Blue Bruiser
01-23-2008, 10:08 AM
Hi guys,
My names Chris and I am 25 years old. I live in St Charles Missouri and I just thought that I would share my story with you guys in case you may wanna hear it.
Well I have been hunting now for 3 years. Growing up no one in my family was a hunter. My brother and I always wanted the oppurtunity to hunt but it was just never a possibility. So about 3 years ago I met a guy by the name of Ray. He was a few years older than me and my fathers neighbor. He pretty much got me into hunting so to speak. Helped me select a bow, gun, so on and so forth. Don't get me wrong I appreciate all he has done for me, but he is one of those people who are stuck in his ways and won't try anything new, or take advice from anyone. I needed more advice..... So within about a 2 month period I read more magazine articles, books, and watched more instructional DVD's than I had all the way through school. :)
So I was finally ready or so I thought.... I practiced with my bow for about 2 months before the season opened and got pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Yet practice does nothing for good ole buck fever....
I hunt a 40 acre tract in Franklin county Missouri that is owned by my Fiance's grandfather. It is a prime whitetail hunting tract of land. Anyway one late october morning my first year hunting I was in a 15' permanent wood stand, (*previously constructed by the tresspassing neighbor who has been hunting this ground for god knows how many years without permission, and continues to tresspass and be a pain in my A$@ to this day*) before light. Not but 10 minutes after light I hear a snap to my left. I turn slowly and here is a big ole doe, bedding down but 5 yards from the bottom of my tree.... GREAT I thought. Well about 10 minutes of watching her and thanking the Lord that I am even witnessing this, I hear Grunting. Now Like I said before, with as many dvd's as I watched that month, I KNEW THAT SOUND! Now I sit here watching this doe and here comes a nice buck grunting, crashing through the woods, grunting some more. Well as I turn there he stands about 15 yards out staring at that doe. I draw my bow, foret to take a deep breath, convince myself that I settled my 20 yard pin, and WHACK! my arrow smacks his antler, shatters the arrow, and off he goes..... Now this was no monster, maybe 110 inches at best, but I was looking for my first deer, not a record book deer.
Needless to say I was shattered after that hunt. Well I hunted the rest of that year with no opportunities. And the next year was kinda hard to hunt having alot of family issues, but I still hunted some and no luck again.
I knew I was doing something wrong. So last spring I spent a whole weekend thinking what I could be doing wrong. Thats it, I was taking this way to seriously. I needed to keep it simple. I was taking all the fun out of it.
So I reverted back to square one, remembering only scent control, the wind direction, and thanking God I was even able to do this. So I hunted the whole archery season this year, seen alot of deer, just had no shot opportunities. Then rifle season rols around. Now it is the day before opening day of rifle, My Fiance is pregnant and due November 12th. Boy did it sure look like I wouldn't be hunting anymore this year. Well she went to the doctor opening day of rifle and they told her she had at least another week. BINGO!!!!
So the second day of rifle season, My father and I, who I had worked on for 3 years to get him to go with me, arrive at my hunting location about 20 minutes before dawn. We dress out, spray down, and we walk to a power line, which i watched lots of does cross earlier in the year. We sat down and tried to relax. Well my father had surgery about 3 months prior and had cables and such put in his leg. Needless to say he couldn't sit there long on the ground.
So about 30 minutes goes by, and he tells me he has to move. So I walk him to the bottom side of the property and put him in a nice blind that I constructed. I began walking back to that power line running through my head hundreds of reasons why that spot is blown for the day. The hell with it. im gonna keep it simple. So I walked bck and sat down right where I was next to pop 15 minutes earlier.
I let everything calm down for about 15 minutes and then I let out a few grunts, folowed by a couple bleats and a few more grunts. Then CRASH....... I see antlers crashing through the woods. Then appears this Monster Buck. Well to me at that time he was.... Standing 12 yards in front of me, thrashing at a cedar sapling, stomping his foot, and curling his lip like I had never imagined. Now at this time he is looking straight in my my direction and I have no chance of lifting my rifle without him picking me off...... So I sat there shaking and forgetting to breathe what for what seemed like an hour..... it was probably less than a minute.... He turns, moves behind a big tree, I lift my rifle, he steps out........ Pow....... Followed by a cloud of smoke that lasted for what seemed like another hour. I had just shot at a huge buck, on the first day of my rifle season, with my first muzzelloader, and darn it I dont know if I hit him, if he's down, man was that stressful.....
Well the smoke cleared and I looked at the bottom of the powerline and seen this magnificent animal lying there....... That was the best day of my life...... I would write about the celebration between me & pop & lil brother but this post is way to long already..... I will post a few pics for you guys below.
Thanks for taking the time to read my story... I am so proud of this animal.... I am sure alot of you can relate...
Not bad for my first deer ever, taken the first day I hunted rifle season, with my first muzzleloader.....
