best memory of this deer season

[bobbersgone]

so what are some of your best memories of this deer season? well mine will be hard for myself to ever top,it was getting a doe with my 4 year old son in the deer stand with me.shooting it and then going to find it,couldn't find it right away,later i found it wihtout him.when i showed him the deer,all he could say was "thats a sure good deer we shot dad".he still talks about it everyday.

[Lunker]

Mine is undoubtedly working with my brother to get my dad his first deer in 14 years, and the first since I have been old enough to hunt. My dad's not in good health, and has always been teaching kids to hunt, so his success hyas been limited. It was great for him to shoot a deer in what was most likely his last year hunting. Got in good with a farmer who let us hunt one of his hay bail blinds. Doe didnt move an inch after getting hit with a .35 shell at 100 yds.

[mtheis]

The best moments of the year came when I put out a decoy for the first time. That gave me two unforgettable experiences that I will laugh about till next year.

I noticed that the bucks were hanging out across from the field where I hunt. I couldn't get them to come in, so off I went the next day to Fleet Farm and got a decoy. I didn't use the antlers, and tied a freshly soaked rag of Tink's 69 for a tail. I posted the deer about 40 yards from me, with its butt quartering me upwind.

The next morning I setup, and waited near the edge of a clearing. One buck, a nice large bodied 6 pointer, came clear across the field and mounted the decoy almost immediately. I had never seen that before. I could barely keep the laughter back as the poor SOB tried to get a response out of that doe. After I had enough amusement, I shot the poor guy while he was humping away on the doe. Talking about coitus interuptus!

[protrapper]

7 for 8 all bucks opening day. 4 bucks by 9 in the morning. We went 9 for 9 finally at end of season. I shot my buck after arguing with guy that put his stand next to my portable on Saturday night, I walked away and shot 7 pointer not 15 minutes later. And my old man getting a 6 pointer in his last deer hunting season.. Couldn't have gone better...

[This message has been edited by protrapper (edited 12-09-2003).]

[This message has been edited by protrapper (edited 12-09-2003).]

[Chris Haley]

Two bucks for me this year. A ten and a twelve, both will probably go on the wall someday. Just not this year.

[Polar Bear]

It was a good season. I got a nice 10 pt. with my bow and had a great trip to Wyoming and got a buck with the rifle there but niether of those bucks was the highlight.

I helped my dad who is almost 73 find a decent place to put up a portable ladder stand a week before season. Just after dark on opener Sat. he called my cell (I was hunting about 5 miles away) to say he'd emptied his slug gun at a buck running a group of does about 60 yards away. The buck never flinched and dad couldn't find any blood in the dark. I told him I'd be there in the morning to help look for sign.

The next morning we found his buck with one hole clean thru both lungs. It was a beautiful large bodied 8 point with a 17.25 inside spread, his biggest ever. I think I was more excited than he was.

Dad is in pretty good health now, surviving prostate cancer 2 years ago but in the back of my mind I'm always thinking: you never know if this might be his last buck. We got some great pictures that I'll have for the rest of my life.

Polar Bear

[mtheis]

One day this season I setup my doe decoy and watched a fork buck attempt to mate with it. Just like before, I sprayed some Tink's on a rag and hung it between the legs of the decoy. This time however, I must of got some of the scent on my boots. After that poor buck exhausted himself trying to hump it, and put me in chuckles, the deer started walking my way! I almost thought he wanted to get even with me. The truth was he was following my scent trail back to my ground blind! As he crossed over the fence, I swear him and I locked eyes with one another. He just put his head down and grunted and kept on the trail. He was so close to me I could of touched him with my hand. I wanted to hit his side with my fist to give him a heart attack but then I figured, "Hey Mike you one-who-thinks-I-am-silly, this thing might attack you!" He sure looked mighty big as he walked past me!

[uffdapete]

I've had several opportunities to introduce people to the outdoors and this year I received permission from a friend's (also co-worker) dad to hunt on his land after working on this for the last few years. About a week before season opened, both my friend and his dad decided they wanted try hunting too. The son had never hunted before and the dad hunted once about 35 years ago. A day before season closed my friend shot a 6 pt buck with a gun I loaned him. His dad missed an 8 pt. 20 yds away the day before. They were both quite excited about the whole thing and plan on buying their own guns for next season.

[kupcho]

Hitting the grunt call at 6:45 on opening morning and by 7:00 I hear all sorts of deer crashing twards me. I waited and I saw an 8 pointer walking through the swamp. I waited as I had a long time for a shot opportunity. The next deer came out from the opposite direction and was walking twards the 8 pointer. It was a seven point buck. As I watched the deer get about 5 feet away from each other, they started lowering there heads to fight. The were both facing away from me, so I told myself which ever one turns broadside first I'm going to shoot. The 8 pointer turned first, I dropped him, the other didn't know what to do except for run. So I shot the other running. They both layed down right when I squeezed the trigger. I had an 8 pointer and a 7 pointer down 25 yards from one another in 10 seconds.
Another deer was coming in from behind me but I didn't want to pass up this opportunity.

Kupcho

[weekendjunkie]

8:30 am opening morning, colder than a welldiggers a@#... been watching a weasel chase grouse all around my portable all morning. squirl chirpsw and i'm thinking ok the weasel's appitite has changed. but, from out of the swamp steps smack daddy. 11 pt 20" spread 10" g2's. pull up and kick the safty off and in the still he heard the click. he stops stares right at me all i can see at this point is his head. we stared at each other for a full five minutes. talk about gut wrenching. finaly he lowers his head and takes a step. all she wrote. took the lungs and heart. run 50 yds. my #2 buck all time as far as rack size scored 155 inches.

[wade22]

after two hard days my friend and i
flushed an 8 pointer from a deep ditch we were driving and he fell after less than 50 yards across a field. as i shook my buddy's hand i realized this was the 13th straight year we had hunted in the same party. pretty neat tradition and one i'm sure that was experienced by many others. looking forward to a lot of future hunting with him (and our party). we were all getting tired of walking but when we saw those antlers it was gametime. shared a good chuckle over how deer hunting makes everyone act like a five year old on Christmas morning. there's so many things i like about deer hunting, but overall just being outside with friends and family is what i enjoy the most. can't wait to hunt with my son when he's old enough.

[Riptide]

Opening Morning checking up on the wife in her stand and the look on her face as she was telling me about the 12 point Buck that she had a seen 30 yards away but never shot at. She was almost in tears since her dad put her in his stand he has been hunting for 20 years and she got Buck Fever and didn't shoot. She than went to warm up i went back to my stand not too long before she called and said her gun was jammed when she loaded it back up in her stand. So here i go again over there to get her set up. I climbed in the stand with her and reloaded the gun and i told her i would stay there for a 1/2 hour until we would go get some lunch. It was only 10 minutes later she tapped me on the shoulder and pointed out a doe coming. She took the one shot the deer dropped. So i was there to see her shoot her first deer. That was the best opening morning for me even though i never shot.Now if i can get her to gut it herself.

[Guest]

Watching my hunting buddy strip to his boxers in the middle of no mans land and wade out into a chest deep slough with only a light layer of ice to recover the “Big buck “ he shot. With an audience of 7 of us he comes out dragging a 5 pointer with a rack that a grapefruit would stay put in. Standing there with his lips blue and quivering he looks at us and says F*** you guys, He looked bigger in the scope! Needless to say we almost wet our pants laughing.

Important lesson learned, always keep waders in truck… Just in case