Hunter: JimBob Hartlage
Points: 3 (2L, 1R)
County: White
Season: 2017-2018
Hunt Story
My son was drawn for the Buck Shoals youth quota hunt on 11/18-11/19. For this particular hunt, there are assigned stands and hunters are only allowed to harvest one deer. All of the stands are very nice ground blinds, that have plenty of room for two people. My son was given his stand selection, and we went there on Saturday morning. That stand was in a wooded area on top of a little ridge. It seemed to be a good spot but we didn't see anything. So we left the stand and went back to the check station to move our dot saying we were out of the stand and saw that other hunters had harvested a deer. So they would be completed with their hunt. So, after lunch, we went to the check station to move our dot to say that we were in the blind and saw that people had changed their stand location because other hunters had gotten a deer and therefore had completed their hunt, leaving their stand open. So, my son said that he wanted to go to another stand that was open. This stand was in some trees on the edge of a food plot on a small hill. From the stand we could not only see the food plot but the side of a hill and through the trees to another field. So, we sat there probably two hours and my son said that he was tired from getting up so early that morning. The next thing I know, he was asleep over in the corner of the blind. A little later I saw three does come over the top of the hill and down the side of the hill we could see and into the food plot in front of us. So I nudged my son telling him what I saw. He woke up and saw the does that were now almost right in front of us at about 30 yards. But then, I saw another deer come down the hill in almost the same path as the does. It was a small buck. We decided to wait for the buck, and it continued on the same path as the does. When it got to about 40 yards, he shot. He didn't want to wait much longer because the does that were still close by and were getting a little nervous about the barrel that was now sticking out of the blind. So at the shot the buck dropped in its tracks. I told my son to give him a little time, but he couldn't wait. He ran out of the blind and to the deer. Fortunately, the buck had already expired, when he got to it. This is the second deer my son has harvested, and he has always been very appreciative toward the animal and the hunt. I couldn't ask for any better in this regard.