My names Chris and I am 25 years old. I live in St Charles Missouri and I just thought that I would share my story with you guys in case you may wanna hear it.
Well I have been hunting now for 3 years. Growing up no one in my family was a hunter. My brother and I always wanted the oppurtunity to hunt but it was just never a possibility. So about 3 years ago I met a guy by the name of Ray. He was a few years older than me and my fathers neighbor. He pretty much got me into hunting so to speak. Helped me select a bow, gun, so on and so forth. Don't get me wrong I appreciate all he has done for me, but he is one of those people who are stuck in his ways and won't try anything new, or take advice from anyone. I needed more advice..... So within about a 2 month period I read more magazine articles, books, and watched more instructional DVD's than I had all the way through school. :)
So I was finally ready or so I thought.... I practiced with my bow for about 2 months before the season opened and got pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Yet practice does nothing for good ole buck fever....
I hunt a 40 acre tract in Franklin county Missouri that is owned by my Fiance's grandfather. It is a prime whitetail hunting tract of land. Anyway one late october morning my first year hunting I was in a 15' permanent wood stand, (*previously constructed by the tresspassing neighbor who has been hunting this ground for god knows how many years without permission, and continues to tresspass and be a pain in my A$@ to this day*) before light. Not but 10 minutes after light I hear a snap to my left. I turn slowly and here is a big ole doe, bedding down but 5 yards from the bottom of my tree.... GREAT I thought. Well about 10 minutes of watching her and thanking the Lord that I am even witnessing this, I hear Grunting. Now Like I said before, with as many dvd's as I watched that month, I KNEW THAT SOUND! Now I sit here watching this doe and here comes a nice buck grunting, crashing through the woods, grunting some more. Well as I turn there he stands about 15 yards out staring at that doe. I draw my bow, foret to take a deep breath, convince myself that I settled my 20 yard pin, and WHACK! my arrow smacks his antler, shatters the arrow, and off he goes..... Now this was no monster, maybe 110 inches at best, but I was looking for my first deer, not a record book deer.
Needless to say I was shattered after that hunt. Well I hunted the rest of that year with no opportunities. And the next year was kinda hard to hunt having alot of family issues, but I still hunted some and no luck again.
I knew I was doing something wrong. So last spring I spent a whole weekend thinking what I could be doing wrong. Thats it, I was taking this way to seriously. I needed to keep it simple. I was taking all the fun out of it.
So I reverted back to square one, remembering only scent control, the wind direction, and thanking God I was even able to do this. So I hunted the whole archery season this year, seen alot of deer, just had no shot opportunities. Then rifle season rols around. Now it is the day before opening day of rifle, My Fiance is pregnant and due November 12th. Boy did it sure look like I wouldn't be hunting anymore this year. Well she went to the doctor opening day of rifle and they told her she had at least another week. BINGO!!!!
So the second day of rifle season, My father and I, who I had worked on for 3 years to get him to go with me, arrive at my hunting location about 20 minutes before dawn. We dress out, spray down, and we walk to a power line, which i watched lots of does cross earlier in the year. We sat down and tried to relax. Well my father had surgery about 3 months prior and had cables and such put in his leg. Needless to say he couldn't sit there long on the ground.
So about 30 minutes goes by, and he tells me he has to move. So I walk him to the bottom side of the property and put him in a nice blind that I constructed. I began walking back to that power line running through my head hundreds of reasons why that spot is blown for the day. The hell with it. im gonna keep it simple. So I walked bck and sat down right where I was next to pop 15 minutes earlier.
I let everything calm down for about 15 minutes and then I let out a few grunts, folowed by a couple bleats and a few more grunts. Then CRASH....... I see antlers crashing through the woods. Then appears this Monster Buck. Well to me at that time he was.... Standing 12 yards in front of me, thrashing at a cedar sapling, stomping his foot, and curling his lip like I had never imagined. Now at this time he is looking straight in my my direction and I have no chance of lifting my rifle without him picking me off...... So I sat there shaking and forgetting to breathe what for what seemed like an hour..... it was probably less than a minute.... He turns, moves behind a big tree, I lift my rifle, he steps out........ Pow....... Followed by a cloud of smoke that lasted for what seemed like another hour. I had just shot at a huge buck, on the first day of my rifle season, with my first muzzelloader, and darn it I dont know if I hit him, if he's down, man was that stressful.....
Well the smoke cleared and I looked at the bottom of the powerline and seen this magnificent animal lying there....... That was the best day of my life...... I would write about the celebration between me & pop & lil brother but this post is way to long already..... I will post a few pics for you guys below.
Thanks for taking the time to read my story... I am so proud of this animal.... I am sure alot of you can relate...
Not bad for my first deer ever, taken the first day I hunted rifle season, with my first muzzleloader.....