YEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!! So I did it. I killed my first four point. He may be a young, small four point, but he's a solid four point and I'm pretty excited.
I broke down and asked a babysitter to come at 6:00 a.m. and watch the kids so that my husband and I could go out together on opening morning. It says a lot about a 14 year old babysitter to wake up early on Saturday morning to babysit. It was so much fun to share this exciting moment with my hubby.
I was dropped off in a valley below where we had seen some deer. In the dark I started making my way up to where I could glass and see if they were in the same place. The fog was constantly rolling in and out of the valley. My view often looked like this:
It was a beautiful sight to watch the fog come and go.
I crossed the valley and made my way up the opposite ridge. As it got lighter I slowly made my way to where I thought the deer would be. As I was glassing I saw four does with one lone buck at 240 yards. I studied the buck and found that he was a four point. The does were walking away from me and the buck was reluctantly following them. Next thing I know he turns and starts walking down the shallow draw where I'm sitting. I loose sight of him and decide to move to the edge of the trees to get a better look. I pick a fallen tree and crawl my way to it. It was the perfect natural blind. It sat shoulder height while on my knees. I peeked my head over and started glassing with my binos. After a few sweeps of the trees across the draw I found him! I started getting buck fever and the familiar excitement of knowing it's almost time to pull the trigger. I watched him trough my scope and realized he had just enough of his vitals showing to make a clean shot. I tried to relax, and the next time my cross-hairs went over his shoulder I pulled the trigger. I was shooting my .270 Remington youth stock rifle. It kicks like a mule and makes me sore even when using a gun stand sighting in. I didn't even notice the kick or the sound when I shot. There was smoke and I couldn't see him go down. I pulled up my binos and scanned the hillside for the deer. I saw nothing and figured he had dropped in his tracks. I grabbed my gun and made my way toward where I shot. I entered the trees a little lower in the draw than where I shot and started getting worried that he may not be there, but after about 30 yards of walking I found him! I was so happy to see that he had gone down in his tracks.
I called my husband on the radio and told him the good news. He was on top of the hill and quickly made his way down to help me take photos and quarter him. He was really excited for me and was a great help in getting the deer taken care of. He had watched these deer and was amazed that the buck left the does. He did not know where I was and after finding out that the deer came right to me he started calling me the buck whisperer.
The pack-out wasn't too bad. However, it was all up hill and we were
happy to see the truck at the end. The fog had lifted and it was a
beautiful day.
Days like this make all the disappointments and failures worthwhile. I was excited to get home and tell the kids about my deer. I was greeted with huge hugs and excitement as they looked at the deer horns. At that moment, and many others, I felt bad for the wives that sit at home while their husbands are out hunting. They do not know what they are missing!
