What's Your Best Deer Hunting Memory ?

[Thunderhead]

Mine was my first and biggest buck. Dad was alive then. 12 point. 19 3/4" spread.
Clear, cold and frosty morning. Sittin on a log daydreamin, looked up and there he was, 16 steps away. I don't even remember pulling the trigger.
I was packin my great , great granddads model 39 single barrel Winchester 16ga with a nickle plated barrel.
I was 14. :)

[Rustyaxecamp]

It was pretty cool when my dad shook my hand and congratulated me on my first buck.

No kids yet, so I've got some good ones yet to come.;)

[Backwoods-Savage]

My first deer (buck) with a recurve! My 2 sons first deer. My wife's first deer.

[Whit1]

This is always a toughie for me because there are so many.

One of them has to be the day I was still hunting a blueberry bog out back across a hay field. The bog has always been a producer of deer, especially bucks, and I worked my way into the wind along the west side of the wetland.

Typical of bogs this one was wide open for the most part and was about 1/4 mile long by an 1/8th mile wide. The deer would bed on the side nearest the wind and within 20 or so yards of the edge. They used to wind to cover their backside and scanned the wide open bog to their front and side.

Carefully working my way around a slight highland which we called "The Small Island" I was approaching what should have been the "honey spot". Sure enough, sticking above the blueberry shrubbery was a set of impressive antlers. A dandy buck was bedded right where he should have been with only his headgear sticking above the brush. I could not see the body or head even though I was within 30 yds. of the deer.

The antlers were about 18" high and sported at least 8 points that had some heft. The spread appeared to be over 18". It was a "keeper" to say the least.

I moved closer, taking care to be sure of my footing and ready to spring into action should the deer bolt. He didn't. Twenty yards!

I still couldn't see his head or body and was in a quadry about what to do. My decision, the wrong one, was to figure out where his head would be and try to place a shot through the thin blueberry branches.

That is what I did and with the "crack" of my Remington Auto-Loader in .308 the deer jumped up, unscathed and bounded directly away from me heading for the cover of the thick tag alders that bordered the bog.

My rifle instinctively came up and the back of the buck's neck was centered in the crosshairs of my scope. This is a shot that I've taken before (with success) and I felt comfortable. Just as I touched the trigger the buck, which was in the open and less than 30 yds away and my shot produced a clean miss.

The deer ran off into an old aspen cut, stopped at about 100 yds. and looked back. There was too much intervening brush to risk a shot and I watched as the deer bounded off.

Of course I gave a thorough search for signs of a hit, spending the better part of the afternoon looking things over. I found no hair, blood, or other evidence that I had connected.

Even though I didn't harvest this deer......he was a wall hanger........this particular hunt remains in the upper echelon of my memory pack. If you've never experienced a very close encounter with a mature buck in such a manner you haven't lived........:lol:

[Andy K]

Mine is my first day of hunting alone when i turned 14. I had hunted for years with my dad but this was my first sit. I found a downed tree on an old creek bed and was only there for about 20 minutes when my biggest doe to date came up to me within 10 yards. I actually had a hard time finding wear to shoot because my Dads gun i was using had a scope mounted to the barrel so when i drew on it all i saw was a wall of brown. Well I did find the sweet spot and she went maybe 20 yards. The kicker was there was a nice 8pt right behind her that i never saw till i shot the doe. The buck ran right to my dad and he harvested his biggest buck to date. He gave me a big thanks. :D

[yooperkenny]

My first buck with a bow, after a few years of gaining "experience".

My son's first deer during the youth hunt when he was 14 years old.

Shooting a dandy 5 1/2 year old buck 11/28/04 after everyone else gave up and went home because the weather sucked and nobody was seeing any deer

[Pigpen69]

2 things immediately come to mind, obviously my first buck(5 point age 15), and the look on my 13 yr olds face as he experienced his first case of buck fever.:D , five bucks came out into the field during the youth hunt, and my son looked me in the face and said " Should i load my gun now dad":lol: i was shocked to say the least. after he took his first shot, i had to hold the forearm of his shotgun as he was " experiencing a little trouble breathing, and puttting shells in his gun became awful hard after he took his first shot.. I was never prouder to say welcome to hunting son. He says" I cant breathe very good, i said i Know and its still like that for me, Never ever forget that day. For the record, he did score on a nice little doe the last night of the youth hunt..ANOTHER ONE HOOKED FOR LIFE, Makes me think i must have done something right finally. Good Huntin

