Do I Stay Or Do I Go?

On a warm late October afternoon in 2014 I headed over to my hunt my grandma’s property just across the border in Ohio. Despite higher than ideal temperatures, I was anxious to get into the swing of archery season.

Immediately upon arrival, I that anxiousness turned into frustration. Just 30 minutes into the hunt on the soybean field, there were ATVs riding on the power line near me.

I had hunted grandma’s property more and more in the previous couple years, and this wasn’t the first time this had happened.

I went back and forth in my mind of whether I should stay or go. On one hand, I was excited to be back in the deer woods, but on the other this was not the peaceful setting I had hoped for. You’re already here – I thought to myself. Reluctantly, I decided to stay.

Some time passed and the atvs had yet to subside. To my surprise, a doe appeared on the far side of the field around 5:45 PM. I watched her closely as she started out around 60 yards and never got much closer. She fed in the field a bit before returning the way she came

Hey – At least the deer don’t seemed bothered by the noise – I thought to myself.

About 15 minutes later, I looked to my right and saw a spike trailing 3 doe through the woods. They came from the direction of the machines and they were headed right at me.

I slowly picked up my compound bow and steadied my breathing. At this point I had made up in my mind that I was going to shoot the first buck I saw.

Ohio doesn’t have any antler restrictions, I wanted some meat in the freezer, and at that age (and still today) I got just as fired up about a doe or spike as a nice racked 8 point. If the spike came close enough, I was going to take my shot.

The buck chased the doe right to the wick of doe pee I had hanging at 25 yards. One by one the deer filed out of the trail and into the field.

One

Two

Three

Then the spike appeared. As he stepped out to a spot I had previously shot with my rangefinder, I let out a bleat to stop him.

He stopped broadside and looked up at me as I sent an arrow right through the vitals. He ran across the field; clearly not headed far. Immediately I began shaking and gave my dad a call.

“I just shot a spike” I said. “Are you kidding me?” he replied. I had texted him earlier about my challenge with the atvs and neither of us were too optimistic I would even see deer.

That evening was just another example of why they call it hunting and why, to me, even if the conditions or circumstances aren’t always great, it is always worth it to just get out there. You never know what might come your way.

A while later after calling my family for help retrieving, I climbed down and followed the bright red blood trail across the field. The track job was relatively easy, and it was nice to share the moment with family around.