Nine Points in 23 Days
The author with her buck. This hunt, on Nov. 28, 2014, the day after Thanksgiving, wasn’t like any other hunt I had. By this time in the year I had already shot my eight-point cull buck and wanted to get one more deer before the season ended.
I hunted at the Double L Ranch for two different nine-points. I couldn’t get the chance to draw back on them, however. Every day seemed the same, seeing the deer I hunted in the morning and not knowing where he was in the evening. Pops, the owner of the ranch, was trying to do everything he could to get me a shot at the deer. We would move stands and try to see if we could get close enough in the Ranger but never could. Every free weekend I had, I would go up there to hunt and I even stayed there nine days through temps in the lower 30s with rain most of the days, but had no luck.
I was at the point where I would pass up other deer and hogs just to get one of these two bucks. It became an obsession. Every morning I would see one, he would either be too far away or never in my shooting lanes. I have confidence in my shooting and know my bow very well, but I just never found an ethical shot. All I could do was sit and watch as the wildlife ate and the bucks I wanted would stay in the field. I would climb into a 20-foot ladder stand and just watch—never even thought about shooting a different deer. I had to get one of the two I wanted.
Twenty-three days was what it took to finally take my best deer with my bow. On the morning of January 18th I climbed back into the same ladder stand. That morning I remember seeing fallow, rams, impala, blackbuck, and a lot of hogs. The ladder stand had a black material on the seat and when you sat down and tried to draw, it made a lot of noise. So, I decided to fold the seat and stand up for the hunt. There’s a huge open spot where you can shoot to the road and see about 100 yards. There is a shooting lane that’s to the left about 10 inches wide and 15 inches tall that’s over a tree branch and through a few twigs.
I remember in 2013 I shot a 10-point through that hole and ended up not even fatally hitting him, which made me a little nervous. I had my rangefinder and ranged through the hole anyway and it measured 30.5 yards. I felt confident enough if he came into that hole, I would take the shot. After 23 days you will take any shot you can get. I remember seeing a nice eight-point in that hole and thinking to myself that the buck looked like the nine-point. Sure enough, he turned his head and I saw the 5 1/2-inch kicker that made him nine points. I tried not to shake and get excited because it wasn’t over yet. I looked at my main shooting lane and saw a chocolate fallow looking at me. I knew this was the best shot I had so far, so I drew my bow back, got anchored, and set the pin right behind the shoulder. He didn’t even look up and had no idea I was there, so I rested my finger on my release, took one deep breath, and let the arrow fly. Everything seemed in such slow motion that I remember saying yes when I watched the arrow hit right where I placed the pin.
It was over 23 days of hunting and trying and praying I would get a shot that paid off. I climbed out of my stand and called Pops and said I finally got him. He came around the corner to pick me up and I had my bow in my right hand with both arms raised. I was so happy I couldn’t control myself. Pops told me he didn’t know he had “Rocky Balboa” out there hunting. I got back to camp and Pops offered me some breakfast. I was so excited, I wasn’t hungry. All I wanted to do was get my hands on my deer.
We gave the deer about an hour then decided to go look for him. When we got to the stand I showed them where he was standing and looked and found a great blood trail. The arrows and the broadhead did their jobs. Not 100 yards from where I shot him, he’d fallen. That was the best feeling to finally get the deer I wanted. I knew I could have shot a different deer very easily, and been done many days earlier, but I stuck with it and finally got the big nine-point. It was such a relief to have my hands on the deer I worked so hard to get. There was no ground shrinkage when I got to him. He even had a few trash points on his base.
My 2014-15 season was better then I could’ve asked for. I got both deer I wanted, and didn’t lose one. I had a lot of opportunities to shoot another deer, but stuck it out till the end for the deer I really wanted. Patience and sticking it out through the cold rain and wind paid off. I couldn’t have asked for a better outfitter to be with and a better deer to get with my bow.