[elvis]

my first year at camp (14) my grandfather bagged his best buck ever, he usually shoots about 1 deer every 5 to 7 years, he said the only reason he shot it was b/c he had to show the kid he wasnt a slacker, hehe, he was just kidding


my best moment ever was my first deer on my own, after i shot i sat in the blind listening to everything my dad every taught me in my head, and it was then that i realized he instiled something in me more than i could ever imagine, i called him right then and left him a message and thanked him for everything


my best non-hunting/hunting moment was when i took him through my newly aquired hunting property and showed him all the lanes of deer travel, my stand locations etc. in the off season
it was then that he told me he was so excited that i took everything he taught me and made my own life out of it, he always wondered if he pushed me into hunting to hard, but when he seen the enthusaism in my face when i took him around, he knew i was hooked for myself, not just to make him happy

my lil bro is 9 and im super stoked

[ArrowHawk]

Mine would have to be my very first year Gun Hunting, I was 15. I was very lucky to be hunting a great spot in Blanchard on some family owned property, 64 acres on the Pine River. I was able to hunt with my Dad, My Uncle Paul, and both of my Grandfathers. I was using a 12 gauge which my Uncle had used for a long time. The hunting was great with 4 Bucks and a Doe taken opening morning, I took a very nice 6 point. My one Grandfather even taught me how to gut my Buck. The first one I gutted with some friends was a hack job.

Well the main reason it will always hold a place in mt heart is because it was the only place I hunted with my Dad and Grandfathers. I still hunt with my Dad every now and then but my Pa no longer hunts and my other Grandfather pasted away when I was still in high school. So every year on opening morning after I get to my stand its my time and its like my Grandfather is with me.

[Linda G.]

Walking down a powerline in broad daylight at 3 in the afternoon on the 3rd day of the firearms season about 15 years ago, and hearing a noise. Looking down into the woods, I see a HUGE buck about 50 yards away with his head down, obviously sniffing where I'd been sitting the night before, with doe lure on my boots...he had no idea I was there.

Put the rifle on him, all I see is antlers, and then...he looks up when I push the safety off, and through the scope all I'm seeing is the white ring around his nose...shot right between the tines of that magnificent 12 point rack.

Public land...

A few years later, my son, about to go into the Air Force after high school graduation, is determined to kill his first buck before he goes. He scouts for weeks, builds a blind, and climbs in, prepared to sit there all season if he has to. 5 minutes into shooting hours on opening day, he's out of that blind, screaming hysterically as he runs across the field to my blind about 800 yards away. Heard him coming all the way...LOL

He'd shot a buck, he says breathlessly...yes, I'd heard the shot 20 seconds before. I had told his little brother, sitting there with me, that he would be over to get us in a minute or so, that he wouldn't be able to sit there. It took a lot less than a minute...

Can't find it, he shrieks...I look at him, and all I can see is glazed eyes mixed with panic and total hysteria.

I make him sit down, eat a donut, and chill a bit. It was the longest 20 minutes of his life, I think.

Then we walk over to his blind...he's running all over the place, frantically. I look at the tree right in front of his blind about 20 yards away and see deer hair and blood all over it...below the tree, on the side of the ridge, about 30 yards away from his blind, is a nice 8 point buck, stone-dead, and Tim's little brother calmly poking the deer in the eye, saying..."He's dead".

Now, I could tell you about teaching my son to field-dress that deer, that's an even funnier story...but I gotta get some work done.

[wally-eye]

Hunting federal land one opener and not having one single hunter walk by me all day. Thought I was in heaven. Didn't see any bucks nor hunters all day though.

[eddiejohn4]

Seeing my son take his first buck, I watched as he tried to stand up and all he could do is wobble. I laughed, but was so proud to have watched him perform a great shot and a clean kill. And his remorse after the kill, but his understanding of why we hunt.:)

[fasthunter]

My very first deer. I was rifle hunting up in the Manistee National forest and I took my step-brother out there with me. He didn't have a license, but he wanted to go. I knew he was fidgety, but him and I are really close and I thought it would be cool. I went to a spot where I knew there were alot of deer the year before. It was daylight for about 10 minutes and I heard a deer grunt. I looked at him and said "Did you hear that??" I looked and there was a deer 10 yards from me. I shot and the deer ran 20 yards before it dropped dead. It was actually confused and started coming back towards me again. I had the biggest smile on my face as well as my Step-Brother. I told him he couldn't smoke while we were hunting, but I looked at him and said "You got a smoke?" We both sat there and had a victory smoke before we drug it out of the woods.(I quit now.) My dad is less of a serious deer hunter and he has to have his coffee before going out. He was walking in the woods to hunt and I was dragging out a deer. The look on his face was PRICELESS!! He was so happy. Now my Step-Brother is going to take his friend up there to the exact same spot again. (Think the memory stuck.) I hope they do well.

