A Dream Come True
10-16-2003, 08:24 AM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 313
A Dream Come True
On October 11th, 2003 at 7:30 am my lifelong dream came true. Here' s my story, its going to be long so grab a brew, kick back, relax and enjoy! 
I' ve been a lifelong outdoor enthusiast but hunting is definitely my game. I' m 25 years old and I live and breathe it. My girlfriend is known as a " hunters widow" once archery season rolls around as I' m sure some of your wives are. I moved to a new apartment this summer in the hills outside of Waterford, PA after living in the city of Erie for the past 7 years (mostly during summer and fall semesters but after graduation and the taking of a job the last few years I' ve lived here full time). I' ve loved every minute of it, I see all kinds of wildlife right in my yard and can see a great deer crossing just down the road from my house that is used every evening. I have unrestricted access to my landlords’ 300+ acres as does my brother and a friend or two of my landlord. We' ve seen some tremendous bucks there this summer while scouting and spotting. Being new to the area we weren' t sure exactly what the deer movements were but we found some good trails and placed some permanent stands close to the house for " before work" hunting and planned to use our Tree Lounges for treks further in and for weekends.
I was out like most of you on the opener in the cold and rain and also on Sunday helping with some outside projects at my parents’ house in Youngsville. Unfortunately, I contracted a bad cold, which has plagued me all week. I was supposed to go to Pittsburgh for a friends MBA graduation on Friday and we were going to hunt " city bucks" on Saturday but my constant hacking caused me to cancel my plans and tell my friend I' d just be down Saturday as I didn' t want to ruin his hunt. I contemplated meeting some friends to hunt ducks but decided I didn' t want to drive clear to Geneva, then back, then back to Pittsburgh. Finally my brother convinced me to at least set up my Tree Lounge for a possible morning hunt so around 8pm we walked back in and placed them. I picked a stand located at the convergence of two old cross country skiing appropriately named " Buck Trail" (the one running E / W) and the other " Turkey Trail" (running N / S). I placed my stand in a large Poplar tree about 10 yards behind the signs along a faint but distinct deer trail with a large rub located just down the trail to my left. To my right " Buck Trail" went down into a brushy draw with a small stream in it and they both meandered (over different routes) to a large, un-harvested cornfield a couple hundred yards away. From the first time I laid eyes on this spot I thought it looked " bucky" and knew I needed to spend some serious time in the stand once the season opened. I set up my stand and helped my brother with his, positioned a couple hundred yards away, back up the hill and to the NE of my stand. We went back to the apartment and got to bed about 11 pm.
My eyes opened at the sound of the alarm going off at 5:30 am. I got up showered and got dressed, by 6:10 I was out the door. It was a beautiful, bright, pleasant morning with virtually no breeze. The stars were shining overhead and the bright moon illuminated the fields, barns and houses in the valley below me. My stand is located within a few hundred yards of my back door so it only takes me a few minutes to walk down the hill to it. By 6:30 I began my ascent of the tree, as I reached my desired height of about 20’ I turned my stand to face another large Poplar tree only 6’ away to hide me from anything approaching from the east as I was pretty much in the wide open from that direction. Little did I know that would be a critical decision. After securing my stand and then myself by moving the rope portion of my Seat-O-Pants safety harness from the stand to the tree I seated myself and pulled up my bow and pack. I got situated, removed the quiver from my bow and hung it off of the rifle hook on the stand and nocked an arrow. I then attached the safety clip on my safety harness to my bowstring so I couldn’t drop it should I fall asleep and settled in.
As daybreak came the surrounding forest began to awaken with birds chirping and the animals of the night heading for cover. I was surprised to see how well I could see behind my stand and towards the cornfield this only adding to my anticipation of the hunt. As I surveyed my surroundings I thought of how picturesque the whole scene was, I could just picture a deer coming out of the brushy draw from the cornfield and taking up the trail that ran beneath my lofty perch.
Suddenly, as if out of a dream, I noticed a large form emerge from the brush filled draw just as I’d imagined and immediately I noticed the impressive headgear he sported! He was casually walking on the “Buck Trail” and headed in my direction towards the confluence with “Turkey Trail”. Just to the left of the Poplar tree I had strategically placed my stand in line with was a large opening about 10’ wide that I knew would present my best opportunity for a shot. As he passed behind the tree I drew my bow, found my anchor and moved my pins to the opening just as the tips of the bucks’ antlers and his nose came into view. I knew the range to be about 20 yards and as I got my pins on the deer I gave a soft bleat. He took 2 more slow steps and then paused broadside and looked in my direction. I put the pin behind his shoulder and squeezed the trigger on my release. The arrow buried itself to the fletching a bit higher and further to the right then I’d have liked and I grimaced and cursed myself as the deer tore off up the hill. (I believe in my excitement I either didn’t anchor properly or I may have just jerked the shot.) I listened as the deer covered ground for a few seconds then I heard him stop running. I held my breath expecting him to once again take flight. Then the sound that I was hoping for was heard! The great animal crashed to the ground and I faintly heard him utter his final breath!
