My first deer! EVER!!!

I am a girl who loves to hunt. This year was the first year that I actually bought women's camo and the only reason I finally did that was because I started bow hunting this year. Thanksgiving get togethers are always worked around us having to be out in a tree stand Thanksgiving morning. I have been out hunting like crazy and have not gotten a deer yet. I had a doe six yards away from me and I wasn't able to get a shot.

We went out Friday night but it was so windy and nothing was moving. We decided to go to the same tree stand Sunday evening and got up in it about 4 pm. Driving to the stand we had already seen deer moving so we were a little worried about spooking some walking in. We got up in the stand and I was looking around and messing with my phone. I had updated my facebook account with a text and had sent out a tweet asking for everyone to keep me updated on the Minnesota-Green Bay game. So I had all sorts of wonderful friends like Bre keeping me updated on how the game was going.

I had sent a text out earlier to the wife of the guys land that we were hunting to see how he was feeling ( he had surgery on Tuesday). My phone started vibrating and I reached down to get it and happened to look to my left and saw a deer walking across the clearing. I was telling Matt to take my phone and trying to grab the muzzle loader. I got it up, the safety clicked off and was looking through the scope. When I adjusted my head the brim of my had hit the scope which kinda shoot me up slightly. Matt bleated and the deer stopped cold in its tracks and looked in our direction. I took a breath, centered and pulled the trigger. Smoke was in my line of vision so I couldn't see anything for a couple of seconds. When I looked up I saw the deer running back towards the timber with its tail down. and I immediately looked over at Matt and asked if the shot was good. I have confidence in my ability but still there is always that chance. Matt said that it had buckled and then took off running. We hear him running, a crash, get up and run and then crash again.

We waited 30 minutes and in that time I called his grandpa that we hunt with. I was whispering "Ralph, can you hear me?" The response I got was "HELLO! WHO IS THIS?" After repeating this a couple more times Matt tapped me and said "You have already shot, you can talk normal." I kinda looked at him and then realized he was right and carried on the conversation in my normal voice "Ralph, I shot a doe we haven't found her yet but I did shoot her and I was the one to see her first not Matt and we are going to wait for a few more minutes and then go get her.... *taking a deep breath* I am so excited!!!" He starts laughing at me 'cause I said all of the above in one run on sentence and didn't even stop to take a breath!

So as we were waiting I called a few more people, telling them I had shot a doe and then we got down. Walking over to where the deer was we did not see any blood at all but I told myself not to worry, that we would find some. Another 20 yards and we still hadn't seen any. We heard him crash so we knew that he was down so we spilt up and started looking. Matt calls me over, saying that he saw blood. But when I asked him where the blood was he just grinned. So I start looking and spot me deer. Resisting the urge to run over to him I walked over, poked him with my gun and then (quietly) squealed. "Matt, it's a buck look!!!!" We BOTH thought that it was a doe that I had shot but when we got over to him he had 5 inch spikes. I was even more ecstatic after finding that out.

We drug him out, field dressed him and took him to be checked in. As a side not. I DID field dress him myself and am not ashamed to say it. I may be a girl but I can still get my hands dirty. Matt figured that he would be right at 100 pounds field dressed and when he was put on the scales he weighed 95 pounds. I was as proud as could be!!

I have been wanting to get my first deer with a bow but wasn't going to pass up this opportunity it get my first deer. I am still on cloud nine and have made Matt laugh all day. I took my digital camera "just in case" so we got pictures so here is my first deer!!!!