[old graybeard]

The list is long since this will be my 43 season. I would have to say that the last 20 years of tent camping in the western UP with my best friend and hunting partner Steve Woods are my fondest. Up until he was killed two years ago I didn't realize how many memories we had made together. All the hard work of setting up camp, cutting fire wood, dragging bucks up and down the hills, the good times around the camp at night with all the tall tales and laughter, Yes I have some real fine memories, sometimes they're just hard to think about. I'll be heading up there next weekend and you can be sure all those memories are going with me. Good luck to all of you and good hunting!

[DRHUNTER]

This year is my 40th rifle season. There is not enough room for here for my best story because I have a liftime of best stories. Thats the beauty of this great sport. I was sitting in my treestand up north Tueday overlooking a large swamp as the sun came up listening to the Coyotes howl wondering how many more of these will I get in my liftime. Who knows a stroke, a heart attack ,falling out of my treestand could end it all tomorrow. Enjoy every minute and make as many memories as you can. Good luck.

[trailsend]

About 15 years ago i was walking down this old logging trail that i stillhunt from. It heads nw through and old cutting and then winds down to a creek bottom.As i was *****footin along i see a deer coming out from the creek bottom,then another and another until there were about 8 does standing all around me. I froze and none had seen me yet. Then out behind these does comes a wallhanger buck, a beautiful 10pt. Huge! I had no shot because he was standing behind a couple does. I was pretty much right in the wide open and afraid to wink because there were so many deer. It seemed like hours but im sure it was just seconds and a little juvie bust me out and spooks them all over the place. I tried to get the scope on that buck but in all the confusion i coud'nt find him .So i drop my rifle back down and there he go's up the ridge i just came down from. I knew the area well and figured where he was headed so i wasted no time and through my gun sling over my shoulder and started half walkin and half slow trotiing to this thick strecth of cut over And sure enough as i got where i thought he was gonna go i see him. He's walkin right towards me at about 80yds. So winded and heart beatin 100mph,what do i do? I duck down on my knee!:yikes: I have a rifle in my hands for christ sake not my bow.I gather my composure stand to make the shot and he's gone? I look around and catch a glimpse of em bounding away. He must of changed direction while i was gathering myself. That one plays over in my head many times and i have come to appreciatre the one that got away the most. Sorry for the long story.Happy huntin .

[joe8918]

My most memorable was my first deer I got (doe) with an iron sight 12 gauge.

However, one of the most memorable and comes up every year is when we were playing the cardgame "spoons" and we were playing with intensity and one of the guys dropped a card and he bent down and picked it up and when he returned to the table top all of the spoons were gone:lol:

We make fun of him every year for that. This is also the same guy who once got a shot at a deer that was right next to his blind and he put his cross hairs on it and pulled the trigger, however, he failed to realize that his barrel was not above the frame of the blind and blew the side of his blind to pieces :lol:

There's a lot more but that's it for now.

[Brownsdown]

My old man started me when i was 9 with a bow,,,, The old bear Mini Mag compound,,,,LOLOL, he started taking me up north as his hunting buddy,,,,he told his buddys who he hunted with before me he had to part ways with them to spend the time with me,,,,,So for him that meant no more beer drinking,swearing,and night time runs to the Glenie Bar,,,,,,,,,,, But i think the first time i pute on all the over sized Camo and face paint and stepped out of the tent 2 hours before sunrise, I was a deer hunter for life........So i guess my fondest memory is not the first deer i killed or the biggest buck to date,,,,,my fondest is my first trip up north to the big woods with the old man,,,,,he gave up all the things he used to do to teach me the right ways,,,,,,,,,,I think he did a good job.........................

[IWantMeatinFreezer]

I have a few favorite memories.

Warning it is long but I just cut and paste it out my hunting journal I keep. In my head I hope to be an outdoor writter someday but I know that my hunting journal will have to do for now but here are my favorite memories. This occured 14 years ago when I was 14.

