As the Deer/Gun Season in Wisconsin has come to a close, I pack up my gear and take a moment to realize how fast 9 days goes by…

This was my second year as a deer hunter… actually it is also my second year as a hunter (period). Although I am new to the sport, I can see that I have come a long way in a year… Brent and I have two hunting channels that we watch regularly and this year we went shining for deer twice a week since September.

Last year, after completing my hunter safety course, I had a little over a month to practice safe hunting skills. I was lucky enough to have a friend of ours from the archery club loan me his Rifle for the season… all I can remember is how sore I was lugging that big brut around after 2-4 deer drives day after day.

Last year, we took some time sighting in the rifle as well as having me practice target shooting. I later found this was very valuable as I was able to make my first successful shot at 20 yards, harvesting a 2-1/2 year old doe. No matter how many times you practice breathing, slowly… when the time comes - your heart is racing and it is easy to forget how to take it easy, breath and to squeeze the trigger.

On opening day last year, I took my chance at a 175 yard shot at a six point buck… the memory is somewhat of a blur to me now except for the fact that I was so anxious at taking my first shot that I brought my rifle into position upside down (see Tales of the Huntress – First Time Jitters)... I am still trying to live that one down.

The past is behind my and I have learned a lot in a years time. This year, Brent bought me my won rifle… a 270 Remington Youth Model (the shortened stock as made my life during deer season so much easier, the smaller size fits my arm length perfectly). In addition to sighting in and practicing shots at 100yards, I also purchased snap caps to help me from flinching and pounding my trigger with my finger. After getting an impression of my scope pounded into my nose one time, I was a little leery about relaxing and taking my time to squeeze the trigger. The snap caps really helped me to not anticipate the jolt from a fired gun.

Gun Season this year is a delightful memory, one I will never forget…. I harvested my first buck with a rifle and I did it on my own, without coaching or prompting from Brent or any of my comrades from our hunting party.

We got up at 4:30am and where in our stands by 5:30am. It was a balmy 35 degrees in the morning but, by 11am the sun came out and all the 3" of snow we had - started to melt away. There were a lot of gun shots heard throughout the morning... Brent's dad - Terry took 150yard shot at a 4 point buck that was running across the field where we hunt. His firing shot woke me up. I have a tendency of taking a before noon nap.... Needless to say, I was awake after his exciting shot. the buck ran across the field and continued on  -  walking once he got into the thick cover in the woods... Terry missed the shot. 

After lunch, another buck came into view in front of Terry's stand, it was nice buck with a big rack... we think Terry had buck fever because he fired his rifle 4 times and missed the deer with every shot... he quickly radioed to me, to make sure I was awake, and to let me know the buck he missed was headed up the ridge that was to the northeast of my stand... I saw nothing. 

The day went on and, I took another short nap... around 3pm I was staring into the abyss when this handsome buck entered the field off a finger of pines to the northeast of my stand. The buck was feeding on the left over beans throughout the cut field looking up warily every 30 seconds or so. In the distance, I heard more gun shots being fired. I glassed the buck using the scope of my gun and very excitedly watched the buck  while practicing my breathing – my insides were buzzing; surly the butterflies in my stomach were having a fun time disrupting my sense of calm... after all the years of competitive sports I have never felt excitement like the kind you get from hunting. I don't know how to explain it yet but, I sure feel its all consuming buzz. 

The buck was about 300 yards away across an open field. Brent and I had sat in this stand a day earlier and talked about where my different yardage vantage points were and that after 200 yards I would have to raise my "aim" on the deer to insure I don't miss or hit the animal in a non vital area. 

After 15 minutes of watching this deer, working on controlling my breathing, I practiced my shot in my mind over and over. Suddenly, noticed the buck starting to get restless and start to wander in the direction of the woods. At this point I practiced my shot but felt it was too far for me to take… I didn’t want to make a poor judgment on my ability to shoot at such a long distance. Then, finally, I stopped second guessing my abilities and became convinced that I could… who cares how far away this shot is... I can do it. I was confident in my developing shooting abilities. 

I placed the crosshairs of my scope upon the deer, 6inches higher from the heart due to the extra 100yards that I would be attempting to shoot, and as the buck started to quarter away from me I took a deep breath. I took another deep breath and slowly let all the air out of my lungs. While in the middle of this process, I slowly squeezed the trigger. The sound of the gun made me jump... I quickly unloaded the empty shell from my gun and reloaded another shell. As I repositioned my sight through the scope onto the deer - he had already run off towards the woods line and before I knew it he was in the thick cover of the woods... I lost sight of him. I did not see him again... in my mind he got away. I was disappointed that I didn't know the outcome of my experience. 

After 20 minutes, I radioed to Brent letting him know that I "shot at" a "6pt buck and it ran into the woods.”  Brent informed me that he would leave his stand and come down to the field where my stand was overlooking and that he wanted me to explain to him over the radio where I shot at the deer. 

When Brent came to the field I started to explain that the buck had entered the field from the east end of the woods. We had a few miss-communications about which "brown trees" and between 11- 0'clock and 1-0'clock, etc... Luckily the buck was feeding in a dirt patch that happened to be the only patch in the field; however, dirt makes it harder to detect blood and any splats essential for tracking any harvested deer. Brent found the tracks of where the buck came in from the woods and eventually he found a "blood"! As he started to slowly track the steps of the fleeing buck, I yelped in excitement and started to believe in myself, that I did have the ability to accomplish such a long shot... 

Brent continued to track the deer into the woods and found more, well lots, of blood splats until finally his voice lifted and he spoke into the radio, "you shot yourself a "NICE" buck, awe babe he's an 8 pointer! Good Job, Babe!" 

At this point I was bawling and I felt very light headed... as my vision blurred due to the swelling and draining of my tears I started to experience all sorts of emotions... I had harvested my first buck with a rifle... I had made a good lung shot from 309 yards away! I did not shoot too fast or poorly but, I took my time and enjoyed the experience of the buck, I practiced controlling my excitement and emotions before I took my shot. My hunting was a success.

I was a true, Great White Huntress... ( a name my mom has coined for me)