Long read
I've been a member here since 2011 and a follower since 2009. Ever since day 1 I dreamed of posting a Archery Buck Kill story and my time has finally come. I picked up a bow back when I was 10 but didn't have a clue about anything at the time. Chased deer with my dads old Bear and thought I was cool.
It wasn't until my Senior year 2004 that I took bowhunting serious. Purchasing my first setup (Ben Pearson Spoiler Angle) and shooting it daily. I remember my first kill being a pig. I captured it all on video imagining I was a pro on TV. 
I dreamed of taking a deer and had many opportunities year after year but due to ARs I was cautious not having much knowledge when it came to judging deer. I never would have thought it would take 11 years to tag my first deer with a bow. This past January I took a great doe thanks to another member and great friend Rick! After the shot I was super excited and really couldn't wait to do it again!
I moved to the Athens area 6 years ago when I married my wife. I lived in the metromess and really enjoyed the country so it wasn't a hard decision for me. Back when she was 16 she had the choice of a new car or a acreage portion off her parents property. Smart woman she is she took the land!
I built a house on the 3 acres which connected to a well maintained 50 acre pasture to the east. Every deer season I watched big bucks cross this pasture and did everything I could to try and draw the deer over to our property but never could seal the deal. Came close 2 seasons ago at a 140"-150" 10pt but with a gun. Well 5 years went by and the landowner who lived in Dallas rarely visited the property. FIL made a phone call and asked if he would ever be willing to sell his property. At the time the answer was no as they planned on retiring there. Well a couple months went by and my FIL received a call with the landowner accepting his original offer if he was still interested. He didn't hesitate! A little more than 50 acres there wasn't much to really scout but from past years I had a pretty good idea how the deer used the field. 95% open pasture and a small thicket in the back surrounded by neighboring open pastures I figured this had to be where deer were frequently staying.
I setup a camera and protein feeder late July early August and immediately starting getting pics. Some deer I recognized and others surprised me. Couple weeks went by and that's when 2 deer showed up grabbing my full attention! I could tell both were mature but one really showed to be 6+. Although he didn't have the higher scoring rack out of the 2 I set him as my main target due to age and the challenge it would be to outsmart him. Season couldn't get here fast enough. They showed up almost daily enjoying the protein! I did a full days work preparing the setup with a couple stand locations and stayed out of the area unless I filled feeders. The next 2 months seemed to take forever but I had plenty business work to get done to keep my mind off them.
In the years past I would shoot my bow daily. This year I didn't pick my bow up until September 1st taking 1 shot struggling after a shoulder injury that occured back in June diving for a softball. Thinking it was healed I found out quickly it wasn't. I still had 4 wks so I stored the bow and took things easy. 3 weeks went by and the deer still showed up as long as there was protein for them. Opening wknd was off the books for me due to a wedding/beach vacation to Georgia.
I was afraid being gone a week not able to keep the protein full that the bucks would go elsewhere. Well my first hunt took place on Monday the 5th. I settled in 2 hrs before daylight and didn't see a single deer all day. I had to work the next 4 days so if I had any chance it would be in the evenings after 4pm. Tuesday I got home, quickly changed and headed to the stand. North wind was perfect and I had the feeling it was going to happen that evening. I had a boar come in and hang out and when I decided to shoot I stood up to get in position. Once up I looked to my right and I could see deer. Grabbed the binos and sure enough it's the Old 8 eating acorns 250 yds downwind of me.
The boar got a free pass that night as I watched my target deer until dark. I wouldnt hunt again until Friday evening due to a South wind. Friday I got off work and things were slow up until the last 20 minutes of daylight. I had a deer 10 yds to my left. I quickly recognized him as the other mature deer (Larger Rack Split G2) and wasn't going to hesitate shooting him if given the opportunity. He would end up standing there for 10 minutes not moving to the open until I couldn't see my pins. I was bummed but at the same time glad I seen him. I couldn't wait for the next morning. Settled in feeling great after encountering the larger deer the evening before. My wife was sick so I knew I couldn't hunt too long but took advantage of the time I had as anything could happen. 8:20am comes around and she needed me back home. I climbed down, grab my camera card and look at the feeder since it didn't spin that morning. I turn around and all I see is antlers coming at me. The big buck I encountered the evening before was headed right for me and I couldn't do anything. He quickly turned, blew and hauled off back across the pasture never stopping. Just 5-10 more minutes sitting there and I could of had a shot. I was pretty frustrated at this point being so close 2 hunts in a row. I hunted that evening without a single deer sighting. Sunday was church all day so I hadn't planned to get out again until Monday morning. I had yet to hunt a South wind and figured I had patterned the deer wrong with the North so Sunday/Monday forecast called for a South wind.
