Lets see 1 of your best memory pics/story

[tjm]

This is the 1st buck i shot my 1st year hunting side by side with my father.This buck realy looked like a horse with antlers.Deer was milky looking in color.Had some color to a normal deer but i had to ask my dad if it was ok to shoot this thing.I got no answer as i looked at my father he was as surprised at what he was looking at himself.

As the buck walked with in feet of us i had my gun pointed at his shoulders awaiting the ok to blast away.The buck walks by i look at my father he looks down at me and shrugs his shoulders.I looked back at what i figured was a deer and saw the tail straight up in the air so i blasted him quartering away and he ran about 40 yards and fell over dead

My father just looked at me and said well i hope thats a deer.The color of this deer looked like stone washed jeans.He had hair down the back of his neck about 6" long white feet and 1 blue eye with deer antlers attached to his head.I'm not 100% sure but i think the weight was 255lbs field dressed.How acruate scales were back then i dont know.I wish i had the original picture some place i knew where i put the thing so i would not lose it.Some day i'll find it and post away.

This has been a story my father still talks about when we have family get togethers.Think i have heard this 1 a million times over the years and i'll never forget the hunt i had with dad

Here is the buck i'm talking about

[Wallydog]

So many memories over the years.......growing up in MN, hunting up nort with a rifle, moving west in '80 and all the superb big game and birds around here..........but the most memorable hunt was last November when my 13 year old daughter took this buck with an off hand shot at 50 yards in

central Idaho.

[tjm]

Looking at that shot placement...hmmmmm i dont think you got to worry about the boys for awhile.Nice pic

[EatSleepFish]

tjm- that buck must have been REALLY old and on the very downswing of its antler growth.

[Sutty]

I will have to find and scan the photo. I hope you don't mind a quick story first. I had hunted deer for about 10 years before marrying a SD farm girl. I though it would be a good idea to get to know her dad better and asked him if he wanted to deer hunt.

So we decided to meet for breakfast and than go hunting. I was there when the place opened and was getting a little impatient to say the least when he finally showed up a couple hours later... By the time we left the sun was up and it was after 8:00. I thought oh well its a long season and it will be time well spent.

I should point out I am in head to toe blaze orange and I think my father in law had a orange hat somewhere on the floorboards. We drove out to the farmstead about 10 miles or so and were having a good conversation when he said @#$% there's one. He takes a hard right and floors it up someone's driveway. I don't know the speed limit for the driveway but I know I hit my head on top of the roof at least three times. So there was a nice buck standing in the field wondering what this bucket of bolts was doing and decided he might be better off in the next county. He ran through some trees and although I was afraid we might follow WE decided to let that one go. A minute later we were back on the highway and my father in law got on his cell phone and explained to the people who's house we about clipped doing 70ish that we were after a buck.

A half hour later or so we were traveling down a no maintenance road that had a good amount of snow on it. I was a little concerned we would be contracting the service of a tractor to get us out because I had seen the condition of the tires. We made it through and in the middle calmly got out and walked into a field and shot a doe. We through it in back deciding to bring it back to the farm to gut it out. So we drove back to the farm it was about 9:00 and I was thinking the morning was turning out all right. We were about half way there and I spotted some deer hiding in a strip of trees. I got out and popped a small 8-point and we were done hunting. I made short work of the deer back at the farm and we went to the VFW for a drink.

Anyway not exactly the hunting I was used to but a good memory nonetheless.

[JDM]

I was 12 years old and it was a year when a blizzard dropped a foot and a half of snow two days before the season. In those days, I followed my dad most of the time, or hunted very close to him. We were eating lunch when my grandpa came in and said he had wounded a buck and he needed help to find it. The deep snow was hard on him. To make a long story short, my dad and I followed that deer's blood track for quite a while until it jumps up right in front of me. I quickly aimed, fired, missed the buck, and hit a doe in the leg that I didn't even know was there. She was laying behind a spruce tree. She got up, fell over, and I finished her. I still get teased for my first deer being one that I didn't even see. I will never forget it. It was a good thing I had a doe permit, which in those days was a big deal up in Koochiching county.

[eyepatrol]

I have lots of great memories from deer hunting, but not many pics to show even though I get a deer nearly every year.