Opening weekend I was once again antsy because no deer had made their presence know to me. I got up for a walk to go chat with my Dad. As I was hiking to talk to him I heard a shot coming from his direction. I quickened my pace to see what was going on. When I got there I he said “I think I got him”. This was the first time in my life I had seen anyone with buck fever. This was post-shot buck fever but still he had the shakes bad. We waited a while to look for the buck and we found him dropped dead in his tracks by the bullet from the pump action .35. I got to see my Dad with that smile that never goes away. We spent the next half an hour gutting the deer with help of the neighbor guy and then we had to drag the deer over very rough terrain filled with large rut left in the ground by years of farming. And it just happened to be 6-inches of water in each and every one of those ankle-breaking ruts. After an hour of dragging we were finally at the cabin. It was a wonderful moment because it was my father’s first deer. And in a bit of a role reversal I got to experience that moment with him.

The next weekend we went up the “The Farm” again in a quest for my first deer. In a strange occurrence my Dad forgot his gun. He remembered to pack everything except his rifle. He was kicking in himself; he was very angry with himself and was yelling curses at me because I was laughing at him. So there was to be no second deer for him that year. But it did lead to a wonderful thing. It meant that my Dad got to hunt with me. We went back to a secluded spot that was near a small pond. We sat on a sandy hill slightly elevated above the pond under a large oak tree. It was getting to be late evening. We had not seen anything. But then all of the sudden it appeared. The biggest doe you had ever seen. I am by no means a trophy hunter not necessarily by choice but by opportunity and that year I had a doe permit. My dad just nudged me and pointed at the doe as big as a Guernsey Cow, I turned slowly and aimed my trusty Parker Hale .243 with that nasty Redfield scope at that huge doe and tried to fight off the shakes and lack of oxygen in my lungs. I know it was only a doe but I was fighting the adrenaline rush so I could make a clean shot. I got the cross hairs right in the vitals and pulled the trigger. The deer jumped up turned around and took off at towards the patch of hardwoods at mach speed. My dad said, “I am pretty sure you got it” He had an even bigger smile than the week before when he got his first deer. I was on cloud nine. I was hoping and praying that I had taken that trophy doe; well it was a trophy to me. We waited for what seemed like hours but was really probably a matter of minutes and walked to go find some blood. We found blood right where the doe stood when I shot. We follwed it in to the hardwood patch hopng that it was down somewhere in the vicinity because if it went any further there was a clear cut that had grown in with poplars and they were no more that 6 inches apart. So find it in there would take a lot of tracking on hands and knees and light was fading. But just when I started to think we were going to have to be on are hands and knees in the clear cut my Dad says “Get Over Here” in a serious voice. I respond “ What” as only an angry teenager can. He said, “just come here” with a smile on his face and that is when I knew that the deer was right under his feet. And I ran over to the huge deer. I had made a perfect shot right through the heart. My Dad knowing that I hate blood said “You go get Grandpa and tell him to bring the tractor out here and I will gut this for you”. So I floated over to Grandpa so that he could go get the tractor for my monster trophy deer because there was no way my Dad and I were going to drag this monster in. The previous week’s adventure in dragging was enough for us we need a large machine for this hog. I remember telling Grandpa and he just smiled and hugged me like it was the greatest thing ever to happen. I knew I was now a part to the hunting fraternity, because if my Grandpa who had been on Safaris in Africa and had a huge trophy room at home said I did a good job, I must be a great hunter. I ran back to Dad while Grandpa got the tractor. When I got to Dad he was done field dressing the deer. Grandpa arrived shortly and we loaded the deer on the back of the tractor. My Dad and Grandpa chatted under their breath for a few minutes, little did I know that their discussion was about the small stature of the deer I shot. I was still clueless. We got back to the cabin I then I realized that my trophy doe was actually about the size of a small German Shepard. And once again for years to come I was the butt of many jokes about the deer that came to be know as “Bambi”. But I always have the comeback that it didn’t take me 40+ years to get my first deer like my Dad. Even though I look back and think that the deer was probably to small to take, I realize how special it was to share that moment with my Dad and I will gladly take the teasing because it was another great memory.