Sunday morning we head to church. Afterwards we have lunch and I get the kiddos down for a nap. Wife leaves with her dad as they had to make a trip to Wills Point and take care of a family member. Normally we have Church Small Group @ 5:15 Sunday evening. I watched football that afternoon waiting for the kids to get up from there naps. 4pm rolls around, kids running around, cowboys start taking a beating so I start getting the kids ready for church again. Wife walks in at 5pm and tells me small group was cancelled due to majority of everyone being out of town. She then tells me I need to be in the stand! I think no since its already after 5pm. Next 10 minutes she keeps telling me go go go.... Go take a shower and get in the stand! That point I stop arguing!
I still have cologne from that morning, nice smelly deoderant and soap scent all over. I take a quick scent free shower and run 500yds to my set-up. I get settled in around 5:45pm. I text my wife a couple minutes later saying I should have stayed home. South wind was blowing straight into the thicket and I just couldn't imagine these mature bucks walking across all the open pasture to get to me before dark. She doesn't respond so I just start searching TBH threads reading all the "BBD" post from the wknd. 7:15 rolls around and my FIL text me asking for a T-Post Driver and I tell him I'm in the stand. At this point light is fading fast so I stand up. Low and behold 10 yds right below my tree is Old 8 staring right at me. He looks, puts his head down and proceeds to walk left. I have a small opening less than 5 seconds to shoot before he is behind cover. I draw, set pin while he is walking and realease aiming at his right shoulder due to him somewhat quartering away. He mule kicks taking off quickly into the brush. At this point im not believing what just happened. Brush is thrashing and I fealt really good about the shot. Never did I think either of the target bucks would come 5 steps from my tree. I sat down and let it all soak in! Started a TBH thread sharing what just went down trying to make the next few minutes pass quickly. Climbed down after 30 minutes and went home. Shared the news with the wife and FIL then headed back with flashlights. GrimReaper broadband stuck in his right shoulder breaking off within the first 10 yds. He piled up in the thickest briar patch he could find 30-40yds inside the tree line.
Not the highest scoring deer but by far my heaviest, most mature deer I have ever killed. My first bow buck and East Tx buck! I grew up hunting Northwest Tx deer and have to say these East Tx deer are different!
Weighed 204 pounds
Rough scored @ 125" but will tape him later today. I think he will be closer to 130" but I don't care!
Sorry for the long read! I'm super excited about this buck and couldn't be more thankful! Now I have 3 wks vacation scheduled in November that I have no clue what I'm going to do! Lol...
Here is a top of the line video of a video that shows the shot. Trail Cam captured it all. Look closely in the tree on the left and you can see me.
I've been a member here since 2011 and a follower since 2009. Ever since day 1 I dreamed of posting a Archery Buck Kill story and my time has finally come. I picked up a bow back when I was 10 but didn't have a clue about anything at the time. Chased deer with my dads old Bear and thought I was cool.
It wasn't until my Senior year 2004 that I took bowhunting serious. Purchasing my first setup (Ben Pearson Spoiler Angle) and shooting it daily. I remember my first kill being a pig. I captured it all on video imagining I was a pro on TV. I dreamed of taking a deer and had many opportunities year after year but due to ARs I was cautious not having much knowledge when it came to judging deer. I never would have thought it would take 11 years to tag my first deer with a bow. This past January I took a great doe thanks to another member and great friend Rick! After the shot I was super excited and really couldn't wait to do it again! I moved to the Athens area 6 years ago when I married my wife. I lived in the metromess and really enjoyed the country so it wasn't a hard decision for me. Back when she was 16 she had the choice of a new car or a acreage portion off her parents property. Smart woman she is she took the land!
I built a house on the 3 acres which connected to a well maintained 50 acre pasture to the east. Every deer season I watched big bucks cross this pasture and did everything I could to try and draw the deer over to our property but never could seal the deal. Came close 2 seasons ago at a 140"-150" 10pt but with a gun. Well 5 years went by and the landowner who lived in Dallas rarely visited the property. FIL made a phone call and asked if he would ever be willing to sell his property. At the time the answer was no as they planned on retiring there. Well a couple months went by and my FIL received a call with the landowner accepting his original offer if he was still interested. He didn't hesitate! A little more than 50 acres there wasn't much to really scout but from past years I had a pretty good idea how the deer used the field. 95% open pasture and a small thicket in the back surrounded by neighboring open pastures I figured this had to be where deer were frequently staying. I setup a camera and protein feeder late July early August and immediately starting getting pics. Some deer I recognized and others surprised me. Couple weeks went by and that's when 2 deer showed up grabbing my full attention! I could tell both were mature but one really showed to be 6+. Although he didn't have the higher scoring rack out of the 2 I set him as my main target due to age and the challenge it would be to outsmart him. Season couldn't get here fast enough. They showed up almost daily enjoying the protein! I did a full days work preparing the setup with a couple stand locations and stayed out of the area unless I filled feeders. The next 2 months seemed to take forever but I had plenty business work to get done to keep my mind off them.
