Well, this year was my last year to go out hunting during the juvenile hunt, so I took it for what it was worth and went out yesterday and today. My uncle was nice enough to lend me a blind yesterday and a tree stand today, so I was pretty much covered on location. Everyone insisted on me using a scoped rifle because "..it would make a world of difference..." and "..it's better in those conditions to have one.." and all that, Hounddawg offered to lend me his .303, my grandfather offered to lend me his 30-06, and my uncle offered to lend me his 30-30, all of which were scoped, and all of which I refused to use. I just wanted to stick with "Big Nick", my Schmidt Rubin, iron sights. I know where it shoots as I shoot it often, and I had every confidence in it.
Saturday morning at 5:30 is cold, even in a blind, which I have to say was a whole lot better than the treestand, but whatever. It was my first day, and when I climbed up into the stand at first in total darkness, it was kind of harrowing. So I stuck with the little pitched blind and waited to see something. About 7:30, I noticed two deer come walking over from the other side of the road, one a large doe, the other a young buck, just a little spiker. I was taking aim when the doe saw me, but she just stood there and watched me, so I eased the rifle into my shoulder and prepared to put my finger on the trigger. She swore at me in deer (it sounded like someone trying to hack up a porcupine) and trotted off about 15 yards, stopped, and faced me again. I had her lined up in my sights, right where the neck meets the chest, slowly squeezing the trigger...!!!! planes. A sonic boom shattered the morning, the whole ground shook, and off ran my doe with buck in tow. So I put the rifle on safe and waited for about another two hours till I saw a doe coming off from the right where the other two had ran. She had two little fawns behind her, and I was going to take a shot, but she decided that she liked it a little better behind the trees and bushes than she did out in the open, so there went another chance. All in all, Saturday came and went, not a shot fired, but still a good feeling about today, seeing as I had actually seen something.
5:30 in a blind was cold enough, but 5:00 in a treestand is much colder. Thank god Hounddawg and I went out Saturday night and bought me proper gloves. My fingers would be frozen off by now. The day earlier I had climbed the treestand during the day at about 10, just to see what it would be like once it got lighter out. I didn't have a problem with it, so there I sat this morning. Heard nothing, saw nothing all morning till about 7:25-7:30. There was a bloody loud commotion off to the right and behind me, but if it was a deer, I didn't want to turn around and spook it off, so I waited to see if it would come around to the broad side of me or in front so I could see what it was. Then, off about 80 yards away, I saw movement inbetween the bushes. I looked, but couldn't really see anything except bushes, and then fawn-brown, and bushes again, so I slung my rifle to my shoulder anyway just in case it was in fact a deer I was looking at. I sat there watching this stationary figure for about 2 minutes, and just as I started to think I was crazy and seeing things, a beautiful buck stepped out from that spot and stood on the ridge overlooking the gulley that I was in. He stood there for a minute, looking around carefree, so I took the oppurtunity to slowly take aim. He must have seen me, because he jerked his head back and looked directly at me. I froze. He stared at me, ducked his head around a bit trying to figure out what it was he was looking at, then dropped down into the ditch that used to be an old road. When I knew he couldn't see me, I dropped my elbow onto my knee for some support and stared at where I thought he would be through the sights...I was NOT letting this one get away. He popped up over the edge of the ridge that was closest to me, only his body from the knees up showing. He was still staring right at me, but I moved very slowly and took aim right where the neck meets the chest, but before I could do anything more, he dropped down again. I waited, and again he popped his head up, still looking right at me, but only his shoulders and up showing this time. I sat for about 30 seconds, contemplating my point of aim and trying to slow my breathing so I could actually pull the shot off. He just stood there. Pulled the Schmidt Rubin's slack off. He still just stood there. Started to squeeze the actual trigger pull, and he didn't move an inch. Before I knew it, it was all over, and my buck was nowhere to be seen. I wasn't sure if he had run off or if he had dropped, but I was hoping for the latter. I racked another round into the chamber and sat. My uncle had instructed me to stay in the treestand until he got there with Hounddawg. Well that lasted about 2 minutes. By the time they got down there, I was down in the gulley with my buck jumping up and down and waving them over. 130 lbs. of pure muscle and a beautiful wide-spread rack of 7 points. My first deer. My uncle was pretty impressed, seeing as his first buck was only a 5 pointer. Hounddawg is still rather chuffed about it, and everyone who saw it was very impressed with my shot placement. It was a FINE day.
