Proud Husband of a Queen of Camo – Gene’s White Tail Story

A few weeks ago my wife and I were bow hunting one evening on our little 40 acre place on the edge of town. She was set up in a stand about 150 yards up the bluff from me where we could see the same pasture and tip off each other if a deer was headed that way.

I had just screwed in some mechanical broad heads a company gave me to try out as I have been a die hard fixed blade hunter my whole life, but that’s a different blog for a different day. We have been after two specific deer, an old buck and a wounded yearling that looks like he has been hit by a car.

About 45 minutes before dark I had 6 deer in the food plot and they kept looking back so I had a feeling that old buck was back there waiting for his grand entry! Sure enough he stepped out at 31 yards and I stuck an arrow in his front left should dead broadside! I watched him run off and noticed it wasn’t a pass thru shot which was CRAZY, because I haven’t had partial pass in probably 10 years. Nevertheless I text Ash and I was excited because it seemed like a well placed shot!

I waited until dark and started tracking uphill towards Ashley’s stand? I scratched my head and thought why is he going up this rock face and away from the creek??!! I met up with ash and we continued to track for a couple hours until the blood stopped. I was sick!

Of course I got ZERO sleep that night thinking I mortally wounded a deer that we would never find and not to mention it was the old buck we had been after. As we ate breakfast and mapped out a game plan of where we think he might have bedded down emotionally I was crushed and of course my wife keeps saying “we will find him”, “there was good blood” and all that. I would hate to have been in her shoes for those hours.

That mid morning we headed out in different directions, I had our little lab Oakley we are training to track and ash swept around the top of the ridge where we had seen the last sign. After an hour or so I see a deer hobbling thru the woods right towards her and I’m amazed that I’m almost certain it’s him…and he is ALIVE?? I called ash and sure enough he is 10 yards from her and they are in a stare down! I hook it back to truck, toss the dog in the kennel and book it (by an out of shape 37 yr old standard) back to where I think I can get a shot.

Ashley sends a txt that he is bedded down and looks hurt pretty bad so now the stalk is on! After an hour of praying, crawling, duck walking, cussing, bobbing and weaving I found myself 15 yards away and all I have to do is draw, stand, breathe and release…before I know it the buck is down for the count no more than 30 yards from where he was hit the second time and I’m fist pumping like I belong behind a turntable at a techno club. WE GOT HIM BABE I yelled as I ran over and got a victory kiss from my wife!!!

During the 4 hour drive back to the house we talk about how this is by far the best hunt we have been on together. The emotional highs and lows, the sleepless night and the final recovery we made by simply not giving up on the animal we decided to harvest that a lot of people honestly might have just chalked up as a loss.

Hunters owe every animal we wound 100% of the dedication and time it takes to ultimately find that animal or know for sure without a doubt it is gone. If that means ruining the rest of our hunt, then my wife and I will not hesitate to look all day for a deer and realize we have an opportunity to hunt in the future and we won’t lose AS MUCH sleep the next week.