Two memories really stand out. One is when I was 12. It was my first year deer hunting in SW MN. There was about 6" of snow on the ground, we were driving slowly on a gravel road looking down corn rows with my dad and uncle when we saw a deer laying 50-75 yards down one of the rows. My uncle was looking through his binocs and said it looked to be a 12 point buck! Long story made short, we got out and into position, dad tells me to aim 6" above the deer so I put the barrel 6" above its back (probably shooting 2'-3' over the thing), shot 5 times and it still laid there looking at us. Complained to my dad about it, he said to aim how I want, lowered down, shot and my uncle who was looking through the binocs said it's head went down. Started walking into the corn to get it, all excited, the deer gets up and runs away (out of shells in the gun). What a bummer that was! My dad said he would never tell me how to aim after that day.

Next fond memory, my uncle wounds a buck in a cornfield. We track the blood trail all the way up to the deer. Nice 8 point. It was laying down with it's head up looking at us about 2 corn rows away (6 feet away or so). My dad raises his gun to put a kill shot into it, shoots, the dirt flies everywhere, buck still looking at us. He shoots again, buck gets up and starts running down the corn row. Dad stands there in disbelief as I'm telling him to shoot. I think he was in shock, so I leaned over in front of him, shot and brought it down. We give my dad crap to this very day about that one. How in the world can you miss from 6 feet away....laying down even???? My uncle who wounded the deer was with us, but he wasn't in a good position to finish it off so we helped him out, or I guess I helped him out.

Lots of other stories I could tell, but those are pretty fond memories.

[Coach1310]

No Pics, but a good story. It was the year of the Halloween Blizzard. I wasn't old enough to hunt, but was able to tag along with my dad for a day. In those days he built stands with a platform at about 10 ft for me and 15 ft for him. While we are sitting there, and I am freezing my butt off, you can hear something coming through the woods and it is LOUD!! My dad whispers down, "Do you hear that" and I say "YEAH" really loud. Anyway, out of the woods steps this huge black bear and it is just plowing through the swamp and plowing snow as it goes. No deer that day, but man was it cool to see that bear and to share it with my dad!!

[buckpredator]

Well I was hunting in a different area when this took place. Anyway, my dad who hasn't hunted since this day and hardly hunted before it had a license for this particular season. So after he was done with milking chores on his farm he decided he was going to go out hunting and if nothing else, he would drive deer to two of my brothers that were hunting. Well he heads out at about nine, nine thirty and is walking along one of the ravines in our woods when he hears something looks to his right and he sees antlers bobbing up and down as a buck is coming up the ravine. While hidden behind a tree he lets the buck come into a lane and lets him have it. My brothers heard the shot and came to investigate. Not seeing the deer right away they asked, "well what happened?" Well my dad being the bser he is starts this long story talking about everything else but his deer till one of the brothers seen the deer and interupted him by saying "all right well gut your buck." It ended up being a 235lb smallish racked eight pointer. My dad was out all of about 1/2 of an hour when he got it. He gave a hard time to my brothers the whole time while they dragged his deer for him saying this deer hunting thing is really overrated. When they finally got home they met the neighbors who had long faces and asked if they could look for a deer they had wounded and had crossed over to our land. Well, to make a long story longer they described the same deer my dad just shot and after close examination found two bullet holes on the deer one in the broiler room and one that just nipped the hind end. The neighbors were relieved that the deer was now claimed and congratulated my dad and were on there way.

When I got home my dad was doing chores again and he greets me asking how I did. I not thinking he was going to have time to go out on this day asked how the brothers did. He responded by saying they did good,(as he opens the garage door up where the deer is hung) I would have had a heart attack if I had to drag this thing out.

This hunt took place 10 years ago and this year he finally ponied up the money for license. So hopefully he can make it out for a 1/2 hour or so this year.

[archerystud]

I was 12 years old and had worked all summer to build up enough strength to draw back a 40 lb bow. I got it up to 41 lbs. by the end of August so my dad got me a license.

Opening morning of bow season my dad takes me out and sets me up on the edge of a bean field. He then walks in another direction to go to his stand. It was pretty much a calm morning so after a few minutes the mosquito's sound like a Huey helicopter. I decided I had to tough it out since I didn't want my dad to think I was a wimp. However, after about an hour I couldn't take it any longer. I got off my stand and headed back to the car, very dejected.

As I approached the car I noticed someone sitting behind the wheel. Just about then my dad jumps out of the car and yells at me, "How could you stand those dang mosquito's? I've been back at the car for a half hour already."

I guess at that point my dad figured he must have a pretty serious deer hunter on his hands.

