Had another short, but great weekend back home in South Dakota. I headed west early on Thursday morning. I worked for a day in Aberdeen then Friday I was down in Huron. Luckily I was able to finish my work early get to my Dad’s farm shortly after lunch. We caught about 150 pheasants and delivered them. Our next mission was to fill the catch pen again for our morning delivery. By now it was already close to 5PM. I decided to get in the box blind, even though the winds were blowing out of the NW at 25mph. I really didn’t expect to see much.
Not 2 minutes after getting into the blind I had a hawk land on the blind. Our blind is made of tin, it was quite loud as the talons scratched the tin. This would be the first time this blind was hunted from. As with anything new, I’ve found a dozen things that needed tweaked to make this more “hunter friendly”. One thing will be some insulation to dampen the noise. It’s very loud. I sat for about an hour before I spot the first deer headed my way. A doe came in perfectly, passing by me at 5 yards. I drew back and apparently she heard something. She trotted out to 25 yards and turned broadside. I settled my pin and released. Again, the tin was louder than expected and she ducked my arrow perfectly. 
I knocked another arrow and sat back down. I passed a couple small bucks that night. The wind was laying down nicely, which was good because I didn’t have nearly enough clothes on. I spotted a doe with twins, they skirted to the north of me headed for the same food plot all the other deer headed towards. About 20 minutes before the last shooting light, I spotted a small group of bachelor bucks, they were on the perfect course to pass by the blind. I thought the first buck was a shooter. About then, I looked up in the trees. There he was. The one good buck we have on the farm. He’s definitely bigger than anything I’ve ever shot.
I let the first three bucks pass by at 35 yards, all the while trying to keep an eye on the big boy. He took a slightly different path than the first 3 deer. He was still at 40 yards. As he passed the first window, I drew back. He appeared out the west window. Stopping perfectly broaside watching the bucks in front of him. I had been watching this deer cover the 150 yards and I knew I was getting rattled. I tried with all my heart to calm myself. It just wasn’t working. I had it, buck fever. Nothing worse than getting bit as the giant you are hunting makes a mistake and gives you an opportunity to harvest him. I released my arrow as my 40 yard pin settled as best I could. The deer jumped and trotted off to about 100 yards. He stopped and looked back for what spooked him. I tucked myself back into the corner of the blind and didn’t move. He turned and started walking west. I was afraid I had shot him in the guts. He looked back at the blind several times from 200 yards away. I was stuck, so I decided to have Dad drive up to the food plot and make some noise with the pickup. I got down and looked for my arrow briefly, but couldn’t find it. I’d have to wait until morning.
After a sleepless night and catching another 160 pheasants and a quick delivery, I was headed to the box blind. Luckily, it was a clean miss. I’m sickened I blew it, but I’m so happy I just missed. After eating some breakfast, we decided to work on the blind. The windows needed hung and the door put on. It was also pheasant opener and by 11:00AM we had all the hunters assembled. I had a whole new attitude. Our pheasant hunt was very successful. The guys had their limit by 2PM. I went along for one hunt, I’m not kidding when I say I saw at least 500 birds flushed. It was absolutely amazing. However, I had to go help Dad deliver some more birds so I left the pheasant hunters to their game. Upon returning, they were done and ready for a celebration over a cold one. I ran up to the box blind and put a few finishing touches on a couple items. It was a crazy day and I couldn’t wait to get in the blind and unwind a bit.
My oldest friend from SD, Jeff, decided to come hunt with me that evening. I’ve hunted his place for years and I was hoping we would get a chance to repay him for his hospitality for all those years. After a quick shower and gathering a few items we were in the blind. We got settled in, setup the video camera etc… We had a strong cold east wind forcing us to close a couple windows to make it much more comfortable. We discussed that our opportunities probably would be limited due to all the banging from the pheasant hunters that day. Surprisingly, by 6PM we were starting to see deer. We passed on a couple small bucks and witnessed a few doe/fawn combinations headed in the wrong direction.
About 6:45, a doe came in. Jeff knelt on the floor trying to range her and run the camera. I was standing at full draw waiting for her to enter my shooting lane. There she was, Jeff said 53 yards. We stopped her with a baaahh. I settled and let it fly. The doe dropped in her tracks. Luckily for me, I hit her in the neck in front of the shoulder. I completely forgot to adjust for the wind and my shot drifted about 8 inches from my aiming point. We had a few more deer come by but they skirted us just out of bow range. I was really hoping Jeff would get a chance to double up for the night. Oh well, it was an awesome night in the blind with my best friend. Unfortunately the footage didn’t turn out from the video. We’ve got some learning to do. 
All in all, it was a successful weekend that went way to fast. I can’t wait for my return in November during the rut. 
congrats on the doe 
!
