Hunter: Rodney Simpson
Points: 8 (4L, 4R)
County: Walker
Season: 2017-2018
Hunt Story
The morning temp was upper 30s and clear. I have a 25-mile drive from my house to my hunting land. The heater in my old truck had quit working the year before, but I had worked on it and thought I had fixed it. It was a cold drive, but it did start to warm up inside the truck and by the time I got to my land it was plum HOT! I got out to let the cable down at the entrance and drove into the woods. A good warm truck in the dark woods is a good place to get some good sleep, so I decided to snooze a little. Before I knew it, it was almost daylight. I got out and started getting my things out of a tote that I keep my coveralls and vest in, about that time “mother nature” was calling. By this time it was light enough to see without a flashlight. I got ready and walked to my box stand. It was now 7:10 and I was upset at myself for being late. My glasses had fogged up, so I had taken them off to clean them when I looked up and there at the end of my shooting lane was the biggest deer I had ever seen in these woods. The time was 7:20. The deer looked up at me and started walking through the woods. I HAD to take a shot. I still didn’t have on my glasses, but I looked through my scope and saw him walking between trees. I had to shoot. I aimed and fired. He ran off but looked hurt. I was so nervous I didn’t know what to do. Then 10 minutes later, at 7:30, I saw another deer to my left. It was the second biggest deer I had ever seen while hunting. I didn’t know what to do. Was the first deer down? Should I let this one go? He looked up at me then stepped in the over grown cut-over. I grunted, he stepped back out and started walking away from me. I had to make a decision. I thought, “One is better than none.” I fired and he went out of sight. There I was, been in the stand 20 minutes and shot at 2 of the biggest deer I’d ever seen in my 40 years of hunting. I climbed down and went to look for the second deer and there he was a very wide 7-point, even with part of one antler broken off. I was now ready to go back and look for that first deer and there he was, a very wide 8-point. To me, he was a monster. I was so nervous I could barely fill out my kill tag, but I got it done and got the deer loaded in my truck. I looked up to give thanks to the Lord for my best hunting trip ever, after 40 years. I wondered, “Is this my last hunting trip? Because it has been great!” But I am still here and can only hope to be alive and able to hunt again next year. Rodney Simpson Ringgold, GA
