Here Jeff and Bret pose for a photo of Jeff's first bow deer, it was a little small but started his addiction just the same.
This nice 8 point buck was shot by Bret while he was on the ground, with a 15" spread this was a nice looking deer.
I decided to go out early before opening day of duck season to do a little early season bow hunting. I climbed into my low tree stand just inside a small sheltered mature apple orchard. After seeing several bucks the previous week in this same spot I knew my chances were better than average of seeing a buck. After what started out a a quiet morning I spotted movement about 50 yards into the woods. After focusing on the movement it became clear to me that it was in fact a deer, and also a buck. He started heading my way , as I prepared myself for a instinctive finger shot. At about 30 yards it became clear to me that he wasn't going to cross any of my shooting lanes. As he moved into the heavy cover of the nearby cedars he almost disappeared from my sight. At about 22 paced yards he slowly walked into an opening, and that's when I made my perfect shot. I let go flawlessly and the arrow flew perfectly into the cornering away whitetail's heart. He immediately bolted about 30 yards where he collapsed and expired. The blood trail was easy to follow, and was my biggest 8 point buck ever bagged. Afterwards we ended the day with a successful duck hunt with my dad and Mark.
This was the first deer I shot with my bow and recovered, a button buck shot the last weekend in October. I had been sitting in my tree stand for a couple of hours and was beginning to get cold. As it got closer to evening I saw something coming down the logging road I was on. I raised my bow and prepared for the shot, he was still walking and I couldn't feel my fingers, I shot over his back, and he ran about 25 yards, and stopped. I pulled out another arrow, as he looked up at me, then I pulled back and shot him, all while he was watching me. He ran about 60 yards and expired. I also shot this deer with no sights and fingers only. In the picture is also my cousin Joey. Notice my matching arrows.
