Iowa Deer (long read)

[chadly]

My parents come every November for a few days so my wife and I can go bow hunting.  We timed it right this year and the weather was perfect and the deer were moving.  We hunted Thursday evening through Sunday and basically sat all day.  We'd been seeing two nice bucks and my wife had the bigger one at 35 yards Saturday but could only see his body and not his head when he came in.  She did not want to shoot him without getting a good look at his antlers first.  When he walked off she saw she made a big mistake.  She's been kicking herself since.  Sunday evening came and we had seen so much activity but we had not shot a deer.  My parents needed to get back to Minnesota and our hunting together was over.  The weather looked perfect for Monday morning and I just had to go one more time.  I did two things right that morning.  One when I left the truck I looked up at the beautiful stars and gave thanks to God for his creation and the opportunity to be part of it.  Second I threw a single can of beer in the bed of my truck in case I had to drag one of these bucks out alone.  While this buck is not one the bucks we had been seeing I just could not pass on him.  I've never shot one with a kicker and I just could not resist.  I saw him go down 71 yards away the range finder said.  I decided to sit for a few more hours since I had a doe tag.  Within a half hour to an hour the big one walked by at 25 yards.  I have a gopro mounted to my bow so I was able to make a video of him go by.  All the other times I seen him he was 75 yards of further.  He actually was not as big as we thought he was.  Just a lot of mass and really tall tines.  He was a straight 8pt.  I got lots of really good videos maybe a dozen or so of bucks I passed on.  I will make youtube video of all the deer including me shooting this one.  I'm hoping to get a sitter so I can take my wife out some more.  Happy and Safe hunting to you. 
P.S.  I heard a turkey gobble every morning and seen him once.  I've never heard a turkey gobble in the fall and I'm in the woods a lot.  I saw a bobcat and I also witnessed my first real deer fight.  Not just putting heads together and pushing back and forth but an actual fight.  It was one of the neatest things I've ever seen.   I've seen it on tv but that is not the same.  So much more violent and vocal than I can explain.  Both deer were little and I felt bad for the smaller of the two as it looked painful.

[DC1.]

Congrats! Nice Buck 

[mgm1955]

Fine buck! Congrats!!!

[cramerhunts]

Congratulations on a great buck! Enjoyed the read and hopefully you can get a sitter to get your wife back out there.

[renegade19]

 

[ElkTurkMan]

Congrats on your buck. I enjoyed the story.

[chadly]

After watching the deer fight I've concluded that rattling from a tree stand may not be ideal.  There needs to be a lot of leafs being rustled, twigs stapping, and bodies be slammed into trees and the ground.  Simply rattling is only a small part of the sound made.  Thanks for the replies.

[tomstopper]

Congrats