In the years past I would shoot my bow daily. This year I didn't pick my bow up until September 1st taking 1 shot struggling after a shoulder injury that occured back in June diving for a softball.
Thinking it was healed I found out quickly it wasn't. I still had 4 wks so I stored the bow and took things easy. 3 weeks went by and the deer still showed up as long as there was protein for them. Opening wknd was off the books for me due to a wedding/beach vacation to Georgia. I was afraid being gone a week not able to keep the protein full that the bucks would go elsewhere. Well my first hunt took place on Monday the 5th. I settled in 2 hrs before daylight and didn't see a single deer all day. I had to work the next 4 days so if I had any chance it would be in the evenings after 4pm. Tuesday I got home, quickly changed and headed to the stand. North wind was perfect and I had the feeling it was going to happen that evening. I had a boar come in and hang out and when I decided to shoot I stood up to get in position. Once up I looked to my right and I could see deer. Grabbed the binos and sure enough it's the Old 8 eating acorns 250 yds downwind of me. The boar got a free pass that night as I watched my target deer until dark. I wouldnt hunt again until Friday evening due to a South wind. Friday I got off work and things were slow up until the last 20 minutes of daylight. I had a deer 10 yds to my left. I quickly recognized him as the other mature deer (Larger Rack Split G2) and wasn't going to hesitate shooting him if given the opportunity. He would end up standing there for 10 minutes not moving to the open until I couldn't see my pins. I was bummed but at the same time glad I seen him. I couldn't wait for the next morning. Settled in feeling great after encountering the larger deer the evening before. My wife was sick so I knew I couldn't hunt too long but took advantage of the time I had as anything could happen. 8:20am comes around and she needed me back home. I climbed down, grab my camera card and look at the feeder since it didn't spin that morning. I turn around and all I see is antlers coming at me. The big buck I encountered the evening before was headed right for me and I couldn't do anything. He quickly turned, blew and hauled off back across the pasture never stopping. Just 5-10 more minutes sitting there and I could of had a shot. I was pretty frustrated at this point being so close 2 hunts in a row. I hunted that evening without a single deer sighting. Sunday was church all day so I hadn't planned to get out again until Monday morning. I had yet to hunt a South wind and figured I had patterned the deer wrong with the North so Sunday/Monday forecast called for a South wind.Sunday morning we head to church. Afterwards we have lunch and I get the kiddos down for a nap. Wife leaves with her dad as they had to make a trip to Wills Point and take care of a family member. Normally we have Church Small Group @ 5:15 Sunday evening. I watched football that afternoon waiting for the kids to get up from there naps. 4pm rolls around, kids running around, cowboys start taking a beating so I start getting the kids ready for church again. Wife walks in at 5pm and tells me small group was cancelled due to majority of everyone being out of town. She then tells me I need to be in the stand! I think no since its already after 5pm. Next 10 minutes she keeps telling me go go go.... Go take a shower and get in the stand! That point I stop arguing!
I still have cologne from that morning, nice smelly deoderant and soap scent all over. I take a quick scent free shower and run 500yds to my set-up. I get settled in around 5:45pm. I text my wife a couple minutes later saying I should have stayed home. South wind was blowing straight into the thicket and I just couldn't imagine these mature bucks walking across all the open pasture to get to me before dark. She doesn't respond so I just start searching TBH threads reading all the "BBD" post from the wknd. 7:15 rolls around and my FIL text me asking for a T-Post Driver and I tell him I'm in the stand. At this point light is fading fast so I stand up. Low and behold 10 yds right below my tree is Old 8 staring right at me. He looks, puts his head down and proceeds to walk left. I have a small opening less than 5 seconds to shoot before he is behind cover. I draw, set pin while he is walking and realease aiming at his right shoulder due to him somewhat quartering away. He mule kicks taking off quickly into the brush. At this point im not believing what just happened. Brush is thrashing and I fealt really good about the shot. Never did I think either of the target bucks would come 5 steps from my tree. I sat down and let it all soak in! Started a TBH thread sharing what just went down trying to make the next few minutes pass quickly. Climbed down after 30 minutes and went home. Shared the news with the wife and FIL then headed back with flashlights. GrimReaper broadband stuck in his right shoulder breaking off within the first 10 yds. He piled up in the thickest briar patch he could find 30-40yds inside the tree line. Not the highest scoring deer but by far my heaviest, most mature deer I have ever killed. My first bow buck and East Tx buck! I grew up hunting Northwest Tx deer and have to say these East Tx deer are different!
Weighed 204 pounds
Rough scored @ 125" but will tape him later today. I think he will be closer to 130" but I don't care!
Sorry for the long read! I'm super excited about this buck and couldn't be more thankful! Now I have 3 wks vacation scheduled in November that I have no clue what I'm going to do! Lol...
Here is a top of the line
video of a video that shows the shot. Trail Cam captured it all. Look closely in the tree on the left and you can see me.
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