[QDMAMAN]

would have to be my most memorable. On opening day of the 2003 rifle season I had a co-worker's son come to the house overnight to hunt the opener with my son and I. Because my property is only 19 acres I decided to let my son have the "cherry spot" down in the river bottom and I would travel a mile or so to another property I had permission to hunt. I gave our guest the choice of going with me or hunting with my son (within walking distance of warmth, food, and tv) he chose the latter. As we were leaving for the woods I reminded my son that he needed to feed his 4-H steer before he hit the woods. As I was nicely settling into my blind a mile or so away I hear a car honking it's horn out on the road as I peered out the back of the blind I see my son's car so I'm thinking the worst and hoof it out to see what's wrong. Well his steer had wedged it's head in the feeder and was STUCK. I walked back to my truck as light was coming upon the horizon and sped back to the house and waded into a foot of cow s**t to free the beast. After hosing off my boots and sending the boys to the river bottom I sped back to my spot a mile or so away.
I arrived at my blind just as shooting light hit, assured that all the horn honking and commotion had sent every deer in the section into hiding. About 9 a.m. as the shots were ringing out around me and I was starting to anticipate some action I hear, guess what...., my son honking his horn out on the road, I couldn't believe what was happening. As I emerged from my blind and into his view he was dancin a jig with his hands raised above his head imitating antlers and yelling "he's bigger than yours, he's bigger than yours...". Needless to say I don't remember the run to the road or the drive, a mile or so, back to the house.
As I approached the river bottom were he and our guest were I gazed upon a beautiful 3.5 yr old 9 pt. with a hole through the boiler room, 1 shot and down, his first buck.
The next thing I know I'm hugging and rolling around on the ground with my son (and crying). That buck hangs in my office as I write this and my son is off to Fort Knox in basic training. He won't make the opener this year but will be home on the 19th of Dec. hopefully we'll get a late bow hunt in, but if not we can alway re-live that hunt. Man I love that kid.

Big T

[Skibum]

Be sure and thank your son for his service. I hope you have a great hunt in December.

[Joe Archer]

Like many others I have so many memories that it is hard to pick one as the best. The ones that still choke me up a bit all involve each of my three kids taking their first deer. My two sons took their deer with my .308 while I sat with them in youth seasons. My daughter took her first deer last year at 12 years old with her bow. It is hard to say that anything can compare with strong hugs on the neck and the whispered words from each of them..."I love you so much dad... thank you for hunting with me..."
Close seconds would be my first deer ever taken with a bow 1n 1983, or tracking and recovering my dad's first deer ever.
Another unforgettable time involves the biggest deer of my life... I will just submit an excerpt from my hunting journal as well..

....the beauty of the woods were overpowering that day. The earthy scent rising up from the forest floor seemed to dance with the mist that was enveloping the colorful mix of reds, greens and browns of the autumn woods. To say I was moved by my surroundings this day would be an understatement; it seemed on fire! I just sat there in appreciation taking it all in, or as the case may be letting it encompass me as well. Soon my eyes drifted shut, and I began to thank my creator for putting me here to experience this. I thanked him for everything I had or ever was to have, for all that I am or all that I ever would become…
How long my eyes remained closed is still a mystery to me. I vividly remember the tranquility being interrupted by a discernable “SNAP!” As my eyes opened and I looked to my right, I noticed the legs of a deer standing 30 yards away in a thicket to my right. As he moved closer down the trail his large massive antlers came into view. With my heart pounding and knees shaking, I watched him move toward the large scrape that was only 20 yards away. I drew as his head passed behind a large oak, and sent an arrow through his heart as he emerged broad side. The deer was one of the largest to make Michigan Outdoors Big Buck Night that year dressing out over 220 pounds….

<----<<<

[kumma]

Most memorable one was my first year hunting, I went to my grandparents place in the UP for 1994 gun season. I remember me and my cousin Tom (He passed away in '98) crawling out to the old fenceline in the middle of the property. Come sunup we see probably 30-40 deer scattered in the field. We both were shocked and as hard as we looked we didnt see and horns. As the sun came up the deer scattered with no bucks in sight. No deer that year but it was a great trip. What a sight that was, never seen anything like it since. I always remember Tom when Im walking that old fenceline.

[outdoor addict]

The one thats always brought up while I hunt with friends. Was bow hunting about four years ago and shot a real big doe. A buddy went with me to drag her out as it was about two miles back in the woods. Just got back to the doe when another hunter walked up. He says to me in a smart alick tone of voice " Hey you gonna mount that" My response was " That depends on how long your gonna turn your head for":lol: My friends have never let me live my response down. They all know me for being a smart **** but they say that was the best they have ever heard.

