# First big game kill!



## Duckholla (Sep 24, 2007)

It's been a long time since I last posted anything on this forum, just been really busy with work. However last season we had an awesome thing happen that has been a long time coming. My good buddy Max and I have been hunting together since we were wearing short jeans and chasing starlings with BB guns around the neighborhood. Since the year we turned 14 we have hunted almost every year together and every year the same outcome for Max. "No chance." On a couple occasions, Max got close, but not close enough. We tried Rifle hunting, Max spotted a buck points it out to me and another buddy and while we are looking at it in the binnoculars our other buddy shot it! (Yeah, we don't hunt with him anymore.) We tried muzzleloading. We had 5 days to hunt. Day one, I see about 20 bucks and hold out for a bigger one. Day 2, I shoot my buck about 8:30AM. I think to myself, I have 3 full days to hunt with Max and with the number of bucks that I have been seeing this should be EASY! Guess what? We never saw another buck! Max is quite, we play the wind well, we glass a lot. Nothing! It was baffling. So we try archery. After a few years of archery Max finally gets a chane to at last AIM a weapon at an elk/deer. While on a spike only unit, Max has a cow circle under his stand at about 30 yards. Max draws and shoots. I was not there to see this, however by the blood trail he hit the cow really good because there was a fantastic blood trail for about 150 yards ending in a very large pool of blood. But no elk. Turns out Max was so excited, he got right out of the tree and chased her down. When he walked up on her she busted out of there leaving little to no blood trail at all. The following day we tracked her for 5 hours and over 1500 yards. I was so determined to find her, this would be his first kill! Her blood trail lead us into a very large meadow where it proceeded to dissappear. We tried and tried to find any speck of blood and there was nothing. I have no doubt that unfortunately that elk died, and Max did too. He went from the ULTIMATE HIGH to the ULTIMATE LOW. I had to explain to him that if he is going to archery hunt...this is the nature of the beast sometimes. Although a great experience for Max to learn a lesson!
Last year, we get to camp and Max is full of excitement. He and I make our way to a treestand we had set over some water. Upon arrival I caught some movement inside the pines headed toward the water. (1PM.) It was a 3X4 Mule Deer headed down to water. Max and I had 30 yards to a point of cover. We make our way down there and wait. Nothing. So I look at Max and tell him, "Listen, it is 1PM. If that buck is coming in to water now, he is thirsty. He will be back later as there is very little water on this side of the Mt." So we make out way over to his treestand very quietly. Max climbs in and I take off. 
About an hour passes, and out of nowhere this buck appears RIGHT UNDER MAX'S TREESTAND. Without warning, without a peep all of the sudden there he is! Of course Max is flooded with an overwhelming sense of "Buck Fever" and cannot get his bow back! After dozens of shots at camp and no problems, he is stuck with a buck 12 yards from him and he cannot get his bow back. At one point the buck is looking at him in the tree watching him squirm to get the bow back and it simply turns and slowly walks away. There sits Max in his treestand. Contemplating giving up the sport of hunting because nothing ever goes his way. When the buck decides that he will turn around and come back to water. At this point begins to self talk and throw his own prep rally in the stand pumping himself up so that he can actually get the bow back. As the deer approaches a shooting window Max draws the bow and this time about breaks the limbs in half. The deer walks into the water and stops at 40 yards. "BOING!" There goes the bow! The deer jumped in the air, kicked and turned and ran about 30 yards standing right on the edge of the hillside about to go out of sight and stops. Begins to slowly walk backwards doing what we call "the chicken dance" and falls over the edge and out of sight. Max finally did it! This time, he sat his butt in that treestand for another hour before he got out! Even though he saw the deer fall, he thought that MAYBE an elk would still come in, and he didn't want to chance a repeat of the year before. No elk came in, and this is what Max found when he approached the downed buck. I was more proud of him for the FANTASTIC shot he made especially under the circumstances. You gotta give the kid credit!



















His face says it all!


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

Looks like you put a perfect "dual airbags" shot on him! :wink: 

Good job.


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## InvaderZim (Sep 7, 2007)

Great Work and thanks for posting!


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

That's a good looking buck there. congrats on him.


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## LETTER-RIP (Sep 14, 2007)

Sweet!!! Nice shot placement also.


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## Bergy (Apr 3, 2008)

Nice shot!


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## Rabbit_slayer16 (Oct 18, 2007)

awesome story. Glad he was able to finally get one. and a good one too!


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## Iron Bear (Nov 19, 2008)

Way to go Max! Whats creepy is I have looked at his pic for a few minutes now (and my wife). Max looks exactly like my son (mom agrees). He must be his twin. But my wife is curtain she only had one son. Maybe my son runs around calling himself Max? Crazy :shock:


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## Nueces (Jul 22, 2008)

Nice looking deer, what an adventure, congrats on the kill.


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## Old Fudd (Nov 24, 2007)

Any deer with a bow is a trophy! Great Buck.. Super story..Looking at the shot.. I think I would stick with the bow..


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## Riverlution (Sep 23, 2008)

Nice buck great shot.


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## Mountain Time (Sep 24, 2007)

Cool to hear how excited you are for your friend. I felt that way when my bro shot his buck this year. It's was his second buck ever.


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