It's been a minute.....

[Heath]

It’s been a minute and I am wordy, so just scroll to the pics if you want to see my buck. 😊

Anybody that knows me and my hunting style, knows I am not always into the actual killing part. I love hunting and everything it comes with it. I tend to enjoy others success more so than my own in a lot of cases not only in hunting, but in life. This has been the case introducing my wife into hunting and having her take her first buck on a small piece of land we owned in Young County two years ago and her success with a second buck with her crossbow this year.

I am very fortunate over the years that land access for me has come at the fingertips of a lot of great friends (the Stovall Family in particular) and for that I am always grateful. The location / story of the kill is generally more important to me than the score. My wife has been encouraging me over the years to get on a deer lease. She knows how much I enjoy the work, the campfire fellowship, and just having a place to get away. Our life took a major turn two years ago when I took a job in San Antonio with Texas Hunter Products. We sold our house, sold our land, and I moved my wife from the placed she thought she would spend the rest of her life and the only school she had ever taught. It was a big move that came with a lot of sacrifice.

The first year in SA was a blur and with our busy schedules there was not any time to hunt. This year was going to be different, she wanted me to get on a deer lease and as luck would have it, I found a great opportunity due to a friend. The beautiful ranch is between Junction and Menard and I joined the lease with a great group of guys. I put a lot of work into the place helping get it setup for the season and Karla took a beautiful Hill Country buck with her crossbow. That was my success for the year and I had not planned on taking a buck myself after that.

We had a vacation planned for Jackson Hole in the summer that was canceled due to COVID, so I had some vacation days sitting there from that trip. I decided to take Thanksgiving Week off and hunt. People that know me, know I am not very good at not working so taking this much time off was a foreign concept. I am thankful my hotspot would not allow me to get to my email this week! I left Saturday morning and had the whole ranch to myself for the week. I spent my time hunting the feeders in the morning and evening, walking and rattling in the mid-morning until the clouds would burn for the day. I passed some good deer, one in particular was a great buck that would have been my biggest buck yet. Everyone kept asking me while I passed that deer, well it goes back to my style. It just was not my deer.

Karla came out to camp on Tuesday afternoon and we went to sit in a stand that we had good opportunity for her to take a pig or a turkey. I had hunted this stand early in the week and had seen a good buck, but with a gun I was not interested. He showed up Tuesday afternoon and I made the decision I would go after him the next morning with my bow. The wind shifted Wednesday morning to a North wind, which is want I need for this bow setup so the plan was set.

I had been fighting 15-20 MPH winds the last couple of days. We crawled into the blind and it was calm as could be. We had deer on us at first light and the slightest noise had them bolting their head up and looking our way. I knew it was going to be tough to pull this off with a lot of deer in so tight. To my left comes in a buck that I think is him and I am bummed. Up close, he was not as big as I had thought or a deer I was into. Seconds later, this buck was followed by the buck I was after. It was game on. I had gone ahead and had my bow ready, arrow knocked, eye patch on in order to try to make the least amount of movement. I did not wait long before I settled the pin and let it fly. This is the first arrow I had released at a buck in 7 years (I think) and there was a loud, THUMP and he dropped to the ground! I had hit him a little high, so I quickly put another arrow into him, and he was mine.

It was awesome that my wife was able to watch the hunt unfold, learn a valuable bow hunting lesson that sometimes the shots do not go as planned, and be a part of the experience. I am super stoked about this deer because to me he represents the major life change we made and everything that comes with that. He is a culmination of the of the successes and all the failures this life change has been. I could not have been happier with this buck.

[Heath]

More pictures from the hunt cause you know I have to post for pics!













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[MasterOfNothing]

That's awesome! Congrats

[roughneck266]

Great story, and a beautiful animal! Glad you were able to get it done with your better half there as well. Congrats!

[jamenefee]

Congrats!

[Tmag]

Nicely done, congratulations.

[Darton]

Awesome job Heath

[Artos]

Outstanding amigo!!

[Codie]

Awesome Heath! Glad you found a way to get into the outdoors in the hill country.

[waterdog]

sweet! congrats

[Olympic Recurve]

Congrats

[Landrover]

Very nice! One of the few "TD" stickers still around. I glued my old one to my new SKB case.

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[Pauly G]

Awesome!

[doug]

Good buck and great story!

[Pstraw]

Congratulations!

[Aggiehunter08]

Congrats!

[doghouse]

Enjoyed the read and congrats!

[Mexico]

Nice buck!!! Looks like y'all are as dry as we are.

[Geezy Rider]

Great job. Congratulations.

[zztex]

And that’s why we love you Heath! Congrats! Glad wife could experience it with you!

[Bone Thug]

Congrats on the bow kill.

[eradicator]

That's an old dog. Congrats!

[Bone Thug]

Originally Posted by Landrover

Very nice! One of the few "TD" stickers still around. I glued my old one to my new SKB case.

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I still have the TD sticker on my quiver as well.

[Double L]

This thread makes me happy! Congrats Heath! Loving the quiver stickers!!!!

[Texas Grown]

Cool story heath! Great write up. And congrats on the buck! That's a good-n right there sir.




Food pics look great too!

[Chris Martin]

Attaboy! Hope all is well.


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[Meatcutter]

Congrats!

[DaveC]

Great recap and congrats on a fine buck!


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[88 Bound]

Solid!

[N.DaWoods]

Congrats.

[DUKFVR]

Congrats!!

[bps3040]

Congrats


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[ByronB]

Congrats Heath. That buck looks old. Glad you knocked one down.

[Extreme-TX]

Nice read, Congrats

[Bisch]

Congrats!!!!

Bisch


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[Burnadell]

Excellent buck and story, Heath! Congrats on breaking the 7 year drought.

I, too, enjoy all that surrounds the hunt as much as the kill myself.

[bboswell]

Awesome stuff but she looks way more excited than you!

[gekko man]

Congrats Heath and I understand the not into killing thing!

I am into shooting mature bucks with my bow. I passed on a nice 4 yo 8 point today so my son in law can have a shot at killing his first bow buck and this buck fits that nicely!

Again congratulations!

[Archery1st]

Congrats Heath!

[Bud]

“Allsome”. Congrats.

[Humper]

Congrats and great write up Heath.

[Ellen]

Nice buck. Congratulations. Enjoyed your story as well. Thanks for sharing.

[rjtkdplus]

Congrats!

[bowmansdad]

Congratulations, Heath, glad your wife was there with you!

[manwitaplan]

Heath great write up and pictures. Congrats on the deer.

I believe I have read every single deer story posted on TBH. What I have come to really enjoy is tying the whole experience back into our lives. You did an excellent job.


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[Chad C]

Good stuff, Heath! Happy Thanksgiving!


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[kae006]

Man, now I want grilled cheese but I bet the wife would kill me if I made some while she's knee deep in Thanksgiving preparations.

[texashunter]

Congratulations

[Mike D]

Nice buck Heath! Congrats.

That backstrap looks on point too!


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[sotol]

Nice buck. What brand of feeder is that with the deer under it?

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