2001 marked the last time I was at my parents’ home for Christmas…not by choice. The Air Force has a core value “Service Before Self” and previous Christmas’ and New Years have been spent with my brothers and sisters in arms.
It was great trip with time well spent in the company of family and friends in Arkansas. I felt like Santa Clause saved all my gifts since my last homecoming…Lord knows I wasn’t that good of a boy in 2007!
My parents surprised me by giving me a compound bow! It had been a while since my last archery experience but I often think about shooting dozens upon dozens of arrows with my brother Jeff growing up. Ever since harvesting my first Mule Deer, while hunting in Wyoming, I’ve had the hunting fever. My main goal with my new bow was to harvest a Whitetail Deer. As you know time flies when you’re having fun…and running out of time was fast approaching.
December 31st ended up being the only day I had to hunt. My bow was ready to go but with one exception…it needed to be sighted in. Around 1:00 pm my Dad and I arrived at the deer camp to sight-in my bow, by 2:00 pm it was sighted-in and I was in the woods.
It was a touch warm and abnormally windy for Arkansas but I was determined to test my skills. Mind you it had been 10 years since my last archery experience, well except for the few arrows I shot in November while at Bass Pro. Nonetheless, my brother put me on a hot spot and I was convinced to stay until sun down. When my dad dropped me off, my last words were “I’m shooting the first legal deer I see!”
I sat patiently and observed quail, doves and even spiders…everything but a deer. My luck would change at 4:00 pm when a young button buck walked 10 steps from me! Archery hunting is much like playing chest…the wildlife has such the advantage and hunters must calculate their every m
ove in order to avoid being spotted and missing their one chance to harvest the game.
Patience is not my strong point but I was able to wait for the right time to draw my bow back, take aim and release. It was a 15 minute process that seemed to take forever. When I released I knew it was a good shot…I text messaged Jeff and told him I was successful. Before my dad and Jeff could arrive I found the buck and waited for them to arrive.
Within 3 hours of shooting my new bow for the first time, I had my first successful archery hunt!
I asked my brother if he thought I would be successful in the hunt. He replied, “I really didn’t think you would sit and wait!” He’s an avid archer and was proud to see me succeed.
It was great trip with time well spent in the company of family and friends in Arkansas. I felt like Santa Clause saved all my gifts since my last homecoming…Lord knows I wasn’t that good of a boy in 2007!
My parents surprised me by giving me a compound bow! It had been a while since my last archery experience but I often think about shooting dozens upon dozens of arrows with my brother Jeff growing up. Ever since harvesting my first Mule Deer, while hunting in Wyoming, I’ve had the hunting fever. My main goal with my new bow was to harvest a Whitetail Deer. As you know time flies when you’re having fun…and running out of time was fast approaching.
December 31st ended up being the only day I had to hunt. My bow was ready to go but with one exception…it needed to be sighted in. Around 1:00 pm my Dad and I arrived at the deer camp to sight-in my bow, by 2:00 pm it was sighted-in and I was in the woods.
It was a touch warm and abnormally windy for Arkansas but I was determined to test my skills. Mind you it had been 10 years since my last archery experience, well except for the few arrows I shot in November while at Bass Pro. Nonetheless, my brother put me on a hot spot and I was convinced to stay until sun down. When my dad dropped me off, my last words were “I’m shooting the first legal deer I see!”
I sat patiently and observed quail, doves and even spiders…everything but a deer. My luck would change at 4:00 pm when a young button buck walked 10 steps from me! Archery hunting is much like playing chest…the wildlife has such the advantage and hunters must calculate their every m
ove in order to avoid being spotted and missing their one chance to harvest the game.Patience is not my strong point but I was able to wait for the right time to draw my bow back, take aim and release. It was a 15 minute process that seemed to take forever. When I released I knew it was a good shot…I text messaged Jeff and told him I was successful. Before my dad and Jeff could arrive I found the buck and waited for them to arrive.
Within 3 hours of shooting my new bow for the first time, I had my first successful archery hunt!
I asked my brother if he thought I would be successful in the hunt. He replied, “I really didn’t think you would sit and wait!” He’s an avid archer and was proud to see me succeed.
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