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As luck would have it I was able to make it to Missouri for the early 2005 archery season. I have been hunting in Central Missouri since I started hunting deer at the age of 12. It took me two years to finally arrow my first deer, a whitetail doe that will remain forever in my heart. It is at this point I believe my love of hunting was born. I am proud to say I have been serving in the United States Air Force for the past 12 years. I was passing through Missouri from my previous duty station in North Carolina on my way to my new duty station at Kirtland AFB, NM. I was very fortunate to be able to hunt quite a bit in North Carolinaand took four deer with my archery equipment. What makes the hunt I am about to share with you so special is that I was able to spend it with my younger brother, Jamie. He had permission to hunt a particular piece of property and was fortunate enough to take a nice 8-pointer a few weeks before my arrival. I can tell you one thing… every time he takes an animal with archery equipment I swell up with pride. I took him on his first hunting trip several years ago and each year he continues to mature into a better hunter. Jamie and I had planned on hunting some Conservation land that morning and were pretty stoked about doing so. As we drove by the conservation parking lot we noticed a ton of cars. Of course the first thing we thought was that all these people were hunting this piece of property and together he and I decided it was better we went somewhere else. He took me to the property I mentioned earlier and we arrived about 45 minutes before light. We were hunting off the ground, which is something I haven’t done in quite a few years. We got set up where two draws fed expectations of into a small creek. It was a beautiful morning. It was calm and slightly overcast. Jamie was sitting about 10 yards from me watching the creek side while I was watching the draw. As the morning began to wake around us I couldn’t help but think about how good a place this was. We were literally sitting in the middle full of forest of oak trees. Everywhere I look there were oaks. It was just awesome seeing the colors of fall. About a half hour after the sun started coming up I heard something coming my way. I was set up beside one to the huge oaks mentioned earlier and figured I was hidden pretty well. I peaked around the tree in time to see what seemed like a pretty good sized doe coming down a trail I had failed to see. Talk about right place right time! As the deer came closer I was afraid she was going to walk into my lap.
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At about 15 yards she veered off into the dried creek bed and being hidden by the oak I drew my Allegiance and waited until she presented me with a slightly quartering away shot. At about 10 yards from me it looked my way not sure what I was and stopped. Too late! My Ultra-lite 22 tipped with a 100grain Wac’em broadhead zipped in behind the right shoulder and exited out into the creek bed rocks on the other side. The deer ran about 50 yards and my brother and I saw it fall. I was so excited to have had the opportunity to hunt with my brother and even more so that he was able to witness the whole series of events. He looked at me and had the biggest smile I have ever seen. We hugged and exchanged high-fives. Jamie kept telling me that he never even heard me shoot even though he was so close. I guess that goes to show that having quiet equipment. We walked up to the deer and much to my surprise it was not a doe at all, but a buck that had both of his antlers bused about an inch from the bases. He had a big body, especially compared to the deer I had taken in North Carolina previously. We field dressed the dear and after a few pictures, drug it out of the woods. Oh, the conservation land I spoke about earlier, well it ended up that all those cars were there for the duck blind drawings that were going on. Isn’t it funny how things sometimes work out? I will continue to cherish every moment I can spend in the outdoors and even more the memories I have of spending it with friends and family. |
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