At this point I was saying to myself “I GOT HIM! I GOT HIM!!” and trying to get my gear put away so I could climb down. I hurriedly lowered my bow and pack and descended the tree. Normally, I would’ve waited at least 20 minutes but given the sheer size of the buck and that I’d heard him go down I couldn’t control myself! I grabbed my bow and nocked an arrow just in case a proceeded to follow the blood trail up the hill. As I came upon him in the underbrush merely 50 yards from where he stood when I shot him my heart nearly stopped as I finally realized the size of the deer and his rack. I let out the loudest “WOOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!” I could muster, threw down my bow and raced up the hill to my brothers’ stand.
By the time I reached it I was way out of breath and just collapsed in the trail saying “BRETT! I GOT HIM! BIG BUCK! HUGE BUCK!! I GOT HIM!!” He’s laughing, telling me he heard me and knew it was big the way I was carrying on and had already lowered his bow. He told me not to have a heart attack as he descended his tree. We ran up to our apartment to retrieve his video camera, call my father and get my landlord to come down with his John Deere to haul the deer out.
After that we walked back down in and upon coming up on the buck my brothers’ eyes got really big and he looked at me, grabbed my hand and said “My God Adam, that thing is HUGE!” After the picture taking and field dressing we drug the deer over to the tractor and realized between the 2 of us we couldn’t get it into the front bucket sitting 3’ off the ground! My brother and I are both strong enough where we can grab a “normal” deer by the front legs with one hand and the back with the other and load it into the bed of a pickup by ourselves. Not this one! After we got him back to the house and father arrived we loaded him onto the hitch rack of my truck and headed for a local feed mill to use their scales. I pulled in and asked if I could weigh a deer and upon seeing the size of the buck I had quite a crowd gathered around when it was placed on the scale. The man working the desk stuck his head out the door and said “180 lbs son, congratulations!” I almost had a heart attack! The largest deer I’ve ever seen weighed with my own eyes was a buck my uncle shot several years ago that topped the scales at 135 lbs. Every person I’ve shown the deer to from around my area has said it’s the biggest buck they’ve ever seen as far as body size is concerned.
I’m very proud of this animal and thankful that I had the opportunity to harvest him and the luck to take advantage of that opportunity. His measurements are 17.5” inside spread, 20” outside spread, 24.25” and 24.5” main beams and his longest tines are his G3’s at 7.25” and 7.5”.
I' ve been a lifelong outdoor enthusiast but hunting is definitely my game. I' m 25 years old and I live and breathe it. My girlfriend is known as a " hunters widow" once archery season rolls around as I' m sure some of your wives are. I moved to a new apartment this summer in the hills outside of Waterford, PA after living in the city of Erie for the past 7 years (mostly during summer and fall semesters but after graduation and the taking of a job the last few years I' ve lived here full time). I' ve loved every minute of it, I see all kinds of wildlife right in my yard and can see a great deer crossing just down the road from my house that is used every evening. I have unrestricted access to my landlords’ 300+ acres as does my brother and a friend or two of my landlord. We' ve seen some tremendous bucks there this summer while scouting and spotting. Being new to the area we weren' t sure exactly what the deer movements were but we found some good trails and placed some permanent stands close to the house for " before work" hunting and planned to use our Tree Lounges for treks further in and for weekends.
I was out like most of you on the opener in the cold and rain and also on Sunday helping with some outside projects at my parents’ house in Youngsville. Unfortunately, I contracted a bad cold, which has plagued me all week. I was supposed to go to Pittsburgh for a friends MBA graduation on Friday and we were going to hunt " city bucks" on Saturday but my constant hacking caused me to cancel my plans and tell my friend I' d just be down Saturday as I didn' t want to ruin his hunt. I contemplated meeting some friends to hunt ducks but decided I didn' t want to drive clear to Geneva, then back, then back to Pittsburgh. Finally my brother convinced me to at least set up my Tree Lounge for a possible morning hunt so around 8pm we walked back in and placed them. I picked a stand located at the convergence of two old cross country skiing appropriately named " Buck Trail" (the one running E / W) and the other " Turkey Trail" (running N / S). I placed my stand in a large Poplar tree about 10 yards behind the signs along a faint but distinct deer trail with a large rub located just down the trail to my left. To my right " Buck Trail" went down into a brushy draw with a small stream in it and they both meandered (over different routes) to a large, un-harvested cornfield a couple hundred yards away. From the first time I laid eyes on this spot I thought it looked " bucky" and knew I needed to spend some serious time in the stand once the season opened. I set up my stand and helped my brother with his, positioned a couple hundred yards away, back up the hill and to the NE of my stand. We went back to the apartment and got to bed about 11 pm.