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I like the second one better...hunter hat hair in the first. ^.^ But yeah. First hunt. First deer. Now not only do I get to enjoy seeing and bragging about his rack on my wall, I now get to enjoy the tenderloins and backstrap for a few months between breakfast biscuits. =D
Mini Dawg
Saturday morning at 5:30 is cold, even in a blind, which I have to say was a whole lot better than the treestand, but whatever. It was my first day, and when I climbed up into the stand at first in total darkness, it was kind of harrowing. So I stuck with the little pitched blind and waited to see something. About 7:30, I noticed two deer come walking over from the other side of the road, one a large doe, the other a young buck, just a little spiker. I was taking aim when the doe saw me, but she just stood there and watched me, so I eased the rifle into my shoulder and prepared to put my finger on the trigger. She swore at me in deer (it sounded like someone trying to hack up a porcupine) and trotted off about 15 yards, stopped, and faced me again. I had her lined up in my sights, right where the neck meets the chest, slowly squeezing the trigger...!!!! planes. A sonic boom shattered the morning, the whole ground shook, and off ran my doe with buck in tow. So I put the rifle on safe and waited for about another two hours till I saw a doe coming off from the right where the other two had ran. She had two little fawns behind her, and I was going to take a shot, but she decided that she liked it a little better behind the trees and bushes than she did out in the open, so there went another chance. All in all, Saturday came and went, not a shot fired, but still a good feeling about today, seeing as I had actually seen something.
5:30 in a blind was cold enough, but 5:00 in a treestand is much colder. Thank god Hounddawg and I went out Saturday night and bought me proper gloves. My fingers would be frozen off by now. The day earlier I had climbed the treestand during the day at about 10, just to see what it would be like once it got lighter out. I didn't have a problem with it, so there I sat this morning. Heard nothing, saw nothing all morning till about 7:25-7:30. There was a bloody loud commotion off to the right and behind me, but if it was a deer, I didn't want to turn around and spook it off, so I waited to see if it would come around to the broad side of me or in front so I could see what it was. Then, off about 80 yards away, I saw movement inbetween the bushes. I looked, but couldn't really see anything except bushes, and then fawn-brown, and bushes again, so I slung my rifle to my shoulder anyway just in case it was in fact a deer I was looking at. I sat there watching this stationary figure for about 2 minutes, and just as I started to think I was crazy and seeing things, a beautiful buck stepped out from that spot and stood on the ridge overlooking the gulley that I was in. He stood there for a minute, looking around carefree, so I took the oppurtunity to slowly take aim. He must have seen me, because he jerked his head back and looked directly at me. I froze. He stared at me, ducked his head around a bit trying to figure out what it was he was looking at, then dropped down into the ditch that used to be an old road. When I knew he couldn't see me, I dropped my elbow onto my knee for some support and stared at where I thought he would be through the sights...I was NOT letting this one get away. He popped up over the edge of the ridge that was closest to me, only his body from the knees up showing. He was still staring right at me, but I moved very slowly and took aim right where the neck meets the chest, but before I could do anything more, he dropped down again. I waited, and again he popped his head up, still looking right at me, but only his shoulders and up showing this time. I sat for about 30 seconds, contemplating my point of aim and trying to slow my breathing so I could actually pull the shot off. He just stood there. Pulled the Schmidt Rubin's slack off. He still just stood there. Started to squeeze the actual trigger pull, and he didn't move an inch. Before I knew it, it was all over, and my buck was nowhere to be seen. I wasn't sure if he had run off or if he had dropped, but I was hoping for the latter. I racked another round into the chamber and sat. My uncle had instructed me to stay in the treestand until he got there with Hounddawg. Well that lasted about 2 minutes. By the time they got down there, I was down in the gulley with my buck jumping up and down and waving them over. 130 lbs. of pure muscle and a beautiful wide-spread rack of 7 points. My first deer. My uncle was pretty impressed, seeing as his first buck was only a 5 pointer. Hounddawg is still rather chuffed about it, and everyone who saw it was very impressed with my shot placement. It was a FINE day.
I like the second one better...hunter hat hair in the first. ^.^ But yeah. First hunt. First deer. Now not only do I get to enjoy seeing and bragging about his rack on my wall, I now get to enjoy the tenderloins and backstrap for a few months between breakfast biscuits. =D
Mini Dawg
