Stories

David I am on the ph with Linda and she was wanting me to send you my pic of my deer. I shot this last Thursday with my 3006 named sally because when she hits them it lays them down.... just like the song. Last year during gun season second day I shot a 18pt. 220pds scored 142. and the very next day I shot with my Crossbow a 12 pt 218pds score in the 150. On December 28 i took a 11pt with my bow. And it scored 157. I will send you pic of all my deer I have taken over the years I have been deer hunting my whole life back when i was 7 with my dad but didn't take my first deer until I was 17 in Texas on my ranch. My first buck when i was 21 5pt in greenwood Mississippi. and it wasn't until 2002 i took my first wall hanger 9pt 190 # with a bow in late October. I dru out of one of Oklahoma handicapped hunts. Oh ya I am in a wheelchair. I shot a 15pt 180 # scored 153 and 5/8 it was the happiest day of my life. It was 28 degrees that day and couldn't quit shaking after I shot him I had to call my mom and dad to tell them. In 2005 I took a 23pt non-typical. It didn't score that much 120, but he i still a beautiful buck. Hope I not talking your ear off. Good luck in the woods I am heading there now. You can't hit if you don't swing right.

Rusty Linn Sanders of Oklahoma City.

I was able to bag this 230 pound eight point and Dallas County. He only had a 17 inch spread . His body mass dwarfed his horns. The diet of peanuts that those deer have been on seems to have really paid off.

Jimmy Brooks

Mr. Sullivan,

I am sending you this picture and story in hopes you can use it for one of your Buckmasters stories

A friend of mine named Mason Banta called me one day and asked me if I wanted to go on a hunt down in south Texas for rams. he took care of the freight so I could go with him. he is much younger man than I and could be a son but he has been a good buddy to me

The hunt was supposed to be the 7th and 8th of September. we made it down on the 6th of September and got ourselves set up for the next morning hunt. I had decided to try and take my first animal with a recurve and so the story begins.

On the first morning the 7th about 3/4 hour before daylight I was dropped off at my stand. it was a ladder stand about 8 to 10 ft high. the stand was settled into some cedars so I was well camoed into the surrounding area.

Just after day light I was able to watch for about 15 minutes or so a young 1.5 yr old doe work her way down eating and playing around. she was a joy to watch. she was constantly watching back up the old road and I am guessing hearing a lot of movement above her. she had made her way down to within 11 to 12 yards away when her head snapped back up the old road. there at the top of the road was a set of 3 rams. two merino and one black Hawaiian and they slowly made their way down to where I was sitting. in Texas baiting is legal so the animals were coming down to feed on the hay the owner had set out for me.

I sat down there what seemed like forever and soon the animals made their way down to eat. once they got there I was able to watch them and try to decide which ram would suit me. after what seemed an eternity I finally was able to get my shot off.

I was shaking due to buck fever which I normally get after the shot. I had to settle myself down make the draw and let the arrow go. it hit a bit back from where I wanted but I knew I was in the vitals and in the lungs. he went about 60 yards and dropped and all I could say was wow I hit him with my shot with a recurve at an animal shooting instinctive. I was thinking he was going to stay when he got up and went behind a tree and laid down again. I found out later that rams are very hard to kill but if your patient they will finally pass away.

This was my first kill with a traditional bow. it was a shakespear wonderbow known as a manitu and it was given to me by a friend. I used old carbon AFC 2300 arrows and an old wasp 4 blade I believe it is.

This was by far the most excited I have been during a hunt in a long time and all I can say is I think I want to try again for a whitetail or another animal.

thanks to mason for the trip and Keith for the recurve

God Bless our troops and may you come home soon

Rob Kinney

Hi,

In 2002, I had a severe brainstem stroke which left me being a quadriplegic. I can only bite, hear, see, move my head, and feel. Before my stroke, I was an avid whitetail deer hunter (over 50 under my belt), and every year when deer season rolled around, my boys would hunt at my cabin, and I would stay at home feeling real depressed. Then one day when I was surfing the net, I found a gun mount made by BE-Adaptive. I thought this device might give me some of my life back. So without telling my wife, I ordered a HQ-100 gun/crossbow mount, crossbow, arrows, broadheads, an all terrain power chair, blind, and new hunting clothes. Unfortunately, I had to tell my wife sooner or later because the UPS truck started to deliver my hunting stuff--she forgave me after awhile, but I got the itch back, and my wife got a new hobby she really enjoys (NOTE: Forgiveness comes easier than permission). To my surprise, the members from a disabled hunters club donated me a Trophy Shot manufactured by WildlifeOptics. And two real nice men--one who was the head of this club (George); men I didn’t even know--got me up and running with my new hunting system--thanks; the impossible was made possible.

Now I was ready! I then proceeded to write instructions for my wife on how to trail a wounded deer, and field dress one:) Nobody thought I would really get anything, but the 2006 bow and gun seasons were good to me: I bagged one with a crossbow (A 35 yd heart shot), and a rifle (right in the middle of its neck)! Next season, I just might hold out for the big one. My wife can now follow a blood trail, and field dress a deer. Thanks to all who helped me to get back into the woods! Please email me at phogesty@rochester.rr.com if you have any questions.

In 1996 I was recovering from a major hip/pelvis rebuild that was done in august. Our hunting season for deer/moose/elk and bear opens in September and runs through the end of November.

Up until a couple of years prior to this I would easily walk 100+ miles in the foothills of the Rockies looking for that Holy Grail. I was an experienced hunter and hand loaded my own shells for my 257 Roberts (check the ballistics for one of the best flat shooting rounds that exists) I used barnes X bullets to guarantee one-shot kills. I had been successful every year for the previous 22.

I had given up hope on that season as I was still in a great deal of pain, in a chair, and didn't have any knowledge of disabled hunting at that time.

In October I got a call from a friend who said he had been scoping out a couple of places that he could get me into without bouncing down logging roads for miles, was I up for it? Up for it, hell yes. I started to spend more time in the chair outdoors, even though I couldn't get mobile as my shoulder was damaged as well.

The big day came and we headed out around 0500. We only had 10 miles to go to the spot from my house. Upon arrival mike set me up at about 1/3 from the top of a ridge, overlooking the valley and the ridge on the other side. I could take a shot right up to the far ridge if required as it was only 400 yrds as the crow flies. Mike set himself over the ridge behind me in to watch the next valley.

After waiting almost 20 min, out stepped two whitetail does and they kept looking over their shoulder behind them, which is what the bucks want them to do, get shot first lol. I waited. Soon he stepped just barely clear of the tree line and gave me a clear shot at 150 yrds. He was a beauty a 4 x 4. As soon as mike heard the shot he came over the hill and together we made our way down the slope to the deer who was laying right in the middle of the tree-line where he had been shot. Mike got to work right away, and I watched for other animals as I couldn't get out of the chair.

As mike was removing the stomach I looked up past him to see a 5 x 5 mule deer buck step out about 100 yrds above us and Mike said "take him". So I shot him and he tumbled down the hill to come to rest 5 feet from the 1st deer.

We separated the meat into steaks and roasts and the rest went into smoked jerky and sausage.

This was the finest tasting deer I have ever taken, perhaps because it almost never happened if it weren't for my friend looking out for me.
Submitted By Robert Hawthorn