Hunter: Kelsey Godfrey
Points: 9 (5L, 4R)
County: Coweta
Season: 2016-2017
Hunt Story
It was Saturday afternoon on the 19th of November, at about four o’clock. My boyfriend Josh and I were hunting separately in my dad’s Coweta/Meriwether County lease. Josh in a tree stand and me in a ground blind. We were sitting there for about two hours and we started texting each other saying it’s far too windy for Josh to be in a tree stand. We both felt as is if we were going to blow away because of the wind. Josh got down from the stand, and I got out of my blind and we met up in the logging road at the golf cart. Neither of us had seen or heard a deer in the woods. We decided that it was just too windy and we would just ride back to the truck with the cart and then walk around and try to sneak up on a deer. If not, just go home. As we reached the opening of one of our big food plots we were distracted by a group of turkeys running out of the field to our left. As they entered the woods Josh looked to his right and said, “4-point buck”. I turned to look and I saw the small buck run into the woods but my head for some reason kept turning and I saw the widest buck I have ever seen in my life trot off behind us. I immediately say, it’s a shooter! We got off the golf cart and I loaded my Ruger American .270, pulled it up to my face, and just stood there, thinking he will run out into the road behind us. We sat there for a minute whispering trying to decide what we should do. We decided to walk down the woods road to see if we could see anything. As we walked a few hundred feet we saw a doe right behind where the big buck trotted off to. We decided to just stand there and wait minute or so. The wind began to work in our favor because the doe could not hear or smell us. She had no idea we were thirty yards away from her. I was getting ready to tell Josh let’s go just right inside the big field and try and post up on a tree and call this big boy in. Josh pulls his gun up to his face and says with whispering excitement, buck, it’s the shooter! My heart began to beat header than I have ever felt in my life! Standing up, just thirty yards in front of me, was the buck I had been waiting two years for. This buck looked straight at us and had us made, I thought for sure he was going to take off or charge us because he began to step closer and closer, stomping and getting real agitated. Josh had him in his scope the whole time and I was just trying to calm my nerves and keep my gun steady on the buck. He stood there facing us for a solid three and a half minutes. Meanwhile, I stood there holding my gun up and shaking harder than I ever had. I whispered to Josh and said, “I don’t know if I can do this, I’m shaking so hard and I can’t keep my gun steady”. I had never shot my rifle standing without any kind of support. I kept thinking to myself, I have to calm down if I’m going to make this shot when this buck gives me a an ethical shot. My arms had never been so weak, shaky, and just ready to give out on me. Well, after what felt like the longest three minutes of my life the buck gave me a broadside shot. With his head pointed to the right, and not a moment to spare, I took a big deep breath, aimed, and squeezed the trigger. This big guy did not know what hit him, he turned around and went a few feet back and just stood there offering me another broadside shot to the other side. Well, after two years of patiently waiting for a nice buck to cross my path, I did not want to take the chances of losing this one. All with one quick motion, I chambered another round and took my second broad side shot while he faced the opposite direction. Josh said, “You got him! You got him!!” The buck hit the ground right where he had stood. I shot him twice in the heart. I’ve never been so proud of myself for making those two shots, especially seeing that I have never practiced standing, or without support. I immediately look at my boyfriend and give him a high-five and big hug! I immediately called my dad to tell him the news and with a shaky voice, I could hardly get the words out, “Dad, I shot my first buck!” We began our celebration and took photographs of the big nine-point buck and sent them to my mom and dad who were hunting in south Georgia. My dad was so proud! He said he had not gotten any photographs of this particular buck on our trail cameras. The rush of adrenaline stayed with me for the rest of the night and within the weekend. It was a hunt I will never forget! Kelsey Godfrey