[EYESON]

I have many memories but I think I just had the one that will be the most memorable. It is not deerhunting but hunting related.
I was fortunate to just return from a week long elk hunt with my dad in the mountains of Colorado. I wanted to get him something for this trip but I didn't know what. I finally figured out a couple years ago his prize hunting knife was stolen and he never replaced it so I bought him a new Marble arms knife and slid it to him out there. I explained to him it was just a little thanks to hime for all of the years things showed up at camp that I needed but was just going to make do.
The memory was completed on Sunday October 22 when my 62 year lod dad bagged a decent 5x4 elk and he broke in the new knife and I packed his loins, back straps and horns off the mountain for him that evening. That is something that I have dreamed of doing for him for a long time. The part that still chokes me up is the thought of the hug hhe gave me thanked me for putting this trip together and saying that is is probably the first and only time he will be physically able to hunt at those altitudes.
I know kind of sappy but after all that man has done for me it seems like I can never give back enough.

[mechanical head]

No doubt for me, 13 year old daugher Nicole this year.
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/521/medium/Nic_s_6pt_002.jpg

Many, many, others but greatest memories was the ones I had with my dad early on hunting..

[hunter5054]

this is my second year hunting, im 15 years old and I gotta say my best hunting memory so far is about 3 weeks ago when my mom went out hunting on a sunday morning and i bagged my first deer with a bow, i dont know who was happier. sure was an awesome day in the woods with mom. now hopefully we can make another awesome memory opening day of shotgun season with her first deer.:woohoo1:

Awesome storys everyone and great thread.

Mike Roberts

[riverman]

Like so many others I have many but one brings a smile to my face everytime I think about. My father could shoot a shotgun and birdhunt like no man alive. Deer hunter he was not. One evening my brother and I were milking cows and dad rushes into the barn and say's I just wounded a buck. Your alot better at this game than I, go see if you can knock him down for me. Damn, deer hunting vrs milking cows? I was almost to the woods before he had finished the sentence!! I picked up the track, figured where the buck was heading, did a half circle, and when I came back to the trail, there he stood. Put the buck down and headed back. I wasn't gone 20 minutes and when I came back in the barn my dad asked why I was back so soon. I told him I found his deer and took care of it for him. He said thats great, now get back to milking cows, their's enough light left for me to try and fill my doe tag!!!!!!

[Frantz]

My first year I drew a doe tag. I worked in GR, a little over an hour drive and I figured I would get in some hunting real quick in the morning before work. Got out to the side of the hill and propped up against the usual rock and fell asleep. When I woke up to my own snoaring, I looked around and there were a number of deer within about 50 yards of me, two that were about 20-30 yards out. I took the buck and a decent doe with a quick follow up, I was using my Dan Wesson 357Mag, I always carry it in the field with me that or my 30 carbine.

Dad and my brothers father in law saw me coming out of the woods and the three of us got together to dress the deer and drag them up the hill. We live and hunt on our own property, so we left our 3 rifles and my shoulder holster at the top of the hill so as not to have to drag them up and down the hill.

While we were taking care of things and BS'n around I told my dad, shhhh, I hear something, he laughed and kept talking and after about 30 seconds I convinced him to be quiet, sure enough, a small buck and about 5 does came across the stream and were about 75 yards from us. My dad kept whispering to my bothers father in law to shoot the deer, " shoot it, shoot it!" tthen he got louder and louder, he never heard him and I telling him that all our guns were at the top of the hill. We laughed about that story every year since. The in law got his first deer two years later.

[newbostonmike]

I have two great memories. My son taking his first deer with the bow a couple years ago and when I shot the biggest buck I've ever taken in 2001. My son was sitting with me that day and I can remember everything like it happened 5 minutes ago. I have lots of great memories over the years, but those two stand out more than any.

[stillwaiting]

back in '98 my ex-wife had a friend who owned acreage in Mio that boardered hundreds of acres of federal land. The lady lived down here but gave me a key to her place and let me go there whenever I wanted. Nice hunting. Came across a print that was very big, almost like an elk's but was a deer. I started seeing sign of droppings and this "big print." Long story short, I would see this deer in July and August, was definately over 250 pounds and his rack well past his ears in July while in velvet. I would just go up in the summer and sit in the woods to see him. Knew his territory. Well, over the years never got a shot at him, but always saw his print, he was so heavy it was like his hoof print would have a split in it, and if there was no print I could tell by his droppings. One big piece of turd and it never broke up when it dried. Knew his territory, would hang out in a thick swale. No way to get in there, had to hunt the edges. One day I was sitting in a blind, had a lick out, and no more than five minutes in the blind he came out, had some mineral lick, gave out a bellow, and slowly walked in the woods. Full velvet, no more than 15 yards away from me. Gave up after five years, and as far as I know no one ever got him.

