Gladiator
PMA Member
Caleb and I have been deemed the Saturday Night Live of Outreach Outdoors - crazy things just seem to happen to us - none ever like today (nothing really funny here - but just a solid story) :way:
This gets a little windy, so scroll to the bottom if you want pics.
Well, it don't get much better than today....actually, I can only think of one way.
Rewind to last night - Nov. 8.....actually rewind to August. I called my hunting partner and told him I would have very limited days to hunt due to many of my grad classes being on the weekends. It just wasn't going to work out much. Me being selfish like I am at times, I wanted to get every ounce of my free weekends in the woods...that wasn't going to happen with my wife. So, it was a good experience to get the calendar out and mark a few days down where I was to be at home, fully connected with my wife and 3 boys, and a few days to hit the woods. We compromised - again, it was a good thing.
Caleb and I figured we'd make the most of what we had and just make it part of our story...not much we could do. We talked about how some people spend weeks in the woods - and how we were trying to get it done in as few days possible. We were going to honor our time at home and maximize our time in the tree... Little did we know what we were in for.
We went out during October a couple times and ended up doubling on does - however I couldn't find mine....but for the most part it was pretty slow.
Ok - Nov. 8 - Caleb and I came up with a plan. My plan was for me to hunt the evening so he could hunt the next day (evenings aren't near as good as mornings on the property we can hunt....and I shot a buck last year and wanted Caleb to get one this year). Caleb reminded me we were to stick to the plan - and that was me hunt the morning and him the afternoon; and vice versa on Monday. The evening was slow with one forked buck coming through. We knew we had to be in the area we were in because of a big 9 pointer in the area...
I was texting with my wife about staying at the cabin with the boys and enjoying a night away - which is always fun. She reminded me my fun came at a cost to her - being alone with 3 boys and putting them to bed by herself and a being a little afraid of staying alone. I let her know how I felt and ended up "kicking and screaming" all the way home - I knew, however, I was doing the right thing.
I called Caleb on my drive home and told him I wasn't hunting this morning - I didn't feel good about it and I was just pouty and feeling sorry for myself (again, over something trivial). He said to have a good night, tomorrow's a new day, and we'll start fresh then...
We arrived on the farm and I told Caleb to hunt once again - but he absolutely would not have any of it.... :thrwrck: We got set up and at first light had a spike come through. Perfect - we were in a funnel in which we knew does would come at some point and, even better yet, downwind of a bedding area.
About 7:10 I see a doe take off and Caleb spots a brute of a buck coming through the tree planting. I grab my bow and it's game on....next thing we know, a doe pops out in front of us on the trail. We knew he was following her...only thing was he kept snort-wheezing and throwing his head back behind him. He put on a heck of a show inside 30 yards. He stood for 10 minutes while the doe sniffed where we walked in (at 8 yards). Finally, as she started to pass through, he followed and I was able to draw while she had her head down....18 yard Rage through the shoulder, catching the lung/aorta area and he snowplowed 30 yards and down.... I couldn't believe it. I had very mixed emotions as I felt I shot Caleb's deer........
As I turned to the camera, Caleb and I heard something else coming....another nice buck. I threw Caleb my bow, an arrow, and my release...and he pretty much self-filmed for a little bit. The buck circled in to 8 yards where the doe was....Caleb was at full draw and he was whispering to me where to aim the camera (the camera was a full arms length above me on a tree arm). He whispered to the left and down, so that's what I did. As the deer spun, he put one right mid-body that lodged in the opposite shoulder. The deer was hurting bad and jumped the fence...we knew he was going down shortly....CRAZY!!
What in the world just happened???!
I shot Caleb's buck and he shot mine....well, kind of. If we were in different places, that would have been the only way this story could have been better (I wished Caleb could have shot the buck we were after). :x Regardless, we were pumped! :way:
We talked about it for awhile and retrieved both deer and snapped some hero shots... :way:
In closing, I'll say this - the thing that I'll take with me until the day I die is not a big 9 pointer (with awesome daggers) - it's the fact that Caleb sacrificially gave his spot in the tree when he could have hunted. It is one of the most enjoyable things I get to do in life - hunt with a best friend - friends that actually fight over who is filming that day and not hunting. I tell you what - I hope I'm remembered in life for the giving I did and sacrifices I made and the relationships I poured into - not for how much I took from this place or a few bucks I shot....