My eyes opened at the sound of the alarm going off at 5:30 am. I got up showered and got dressed, by 6:10 I was out the door. It was a beautiful, bright, pleasant morning with virtually no breeze. The stars were shining overhead and the bright moon illuminated the fields, barns and houses in the valley below me. My stand is located within a few hundred yards of my back door so it only takes me a few minutes to walk down the hill to it. By 6:30 I began my ascent of the tree, as I reached my desired height of about 20’ I turned my stand to face another large Poplar tree only 6’ away to hide me from anything approaching from the east as I was pretty much in the wide open from that direction. Little did I know that would be a critical decision. After securing my stand and then myself by moving the rope portion of my Seat-O-Pants safety harness from the stand to the tree I seated myself and pulled up my bow and pack. I got situated, removed the quiver from my bow and hung it off of the rifle hook on the stand and nocked an arrow. I then attached the safety clip on my safety harness to my bowstring so I couldn’t drop it should I fall asleep and settled in.
As daybreak came the surrounding forest began to awaken with birds chirping and the animals of the night heading for cover. I was surprised to see how well I could see behind my stand and towards the cornfield this only adding to my anticipation of the hunt. As I surveyed my surroundings I thought of how picturesque the whole scene was, I could just picture a deer coming out of the brushy draw from the cornfield and taking up the trail that ran beneath my lofty perch.
Suddenly, as if out of a dream, I noticed a large form emerge from the brush filled draw just as I’d imagined and immediately I noticed the impressive headgear he sported! He was casually walking on the “Buck Trail” and headed in my direction towards the confluence with “Turkey Trail”. Just to the left of the Poplar tree I had strategically placed my stand in line with was a large opening about 10’ wide that I knew would present my best opportunity for a shot. As he passed behind the tree I drew my bow, found my anchor and moved my pins to the opening just as the tips of the bucks’ antlers and his nose came into view. I knew the range to be about 20 yards and as I got my pins on the deer I gave a soft bleat. He took 2 more slow steps and then paused broadside and looked in my direction. I put the pin behind his shoulder and squeezed the trigger on my release. The arrow buried itself to the fletching a bit higher and further to the right then I’d have liked and I grimaced and cursed myself as the deer tore off up the hill. (I believe in my excitement I either didn’t anchor properly or I may have just jerked the shot.) I listened as the deer covered ground for a few seconds then I heard him stop running. I held my breath expecting him to once again take flight. Then the sound that I was hoping for was heard! The great animal crashed to the ground and I faintly heard him utter his final breath!
At this point I was saying to myself “I GOT HIM! I GOT HIM!!” and trying to get my gear put away so I could climb down. I hurriedly lowered my bow and pack and descended the tree. Normally, I would’ve waited at least 20 minutes but given the sheer size of the buck and that I’d heard him go down I couldn’t control myself! I grabbed my bow and nocked an arrow just in case a proceeded to follow the blood trail up the hill. As I came upon him in the underbrush merely 50 yards from where he stood when I shot him my heart nearly stopped as I finally realized the size of the deer and his rack. I let out the loudest “WOOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!” I could muster, threw down my bow and raced up the hill to my brothers’ stand.
By the time I reached it I was way out of breath and just collapsed in the trail saying “BRETT! I GOT HIM! BIG BUCK! HUGE BUCK!! I GOT HIM!!” He’s laughing, telling me he heard me and knew it was big the way I was carrying on and had already lowered his bow. He told me not to have a heart attack as he descended his tree. We ran up to our apartment to retrieve his video camera, call my father and get my landlord to come down with his John Deere to haul the deer out.
After that we walked back down in and upon coming up on the buck my brothers’ eyes got really big and he looked at me, grabbed my hand and said “My God Adam, that thing is HUGE!” After the picture taking and field dressing we drug the deer over to the tractor and realized between the 2 of us we couldn’t get it into the front bucket sitting 3’ off the ground! My brother and I are both strong enough where we can grab a “normal” deer by the front legs with one hand and the back with the other and load it into the bed of a pickup by ourselves. Not this one! After we got him back to the house and father arrived we loaded him onto the hitch rack of my truck and headed for a local feed mill to use their scales. I pulled in and asked if I could weigh a deer and upon seeing the size of the buck I had quite a crowd gathered around when it was placed on the scale. The man working the desk stuck his head out the door and said “180 lbs son, congratulations!” I almost had a heart attack! The largest deer I’ve ever seen weighed with my own eyes was a buck my uncle shot several years ago that topped the scales at 135 lbs. Every person I’ve shown the deer to from around my area has said it’s the biggest buck they’ve ever seen as far as body size is concerned.
I’m very proud of this animal and thankful that I had the opportunity to harvest him and the luck to take advantage of that opportunity. His measurements are 17.5” inside spread, 20” outside spread, 24.25” and 24.5” main beams and his longest tines are his G3’s at 7.25” and 7.5”.
10-16-2003, 08:50 AM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Warroad MN USA
Posts: 187
RE: A Dream Come True
That is a beauty! They way you were telling it I half extected to see a moose when I scrolled down. Thanks for a great story and putting it with a " picture to be proud of" . It sound you planned and executed that hunt perfectly. CONGRATS! I am [:-] [:-]green with envy.