Definately a P&Y buck. Never have seen one like that again.

[Andge]

When I was around 16 and I was hunting between Wellston and Manistee off of 55 with my dad. It was a horrible day rain wind snow. We parked the truck off of a two track and went in to set up on the ground. Tree stands were for Bow Hunters back then. I sat there a hour or two and froze my ars off. Decided I would go back to the truck and wimp it out. I get in the truck and start it up to get warm. 5 minutes later I here a rifle shot that about scares me through the roof of the truck. So I sit there for about another hour waiting for the old man. Then I here a three wheeler coming through the woods with my dad on the back of it with a smile as big as life and a 8 pointer being pulled behind him. Apparently the kid on the three wheeler was hunting close to dad and helped him pull it out of the woods. I was very proud of my dad that day and learned a valuable lesson. You just dont get many shots sitting in the truck.

Last year I took my seven year old out and sat in an elevated blind. We had little deer all around us. I pulled my muzzle loader up for him to scope the deer out and whispered to him why we were not shooting these little guys we have many conversations about deer selection and managment and I think he starting to understand. Lessons learned throgh the years.

[U.P. Whackmaster]

All of the hunting stories are simply awesome. One thing that really stands out in all of them is not of our successes while alone but of when we are sharing them with our family and friends! I love to be alone when I hear the yipping of coyotes or the beauty of a sunrise. In the same token, I wished that I could share those same visions and feelings with those who are close to me to give a taste of why I am out there. I come from a very long line of outdoorsmen and women. Some of whom I never got to know or share a hunt with and others who took time away from their busy lives to help me become a seasoned hunter. When I am alone in the outdoors, I am near those family members whom I never hunted with or never knew. The most rewarding part of hunting for me is the sharing of hunting. Be it knowledge, a blind or area, maybe a tip. I agree with many here that there are simply too many great hunts to tell. I will try tell you about one of my most memorable.
My brother lived in Chicago with my father for a short time when we were in our late teens. He got in with the wrong crowd and my mother couldn't helo him so she sent him to be with my father. After a few months, he got homesick and wanted to come home. He came home in September and in November, second week of deer season, a friend of his from Chicago came to visit. Slab was his nickname and he was a city boy through and through. He'd never gone hunting, much less stepped in the woods and my brother asked me if I would take him to sit in a friend's blind with me. I had an antlerless tag and thought it would be a good experience. So I told him I would. Slab was a hulk of a young guy! 6'5" and 235 lbs. solid. He was funny as he recounted his experiences in the city fighting, drinking, and working. As we rode to our hunting area, I noticed Slab was sneezing, had a runny nose and was coughing. I asked him if he was going to make it? He said he would be okay and didn't want to miss this! We finally got situated in my friends blind and it became apparently clear Slab never hunted. He had the attention span of a three year old head constantly moving all the while stifling coughs. I thought to my self, "we're never going to see a deer with him moving like this!" Just as I thought that, I noticed movement ahead in the rasberry thicket about 65 yards out. I told Slab, stay still and as quiet as you can, there's a deer coming. He started bobbing his head around looking for it whispering, Where, where is it?" I softly told him, "Just stay still." Just then this tank of a doe stepped into view and Slab's eyes got as big as half-dollars! He was like a child at Christmas, filled with amazement! I asked him, "Should we take her?" He said, "Okay but make it quick, I have to cough bad!" I lined the crosshairs up for a high-shoulder shot and squeezed the trigger when he started to cough. BOOM went the .270 and down she went! He just couldn't believe it! "Dude," he yelled,"That was friggin AWESOME!!!" We got out of the stand and went over to admire our trophy. "Now what do we do?" Slab asked after we had handshakes and congratulations. I replied,"We have to clean her out." "WHAT?" Slab asked? I explained to him we had to take the organs out and drain the blood in the deer's cavity. "Man, I can't watch that!" he said. I told him to take our seats and cushions to the truck and by the time he got back it would be done, then we could drag it up to the truck and go home. He got back to me just as I was rolling the deer over to drain with blood up to my elbows. "DUDE" Slab said in a respectful voice, 'Your a friggin animal!!!" This coming from a guy who fought street gangs and witnessed th eharshness of city life yet was humbled by the mere act of field dressing a deer! I simply told him that it needed to be done in order to process the deer.
A little ways down the road, Slab grabbed my hand and shook it, thanking me for taking the time to bring him hunting and that it was the most awesome thing he'd ever done or seen! When we got back to my Mom's house all Slab talked about was how quick the deer expired after I shot it, how I looked after I field dressed the deer and how much fun he had being out there. I haven't seen much of Slab over the years, and as far as I know, he's never hunted. But, everytime we run into each other down by my Dad's place, he still thanks me for taking him hunting and how awesome of an experience it was. Like I said, sharing our sport is so much more rewarding than the harvest itself because in many instances, we don't harvest a deer but enjoy a wealth of experiences on our "hunting journey" with others. Those are the memories I will cherish forever! Good luck this season, be careful, and respect other hunters. While there are some who goof things up for others, be the best outdoorsperson you can cause in the end, you have to live with yourself. Idiots always get their Karma. Take care all.
Whack