Sorry for the long story - here are a few pics!
*edit - just boiled the skull today...turned out nice!
This gets a little windy, so scroll to the bottom if you want pics.
Well, it don't get much better than today....actually, I can only think of one way.
Rewind to last night - Nov. 8.....actually rewind to August. I called my hunting partner and told him I would have very limited days to hunt due to many of my grad classes being on the weekends. It just wasn't going to work out much. Me being selfish like I am at times, I wanted to get every ounce of my free weekends in the woods...that wasn't going to happen with my wife. So, it was a good experience to get the calendar out and mark a few days down where I was to be at home, fully connected with my wife and 3 boys, and a few days to hit the woods. We compromised - again, it was a good thing.
Caleb and I figured we'd make the most of what we had and just make it part of our story...not much we could do. We talked about how some people spend weeks in the woods - and how we were trying to get it done in as few days possible. We were going to honor our time at home and maximize our time in the tree... Little did we know what we were in for.
We went out during October a couple times and ended up doubling on does - however I couldn't find mine....but for the most part it was pretty slow.
Ok - Nov. 8 - Caleb and I came up with a plan. My plan was for me to hunt the evening so he could hunt the next day (evenings aren't near as good as mornings on the property we can hunt....and I shot a buck last year and wanted Caleb to get one this year). Caleb reminded me we were to stick to the plan - and that was me hunt the morning and him the afternoon; and vice versa on Monday. The evening was slow with one forked buck coming through. We knew we had to be in the area we were in because of a big 9 pointer in the area...
I was texting with my wife about staying at the cabin with the boys and enjoying a night away - which is always fun. She reminded me my fun came at a cost to her - being alone with 3 boys and putting them to bed by herself and a being a little afraid of staying alone. I let her know how I felt and ended up "kicking and screaming" all the way home - I knew, however, I was doing the right thing.
I called Caleb on my drive home and told him I wasn't hunting this morning - I didn't feel good about it and I was just pouty and feeling sorry for myself (again, over something trivial). He said to have a good night, tomorrow's a new day, and we'll start fresh then...We arrived on the farm and I told Caleb to hunt once again - but he absolutely would not have any of it.... :thrwrck: We got set up and at first light had a spike come through. Perfect - we were in a funnel in which we knew does would come at some point and, even better yet, downwind of a bedding area.
About 7:10 I see a doe take off and Caleb spots a brute of a buck coming through the tree planting. I grab my bow and it's game on....next thing we know, a doe pops out in front of us on the trail. We knew he was following her...only thing was he kept snort-wheezing and throwing his head back behind him. He put on a heck of a show inside 30 yards. He stood for 10 minutes while the doe sniffed where we walked in (at 8 yards). Finally, as she started to pass through, he followed and I was able to draw while she had her head down....18 yard Rage through the shoulder, catching the lung/aorta area and he snowplowed 30 yards and down.... I couldn't believe it. I had very mixed emotions as I felt I shot Caleb's deer........
As I turned to the camera, Caleb and I heard something else coming....another nice buck. I threw Caleb my bow, an arrow, and my release...and he pretty much self-filmed for a little bit. The buck circled in to 8 yards where the doe was....Caleb was at full draw and he was whispering to me where to aim the camera (the camera was a full arms length above me on a tree arm). He whispered to the left and down, so that's what I did. As the deer spun, he put one right mid-body that lodged in the opposite shoulder. The deer was hurting bad and jumped the fence...we knew he was going down shortly....CRAZY!!
What in the world just happened???!
I shot Caleb's buck and he shot mine....well, kind of. If we were in different places, that would have been the only way this story could have been better (I wished Caleb could have shot the buck we were after). :x Regardless, we were pumped! :way:
We talked about it for awhile and retrieved both deer and snapped some hero shots... :way:
In closing, I'll say this - the thing that I'll take with me until the day I die is not a big 9 pointer (with awesome daggers
) - it's the fact that Caleb sacrificially gave his spot in the tree when he could have hunted. It is one of the most enjoyable things I get to do in life - hunt with a best friend - friends that actually fight over who is filming that day and not hunting. I tell you what - I hope I'm remembered in life for the giving I did and sacrifices I made and the relationships I poured into - not for how much I took from this place or a few bucks I shot.... Sorry for the long story - here are a few pics!
*edit - just boiled the skull today...turned out nice!
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