[colonel42]

Coach1310

I'd have to say my most memorable day was the same as yours. I remember that day very well. 3 feet of new snow. Opening morning I was still on the road heading back home from school in St Cloud. I didn't get out to where we hunt until about 10 am. I remember being mad as hell because on the way to my stand I could see someone sitting in it. As I walked up to it I seen my dad sitting and freezing his butt off. His first comment was how cold he was and if I had brought coffee. I said yes and told him it was in the car. He climbed down and I took his spot. Dad wasn't 50 yards down the trail when a buck came out running from a swamp in between us. I pulled up and hammered it. The sound of me screaming "There's one for the wall" echoed through out the area. To this day when ever my dad comes over he has to go up to my mount and say heres my deer. Oh well all in the timing I tell him. The best thing about it is he was there to see it and also help drag it. I always tell him thanks.

[96trigger]

My dad is usually a pretty a good shot, but for some reason he had missed two deer already this particular year. We were on a deer drive where there was quite a bit of shooting going on and miy brother and I were helping with the driving. We get just about to the end of the drive when my brother stops to take a leak. A big doe runs in front of him, so he quickly wraps it up and takes a shot. A couple of minutes later my dad who was sitting shoots twice at a deer 20-30 yards away, and it runs 30 more yards, tips over and dies. I had just come from the bottom of the hill and I see him smiling and he tells me he "finally got one" and that he was really getting concerned that there was something wrong with him or his gun. I ,being a good son, go over there and gut the deer and help tag it and get ready to start dragging it out when my brother finally catches up and asks if we have seen a wounded deer. He hit one and had been following it for the last 200 yards. Long story short, one deer, one hole, My dad MISSED again. He was crushed and spent the next morning at the range instead of in the field. We still laugh about that today.

By the way, these stories are great, I'm sure that there are too many to tell, and they are always better in person. But you can't help but grin when reading these.

[bigbucks]

One of my better memories of course was my first deer. I'd been hunting several years, I was 20. I'd had a few good shots in the years since I'd started hunting, but had missed. I'd never shot at a standing deer at that point, there just weren't very many deer in our area when I started hunting, nothing like now. Anyway I was to post a drive so drove the truck around to get in position after dropping off the drivers. In the process I see a doe running across a huge open field towards the road I'm on, very close to my grandparent's house. I say forget about the drive, they won't start until I honk anyway. I speed up to the driveway. It was quite a ways from the road, but coming hard. I hop out, uncase, load up, & run down the field edge. I pop a couple shots at the deer, just short of the ditch, missing, & a car coming down the road hits the brakes so the deer can cross into a different woods we hunt. Still shaking, I run back to the truck, drive back & position to post the drive. The drive completes, I explain the shooting & we decide to drive the woods the doe went into. I get to post the prime spot.

The drive's going along, I hear a shot, & this doe pops out about 90 yards short of the end & stops, looking like she's going to head out across the field to the side. I shoot, she stands there (shotgun zone). I shoot again & she takes off, turning right towards me, at about 50 yards she turns broadside & I see a streak of blood on her behind the shoulder, before my third shot. I think, well someone hit her, not really thinking it was me. I keep hammering away, firing my last three shots, & actually firing my 6th shot dry fire, I was empty, immediately after which she sommersaults & disappears.

I very impatiently wait for the drive to almost end & hustle up to where she went down in the waist high grass. She's there with 3 or 4 holes in her, it's a little foggy now. My cousin who was another poster asks, where did that deer go? I said, she's right here. My uncle then came all the way out, being a drive & asked if I had blood there, & I said I've got a dead deer. I asked who shot, he said he'd seen her way far ahead & had just shot his pistol into a tree or the ground, not at her, to let us know one was coming & to keep her coming. Turns out I was the only one shot at her at all.

This was Sunday of a two day hunt & it was our second deer for a party of 9 or 10. What was also great is I went to find my Dad who had been more of a secondary poster for the first drive & didn't even know about the second drive. Just as I'm telling him about that I hear my cousin from the nearby field edge shoot & yell there's a deer coming down the trail we're on. Within seconds a fawn runs up, I shoot at it broadside in the brush at about 15 yards & hit it, then it runs near my Dad, he shoots, it runs a little farther & goes down. Just like that, after not shooting a deer for several years I get two in 45 minutes & we only have one other one for the season. It was a great memory that I'll never forget.

Sorry for the length.