[mwp]

I know my memorable was 4 years ago on the firearm opener.Prior to the opener whenever my Dad would come over to my house we would always have to take a walk through my property.He always loved looking for deer and deer sign and always pointed out runs and good spots for deer to be seen.He always enjoyed the fact that his son(me)finally got the piece of property that he had always wanted,he was very proud.There was this spot my Dad always would stop at and just stare over the property.It was a grassy knoll that overlooked the whole field and you could see clear across to the other edge of the woods.We alway had to stop here for a few minutes just to take it all in.My gun blind is about 75 yards away from here.Dad was an avid rabbit hunter but never a deer hunter.This year though he said he was going to be with me on opening day,which would be his first.Early September rolls around and at a family outing hunting comes up with the other realatives and my Dad brags about how he will be with me on opening day and how much he is looking forward to it.A week after the party my Dad goes in for a yearly stress test and that day is put into the cardiac care unit.A week later he goes under the knife for triple bipass.A week of complications and a leaky valve is too much for him to pull out of and he passes away.Forward to the week of the opener and debating weather I should go or not,and finally decide that he would want me to go.Opening morning in my blind at 7:43.On that grassy knoll overlooking the field out steps a buck,one shot with dads 1187 drops him there.6 point with 16 inch spread.I'm back out there at 3:00 and dead tired from the days earlier events.I began to dose of and awake at 5:35 with my Dad in my mind.I glance over at that grassy knoll again and sure enough out steps another buck.Put the binoculars on him and count at least 8 so i know its a go.Another slug flies from Dads gun and another buck down.11 pointer with a couple small stickerpoints.I know for a fact that he was there with me,unbeleivable as it sounds this is true.Any other time I would not have had those deer mounted,but they now hang on my wall in my mans room with me knowing the meaning behind them and who helped me harvest them.Dad brought those deer in I just know it.

[SgtSlaughter]

This one's short and sweet.

We were hauling my buck up this very steep bank on the edge of a stream and my dad didn't think I was pushing (I wasn't, heh) so he starts to yell at me. At this point he is really leaning into the bank trying to get the buck to the top and he yells "PUSH!", so I give it everything I've got. I pushed this thing hard enough that my dad couldn't get out of the way and the antlers ended up hitting right in the butt. Man I was laughing so hard I almost slipped and went into the drink. LOL

[Steven Arend]

As far as deer hunting memories I would have to say the times spent with my dad many years back at deer camp up in Baraga at Silver Mountain Deer Camp when I was just old enough to hunt. The first buck I seen up there I was standing on an old stump and I was shaking so bad that my feet ended up going through the rotten wood and I could not keep the gun still long enough to get a shot off.

But my most memorable hunting moment was last Saturday when my dad, my 10 year old son and I were out duck hunting. This was my son’s third time hunting and he had not shot a duck yet. We had a flock of ring necks lock up and come across the front of the blind, my dad said “take them.” I heard my dad shoot and watched 2 birds drop and I but the bead on the next one and pulled the trigger and watched that bird drop to the water. I sat down grabbed 3 shells and started loading my gun when my son looked at me and said “Dad did you shoot that one?” I just calmly said, as I finished loading my gun “Nope son that was all you, I never loaded my gun.” That’s was all he could talk about for the next few days, was how he had to shoot the ducks because dad like to hunt with an unloaded gun.

Steve

[mich buckmaster]

Man, there are sooo many memories from personal accomplishments to hunting other species out of Michigan, and then there are family memories that I just cant pick one.

One in general is the time I was hunting with my dad and he shot OUR first big buck of all time and we were so excited as a family and my brother, dad, and I were all together.

[Blueump]

Has to be watching my daughter start to shake just after dropping her first buck. It was about 50 degrees but she was shivering so hard she could barely talk.