Im not much of a story teller.....so its going to be short and to the point !

I started a new job back in june and found out that I was going to spend 18 weeks 6 hours from home training starting sept 23 ! Thats right, my hunting season was in jeapordy ! Other than weekend mornings at home, my hunting was going to be non existant ! When I found out i immediately I started looking for public opportunities close to where I was going to be training. I also started a topic here on TG looking for any tradgangers that might be able to help out. I got a responce from "mec lineman" which turned out to be a fantasitic fellow ! We met the week before season opened and slung a few arrows and ate some venison. He offered to share a couple of his spots with me, but the only problem was he was an hour away from the training center and I wasnt let out of class until 4:00, so a couple of trips a week was about all I could make for short hunts. I spotted a piece of state property only 15 minutes from the training center so I started scouting it. It very small acrage and was hunted fairly hard, so i wasnt expecting much more than getting some "treelaxation" and maybe the chance at a doe.

More to come....

So far, so good.....

   

My first scouting trip revealed little sign....but there was sign so i knew deer inhabited the area. I knew my best chance was to locate something thick and out of the way that might be over looked. The area was mostly hardwoods with thick cutover sections and hiking and biking trails everywhere ! After scouting I settled into a spot very close to a 2 lane road with lots of traffic. It was thick and nasty with hardwoods on the back side...I felt it was worth a shot and looked like a overlooked spot. There was fresh tracks under some oaks that were dropping acorns and a few small rubs, so I hung a stand and only hunted it when the wind was right. First two hunts out of the tree was fairly uneventfull except for squirrels and a couple glimps of deer.

Fast forward to thursday evening which was my 3rd hunt on the state land. Conditions were perfect, wind was right and temps had dropped 20 degrees.....i was excited !

I got settled in around 5:00 and felt really good about what could happen. The first hour squirrels kept my attention jumping around and "sounding" like deer from time to time !

6:00....I spot a doe and her fawn feeding under a oak around 60-70 yards away but paralleling my position. I crossed my fingers they might make there way to me but they feed on out of sight.

6:15....I hear footsteps approaching behind me, which is the direction I expected any buck in the area to be bedded. I get a glimps of a deer and some antler and imediatly went into auto pilot and grabbed my recurve ! I knew from the angle he was taking he wasnt getting closer and I could tell only one opportunity was going to develop ! The shot was going to be long, 32 yds to be exact, but I felt confident ! As the buck entered the opening i bleated with my mouth and stoped him......I hit anchor....concentrated on "the spot" and watched as those pretty white feathers bridged the gap and disapeared perfectly thru his chest ! The buck spun around and went crashing back thru the cutover, covered about 30 yds and went down ! Although I couldnt see him go down i could hear it all unfold ! Needless to say I wasted no time getting down to retreave my arrow.....and my buck ! The arrow had completely passed thru the animal and literally burried in the ground a good 4"....AT 32 YDS !!!! no blood trailing needed....I could see him from where I stood !

Needless to say....my season has turned out better than I expected !

53# Stalker coyote fxt, 550 grain beman shaft, 175 grn Simmons tiger shark.
   

Great shooting and nice buck!

WOW! Great hunting decisions, great shot, and a great buck! Congrats to you sir!

Congrates! Excellent shot and beautiful buck!
 

Awesome public land buck! Congrats!

You underestimate your story telling ability.  Congratulations, very nice buck!

Congratulations on a great looking buck...  

Great Looking Buck!! Congratulations
Glenn

Congrats!! That's a great buck and an even better shot! 32 yds is out of most people's range.

Holy cow! Way to go Nathan!

Nice buck Nathan. The Lord he does provide!

Congrats on a nice buck, on public land too!

Congrats on a beautiful animal, and great story!
Tom

Way to go. That's a nice one.

That is awesome, congrats Nathan!

Great buck!! Congrats