This story took place and was writen in November 1996. Zack has since graduated college with a degree in communicationís and is currently working for WLNH & company as an engineer.

We left the house at 4:30 a.m. and drove to our favorite hunting spot. It was Zack 1st season of deer hunting and on the way, I said a prayer for an animal to offer itself to us for sacrifice. Included in that prayer was that an animal would make itself available for Zackís first harvest. I told Zack I did not care what it was that he shot, as long as I could harvest the big buck if we were lucky enough to see him that day. We left the truck at 5 oíclock a.m. and were at the stand by 5:30 a.m.. We walked most of the way without our flash lights so as not to disturb the animals. Shortly after 5:30a.m. we heard running in the clear cut, then I heard and pointed out to Zack the distinct sound of a buck grunting. In the low gloom of the night we could see a doe being chased by a large buck. That set the stage for our excitement for the day. Both of our hearts were pounding rapidly as we whispered to each other. At ten minutes past six, I told Zack it was time that he could load his firearm by putting a cap on the nipple. Almost as soon as he settled back into position, we heard more deer coming. As they walked down the trail, there was a large doe and two fawns, a smaller doe with a fawn, and a large single doe. It was at this last animal that Zack took careful aim. He said it was hard for him to see the animal trough the scope. I bleated to the doe so she would stop and give him a shot. She looked in our direction for about a minute. He finally composed himself, settled the gun right behind his shoulder, and pulled the trigger. There was a large cloud of white smoke and I could see that she jumped and ran. I told him to sit where he had shot and to direct me to where she was standing. After an intense search, we finally picked up her blood trail. We started to follow it, marking each blood spot with a piece of toilet paper. We followed for approximately one hour and only covered one hundred yards when we heard a deer moving in some evergreen thickets between two skidder trails. I called out with my voice like a doe in heat and noticed that a deer walked up hill from me towards where my son was. I slowly crept up the road that I was on to a place where I could see between the two roads. The deer which I had seen a rack on stood there trying to identify what had called to him through the thick evergreen brush. He then turned and started to walk back down the hill. At this time I called to him a second times with my voice and in a thin area between the two-skidder roads he turned and came towards the road I was on. As he came to the edge he stopped and looked about. I already had raised my gun to my shoulder. Peering through the scope, I thought I could take him there but it would be better if he stepped one more time into the clear. God answered my request and that is what he did, he took one step and I shot him directly behind the shoulder, dropping him in his tracks. The hollow point three hundred and seventy-five-grain bullet had done the trick. He was dead when he hit the ground. He tried to run on his side. It was just reflex action. Zack and I said a prayer of thanks and for his sole to find peace on the other side of the river. Then we dressed him out and completed our search for his doe. After another five hours of searching, we had only covered another two hundred plus yards of ground as the blood sign became less and less. Eventually the tracks went into an area where other deer had been pawing the ground for beechnuts and it became impossible to follow where she had gone. After making several circles around that area we determined that she most likely would survive. With the effort we put in, I was able to illustrate to Zack the responsibility that we have as hunters to the game animals and how to execute it especially where it had not been a killing shot.

We decided to pull the buck up the mountain and to the other side so we could get him to the truck. Zack asked me how much I thought the buck would weigh. I told him around 180 to 185lbs. It took both of us all of the strength that we had to do this. All along the way I kept exclaiming ìnice deer, big rackî And loading him into the truck was extremely difficult. When we got him to the check-in station his official weight was 214.50 pounds. A 12 point B& C 153 inch rack. At the check in station there were some gentlemen from Massachusettsís. They of course had seen a bigger one. But had decided to leave in the woods to grow larger. Seems that the one they had seen was to small for them. Oh well Iím just a guide. All them flat landers know way more bout huntin than a dumb hick from up north anywayís.

You all take care & may the Lord help you make it a Great Day.