Deer

I've always had a fascination with deer but never really got into it until about 4 years ago.  Problem was, the rifle season always seemed to coincide with the opening of duck season.  Being a born and raised duck hunter, I always chose the duck blind over the deer stand.  Thankfully, a couple friends of mine helped me solve that problem by getting me into bowhunting where I have a full 4 months to hunt every year.  You'll still find me in the duck blind more than the deer stand starting in mid-November, but bowhunting has become my most recent and possibly biggest obsession the last few years (just ask my wife!).

My success as a deer hunter has been fairly limited thus far.  I've only shot a small buck during rifle season about 5 years ago, and I shot bambi on my second bow hunt on Sept 16th my first year in archery.  Since then, I've set my standards high because I've seen the caliber of bucks that our property and a friend's property I hunt routinely can produce.  Generally, we see those bucks when we trade in our bows for our Benelli's and are on our way to/from the duck blind...almost as if they are taunting us.  I've passed many does and younger bucks since then, and have had a couple close calls with some shooter bucks, but have yet to seal the deal.  I'm going to keep my standards high until I get one worthy of the wall.  

I did make a goal this past season to take out some does in the early season.  I was given the opportunity on a big doe and blew it on a late September hunt.  Long story, but the short of it is that I hit her just a little back.  I saw the lighted nock pass through her and could see the exit wound as she trotted off.  I was certain I got at least the back of one lung (slightly quartering to shot), and possibly two.  I gave her 5 hours before I started trailing the blood...and found that the "blood trail" was nothing more than pin drops of blood every 15+ feet.  I meticulously followed it for several hundred yards until it stopped, and then did a grid search thereafter with no luck.  I was convinced it would never happen to me, not recover a deer that is, but it was a humbling experience that I will learn from.  

I tend to not carry a camera with me as much when I'm deer hunting, so not as many pictures, but I will make an effort to from here on out.  

I sent a good friend of mine, Ryan, down to our property to watch over our property line with a rifle in hand (for the deer that is, not the trespassers that think they own our property too!).  I got a text from him while I was at the office saying BBD (burbenska buck down).  He had this guy trailing a doe right in front of his stand and laid the hammer down on him.  Couldn't have been happier for him, and that someone took a decent buck of our property.  Congrats Ryan, you currently hold the title for the largest buck shot at Burbenska Farms...hopefully that doesn't last long though!

Here's Jason's first archery buck he took on Halloween day a couple years ago.  He also has a one up on me now for shooting a buck bigger than I've ever shot.  

I get just as excited to see friends/family take deer off our property as if I were to shoot them myself, but I think it's time I step it up and take the title from them next season!