Well first off i would like to thank the members and staff on this site for making hunting more about memories, a way to pass the weekends, and watch fall in every phase, a chance to unwind, etc
This is the first buck i have taken w/ a bow in the 7 years that i have been hunting. Ever since ive started hunting, i have always been one to think about big bucks and where and why they travel a certain route rather than immature bucks. The sad part to this is that i don’t have permission to the best property where there is little to no pressure, genetics are greatly spread amongst some of the healthiest does, etc. I share property, like most people, with strangers 
People that are not the most ethical when it comes to deer hunting in my eyes. Yes i have seen some awesome bucks between 125 and 140, but i have never been able to seal the deal. So what i think i have been doing the last couple years is i let deer hunting become MORE of a stress factor, than a stress reliever 
I think like a mature deer, put stands where mature deer will walk; but the bucks don’t grow to their full potential because of these strangers that i have to share the woods with 
I know i am putting my foot in my mouth when i say that but this year, i wanted deer hunting to be a stress reliever, a way to come home from college on the weekends and hunt because i love the outdoors, and the mornings and evening sunrises, and sets
Last year, i set myself up for failure once again because i would get SO discouraged when i wouldn’t see a shooter buck or deer in general, i began to dislike my passion and waking up in the mornings knowing i was probably going to feel the same way as i did the previous sit. But i changed my thoughts this year like i said. I began to think about what my roommate(and best friend) told me a few years ago when college started about deer hunting. He said something like this, “i don’t know how often im going to be able to hunt this year. It sucks that we can’t hunt weekdays after school like we did so we only can hunt 2 days a week if we are lucky. So i think im going to lower my standards because i don’t know if the buck i see is going to be the last buck of the season.” This morning i was thinking that same thing before i caught this deer coming down my way. I was thinking to myself, “im not going to be discouraged this year again if i don’t shoot a buck. If i see a deer that i think is a shooter, i will shoot him if the opportunity arrives!!!”
Sure enough, i checked my phone at 7:18 this morning. Stood up to stretch and to look W at a little opening to see if anything was browsing. I then looked ENE along a fence line where there is a patch of sumac. All i saw was a gray face and a rack. First thing that came to my mined was, gray face=old(er) deer=probably a shooter. What i remember was trying to see if there was another deer behind this one since i knew the bucks weren’t out of their bachelor groups yet, but didn’t see another one until about 50 yards later. I couldn’t really tell how big this deer was because his rack was a little darker than i expected, and there was a lot of brush/small trees in the way. Needless to say, this deer got my heart pounding even though i didnt know what he had on his head. Like i said before, there was another deer w/ him or that came out of the brush to see who this deer was that was approaching while he was headed my way.
Right before the buck came to the spot where he would cross the fence, follow the THICK creek and up to bed, i had to decide if i was going to let this deer pass or if i was going to take a shot. It is amazing how quickly we remember things right before the moment of truth, like what my goal was for the season, how big is the deer going to have to be to shoot, etc. That quickly went through my mined as i pulled back. I heard a voice in my head say something like, “he got your heart pounding, he looks old, shoot!”
The buck was about to turn to go under the fence when i did a sudden “MEEECK” he was 28 yards or so and i squeezed the trigger and watched my arrow hit high in the lungs 
He went under the fence and had a tough time getting through the thick creek that was surrounded by overgrown grass. He paused on the other side and then i lost sight of him. But it sounded like a wrecking ball going through the trees, and i knew he was dead 
I held my arms up because i knew i had accomplished my goal for the season, all the scouting and setting up stands in the 90 degree July weather, trips to check trail cameras, etc had paid off.
The rest is history. I got down about 15 minutes later because i knew he was down and headed the opposite direction back to the truck. Called my brother and my roommate to help drag the 1 mile or so 
. I was a little upset at my self when i found my buck because he wasn’t a 3.5 like i thought he was but a 2.5…..I call this buck the “deceiver” buck because of his gray face and above average than the usual 2.5 would have for a body. But i remembered what my goal was for the year and the anxiety he gave me when he was walking my way 
But im glad to have gotten my first buck w/ a bow under my belt and i hope that everyone makes hunting a chance to relieve stress instead of cause it 
This is only my second year of bow hunting and I’m still looking forward to putting the smack down on my first buck. 
A deer you will remember for a very long time. 
