. I check the time and it is 8:38, just a little over an hour after daylight. I scan the woods to my east with the binoculars hoping to see the doe down with no success.

Knowing that my time is limited I climbed down from my stand and do a quick search of the shot area and do not locate my arrow or any sign of blood. Now I begin to question myself, did I miss completely and the arrow is buried in the ground out of sight or did I hit the doe and just did not see the arrow as she ran away or what. I do a second quick look of the area and decide it is time to leave. If I did hit my target, and not seeing any blood, she may be only wounded and if I try and find her now I will most likely just push her further away.

I discuss everything with my son, who I am thankful for getting me back into hunting 3 years ago. We are both unavailable to get to the woods later in the evening so I decide I will go in the morning to check the area again. I spend the rest of the day and most of the sleepless night replaying the hunt in my mind and trying to figure out what actually happened.

I get up Sunday morning to Birthday Wishes from my wife and decline her offer of Breakfast as I want to go to the woods. I get ready and go for another hunt for the same doe. I take a rake so I can clear the leaves from the area of the shot hoping to find some clues. I find none and start to check the top of the fallen leaves in the direction I seen them running to look for blood. I finally locate a few drops of blood over 15 yards from impact that lets me know that I at least wounded the doe. The minimal amount of blood at that time now has me feeling bad that it may only be a wounded animal that we all hate to do but at the same time some excitement that we may be fortunate to harvest the doe. I continue looking for more blood and locate a little more about 5 yards further, still only a few drops. Then I locate a larger amount of blood on some leaves with more on the sides of a couple of small saplings indicating that blood is being pumped from the entrance wound. I am starting to feel better about the shot and text my son who is on his way to help track the doe.

I continue to follow the blood trail as it winds through the small acreage of woods that we are lucky enough to have permission to hunt from a local farmer. The amount of blood continues to fluctuate but I locate a spot where the ground is disturbed and appears that the doe stumbled or collapsed about 40 yards from where the shot was taken. Continuing on until I located my gift next to a tree about 70 yards from my stand location. There she was, lying next to the tree unharmed by any coyotes as I had also feared with the meat protected by the cold temperatures. She is no award winning giant deer or the great large buck that we all dream about, but she is one of the best gifts I have ever received! Turning 60 wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. In fact I think it worked out to be Perfect.

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