I figured since I was able to bring down an Impala in Africa with a rifle with out any previous rifle experience, I could shoot a deer with a muzzle loader. I wanted to try anyway. We talked about getting the gun out to take some practice shots for weeks before the season was to start, but each afternoon went by and we never got a chance to practice. I wasn't to worried, after all how different could shooting a muzzle loader be compared to a rifle.
Our first day of the muzzle loader season came and I was excited! It had been cold the last week or so, and I had already gone bow hunting once already on a very frosty cold morning and shivered so bad I was shaking the leaves out of the trees, so when the day came for me to go out again, and it was 60 degrees, I was happy. Bret and I got all our gear on and headed to Rivendale, our place out by Irwin, and settled into the stand. It was a beautiful evening, and as the sun set, all we saw was one doe come in to eat. She was in the corn and to far away for a clear shot. I really didn't have my heart set on a smaller size doe anyway. But as the evening minutes past away and the light was fading, no other deer came. Just the one doe. I did have a doe tag, and my freezer had been empty of deer meat for to long. So when she started walking out of the corn and towards the tree stand, Bret said "Get the gun ready, and when she clears that tree see if you get a shot." Well she did give me a shot, not broadside like I've always seen it done on TV, but she was almost facing me, and Bret told me where to put the cross hairs and if I felt steady take the shot. I felt good, my heart was just beating a little faster than normal, and I pulled the trigger. After the smoke cleared, I looked and didn't see where she had run off to. Then I looked down. She had just dropped where she stood, and didn't move. The first thing I thought of was, "Wow, I hit her!" Then "Cool! No tracking!" Bret was excited as well of course. We waited a bit to see if any more deer came in, but none did, so we got down to go collect my deer and get her dressed and ready for the ride home. I had made a perfect shot! Right where it was supposed to be! I was happy to have the opportunity to put some meat in the freezer! Yummy! Sorry I don't have a picture of the doe, Bret said no one takes pictures of the doe's. Okay whatever.
But I was definitely getting a picture of the next shot! So the week goes by, and a cold front moves in with rain and cold winds from the Northwest. It rained for a whole night and a day with howling winds. I was not really looking forward to going hunting Friday afternoon. But the rain had stopped, and the winds died down a little, but it was still cloudy and cold, and windy. Bret was so excited to go out. He just new this would be the night the deer would be moving. The conditions were perfect for Isenguard, our place out by Jacksonville. So we bundled up and headed out, and got ourselves situated in the tree stand. Again a beautiful evening. A little cold and windy, but we had our warm suits on and we were nice and toasty. We got into the stand a little late, about 4:30, and at about 5:30 Bret said they would be starting to come in, in about 20 minutes. Not five minutes after he said that, I look to my right and see a nice big doe walk in from behind and to the right of us into the bean food plot Bret planted last spring. Right behind her came a small buck. I was excited to see some deer. I was watching those two in the beans, when Bret nudges me and says "Okay, there he is!" It was a nice big buck. Bret said get the gun ready and get steady on a rest. I was having a hard time finding a steady rest. The angle was wrong for the tree stand bar, so Bret tries to rest it on his arm! I wasn't to excited to shoot using Bret's arm as a rest. I was trying to find the buck in the scope and watching him at the same time. He was at a tree and was going up on his hind legs marking the tree and scraping the branches with his antlers. It was very cool. I had him in the scope but didn't have a great shot. He had his butt to me. I also wasn't very steady at all. My gun or my nerves! Thankfully he walked more to the left so I was able to rest the gun on the bar in front of me. It was a little to low! I had to scoot down a bit out of my seat to see him in the scope. Finally I found him, and tryed to put the cross hairs on him. I was shaking something awful, and my heart was pounding out of my chest! Although the gun was steady my fingers weren't. The deer was standing there quartering away a bit, I tried to steady my breathing and calm myself so I would make a good shot. There's no safety on this gun, you had to pull the hammer back. I was ready to shoot but I couldn't get the hammer to move! A combination of a cold and shaking thumb. I said to Bret' "I can't get the thing cocked!" Just as I said it, I was able to get a grip on it and it pulled back and it snapped into place. Okay, get the cross hairs on him again and calm my breathing. I did the best I could, and slowly squeezed the trigger. Boom!!! I look and expected to see the deer running off like it does on TV, I watch a lot of hunting shows with Bret on TV, I don't see him run off, he just dropped. But he was kicking, I was so relieved! I was so afraid of missing, I was shaking so bad I wasn't sure how steady my shot was. The other two deer jumped and ran about 5 yards, then stopped and looked around, like they were saying, "What was that??" They stayed and looked around for about 5 or so minutes. My buck was on the ground and after a few minutes stopped moving. I couldn't believe it!!! A big buck had walked in, a lot earlier than we thought they were, and I just shot it! We waited for the other deer to leave, and we climbed down to go see my buck. Again, NO TRACKING! How great is that! He was laying about 50 yards away from the stand. We walked up to him, and Oh my GOSH he was HUGE! I couldn't believe it. I also noticed he was bleeding quite profusely from his neck! I shot him in the neck! Just a little high and left of where I was aiming. I must of flinched. Bret said it just broke his neck, that's why he dropped, then he just bled out. I was so very thankful I was able to bring this big boy down. More meat for the freezer. We took a couple of pictures with the cell phones, did a bunch of high fives, and kisses, and Bret went to get the truck. I stayed with my animal, just amazed at how beautiful he was and how big he was. When we gutted and loaded him up it still wasn't dark yet. When we got home Sam and Keaton were the only ones home. They were excited to see the big buck in the back of the truck. We set up to take pictures and Sam had to be our photographer for some of the photos. I think he did a pretty good job. I think Bret was more excited than I was, although I was and am still pretty excited! It finally happened to me.
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