It was just luck! I took a nap to wake up to this Buck!
My first day of deer hunting in West Virginia, was a very good day. I was so excited about going out and seeing all the wild life up close. My husband Rick and I got up at 5:00a.m. to get ready for an exciting day. We loaded up our truck and headed to our friends farm. We stopped at Sheetz to get gas, coffee, and a snack like everyone else in their hunting clothes were doing the same thing.
The weather man was calling for it to be in the high 50’s, it was foggy out as we were driving to our friend’s farm. There was also a full moon, which means the deer were up feeding all night long. The deer will be off their normal schedule. I was wondering what kind of hunting adventure we would have today.
My husband and I arrived at our destination. We started loading up our gear and heading out to our stand. We couldn’t see anything in front of us, because the fog was so thick. So we walked slowly and quietly out. I was so excited to be out hunting with my husband. We have such a wonderful time together. I am thankful for him for giving me this opportunity to spend time with him and showing me about what the outdoors is all about. It’s not about killing an animal; it’s about being thankful for what all God has provided for us. It’s about enjoying the outdoors and taking in the fresh air.
It’s now around 6:00 a.m. and were in our blind settled in sitting quietly. It wasn’t really cold out, and it wasn’t raining or snowing just foggy so you couldn’t see more than 30 yards. So I’m sitting here, listening and decided to fall asleep a little. I didn’t have to stay awake I knew my husband would wake me up if something came my way. He was hunting on the right side and I was hunting on the left side. So I dozed off, and woke up to the sound people shooting around us. When I woke up it was still foggy outside, and I was wondering why people were shooting. It was so thick and you couldn’t see anything even though it was 7:00 o’clock and it was the beginning of hunting season. We kept hearing something making noises around us, but we couldn’t see anything. We kept listening and before you know it we saw the largest Raccoon I ever seen coming out of the wood pile next to us. We sat there and watch it as it disappeared into a corn field. We sat there all morning long and didn’t see anything except for the Raccoon so by 11:30 a.m. we decided to leave, and go get lunch.
We met up with a couple other hunters who also hunt on the same land as we do, and they didn’t see anything either. So we hung out and visited with them before we went to get lunch. We had a nice visit and decided to be back around 2:00o’clock. So we headed to the house and I made us an egg sandwich and coffee. Then we were on the road again, the sun was shining, and it was warmer than we liked it to be when we are hunting. I was a really nervous, because if one of us would get something we couldn’t let it lay until the other one got something.
We made it back to the farm and met up with the other hunters and we discussed where we were setting up for the evening hunt. I wanted to hunt toward the front of the property in a small patch of woods. I didn’t like being in the back of the property, because there was just too many people hunting on the adjacent properties around us. The one hunter was hunting on the other side of us in a tree stand and the other was hunting in another pasture. So we decided to go up front where no one was hunting except us. My husband and I usually hunt side by side, but this afternoon I wanted to hunt away from him a little. I was hunting below the tree line on our chair and he was hunting to the right of me facing his back toward me. I was dozing off and when I woke up this buck was walking right toward me. I was so nervous my heart was pounding and I couldn’t tell my husband or I would scare the deer away. So I waited and watched it eat as he walked closer toward me. I picked up my Remington 700- 308 model Atac and chambered a round in the gun and put him in my sites when he turned broadside I pulled the trigger. When I shot him and he jumped around and went down. My shot startled my husband. He stood up and asked did I get him? I said yes I did. He congratulated me! He said I scared him because he didn’t know I was about to shoot. When he stood up and was walking toward me my deer got up and started running away; but it didn’t go very far before going back down for good. I was so happy and excited! I had a great shot on him and I guess he wasn’t quite down and the movement from my husband scared him. I shot my first six point buck without any assistance from my husband and I was so proud of myself.