[The_Duckslayer]

Well, I was a lot older than 12 when I got my first deer. I was stationed in IL and a buddy of mine took me out to some public land and we set up. Sat there all morning and heard shots but did not see a thing. We met up to go to the truck to eat lunch. We noticed a deer coming down the other side of a ditch and we laid down to hide and try to get a shot. He told me to shoot it as I had never gotten one before. Just as it got straight across from us it went down to the creek to get a drink. As it was bent over getting a drink I out the cross hairs on it's neck and ever so slowly squeezed the trigger. Just as the firing pin was coming forward the deer jerked up. There was a very loud bang and the water between the deers legs splashed all over. It stood there looking at me as if thinking I can't believe you just tried to kill me. I was staring at it thinking I can believe you are still alive. Then it turned and bounded up the bank. I jacked another round in and shot it in the back of the head. It did a summersault falling to the ground and never moved again. My buddy got up and gave me a big bear hug and told me that he never thought I would be able to get the scope back in it that quick! Once I got it to the check station theu guy there asked if it was a doe or a buck? You see that 50CAL Sabot had taken the top of it's head off. I told him that it had been a doe. Whatta rush! Still get that same rush everytime I see brown in the cross hairs. Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[Hossienda]

Couple of years back the first week of archery season. I had scouted some public land several days before and found what I figured would be a nice spot with some birch and oak trees as a staging area before the deer would cross a swamp and feed on some beans.

I went out with a buddy and gave him the choice of where to sit as he was not familiar with the land. Natually, he chooses the exact tree I wanted, but being the nice guy I said go ahead. We ended up sitting only about 60 yards apart but it was a good setup.

Sat for a couple of hours and towards sunset, I spied a great looking buck coming from the west on a trail that would take it between us, 35 yards from me and 25 from my buddy. I only had a small opening to shoot through and just as the buck entered that lane I made a noise with my mouth to try and stop him. He never stopped and kept right on going. I let down on my draw and looked at my buddy who was also at full draw. The buck took 5 steps and my buddy let fly, right through the vitals. The buck ran about 50 yards and crashed down. He ended up weighing in at 199 and scored 156. I still give my buddy crap whenever I am at his place and see my buck on the wall.

-Hossienda

[onthefly]

My first deer is still my biggest...

I've been hunting since I was 8 on public land near Finlayson. On the first Thursday of rifle season when I was 17 my mom (for the first time in ages) went hunting with me. We got there late, so I put her in a permanent stand about 100 yds north of me on an oak ridge, along the edge of some thick cover. I spent 30 minutes clanging a portable around, screwing in treesteps. Thoroughly disgusted and sweating like a pig, I climbed into the stand, figuring I'd just ruined our morning hunt. Especially since we only made it into the woods by sunrise.

After five minutes, I looked forward and left to the thicket edge and saw a deer headed north, running with it's head down. Then I saw the rack and almost lost it. It stopped, blew steam in the air and turned right towards me! With the north wind, I'm sure it winded my mom. I put the crosshairs of my new 30'06 on it's shoulder and broke the gun in the right way!

After drying for 5 days in the garage, it weighed in at an even 200 lb's and is a 10 pointer with a 21" inside spread - about 140". We spent a good 2 hours dragging this deer 1/4 mile to the road. My dad had to take the afternoon off work to pick us up!

[tjm]

Another 1 for the memory bank

The last year my father hunted

We went out bird hunting and seen a Rooster in the ditch along side a standing corn field.So i get out load the gun walk the ditch while my father drove about 10 yards behind me.Rooster gets up i shoot the bird and down it came in the 2nd row of standing corn.I reach in and pick him up turn around to the car and a sheriffs car parked behind my fathers car.

I unload the gun put it in the case throw the bird in the back seat in a cardboard box we drive away about 100 yards and the lights come on.Cop comes up to the door asks for dads drivers lic and he says you know the farmer.Nope my dads says.Well i do says the officer.Dont think he would like you shooting birds in his ditch either.Dad says well it's not against the law to hunt the ditch or is it to retrieve the bird

Officer looks at my dad and says i tell ya what.Now how would you like it if the farmers all came to town and stomped all over your yard.Dad looks at the officer and says what you talking about the farmers bring in truck loads of kids every year and trample all over my wifes flowers and shrubs on Holloween and i dont like it either

Officer just looks at my dad for about 2 minutes not saying a word.Hands his lic back and says well you 2 have a nice day