The 2003 Deer Hunting Season was not extremely eventful with the exception of the fact that I took my first buck. I didn't see a lot of deer this year, and those I did see were does. However one evening I was sitting in my tree stand and heard a rustle in the leaves behind me. As I turned to see what it was I saw antlers within 12-14 yards from my stand for the first time in my life! As you can imagine, the tension got thick pretty fast and I think I was holding my breath for what seemed like an eternity. I didn't even hesitate as to whether this was the deer I wanted to take. It was not small, it was a buck, and it was close! That's all I needed at that point. So, I took aim at what I felt would give me a good broadside lung shot and released. Bam! The arrow struck home just a tad high and back of my aim but still a good shot. He jumped up and wheeled around for a hasty escape.

About 20-30 minutes later I climbed out of my stand and began tracking a good blood trail. As luck would have it, he had just ran a straight line about 60 yards away and dropped. There it was, my first buck ever, and with a bow no less! He certainly was not a monster buck, but definitely a keeper. He had a nice little 7 point basket rack which is now hanging on the wall in my office. Whew! Finally, I have that behind me, first buck is history... time to look for bigger ones next time.