13 years old, first day deer hunting ever. Monster symmetric 10 point with tons of mass. I wasn't shooting a bow, I was shooting an old marlin 336c in .35 Rem. I was so cold I was shivering, but that was nothing compared to the shaking that I did when that deer made it's way 300 yards along the edge of a powerline on oak leaves that sounded like corn flakes crackling with the sunlight glinting off of his antlers. I didn't know it at the time, but I had buck fever bad. He was 70 yards away and broadside, but the iron sites were going above the deer and below the deer and I tried to time it for the middle. After the first shot, which I never in a million years would take again, the buck fever was gone. Unfortunately, so was the deer. That was November 30, 1981. For christmas that year, my father bought me my first bow, and Indian Stalker compound that drew 45-55 pounds. My father said that at 55 pounds, I would have to worry about drawing it back and wouldn't get buck fever. I don't know if it was the draw weight of the bow, but I started shooting archery with that bow and have never had buck fever since. I know most of this isn't a trad archery story, but it is part of the pathway that led me here.
Topic: Has anyone else missed a buck of a lifetime? (Read 3032 times)
