2009 8 Pt. Buck by Jessica Heeg

By jeff_heeg 0



I’ve been shooting archery since I was eight years old. My passion is competitive shooting including indoor and outdoor tournaments, but going hunting in the fall with my dad is something I always look forward to. Over the past years I’ve shot a few does and passed up several small bucks. I’ve always believed in the concept of letting them go so they can grow into large bucks. Since my dad has several deer cams in the woods, we knew there were some trophy bucks out there and it would be worth the wait.



On Sunday October 11th, my dad and I woke up at 4:30am, a small sacrifice for a good hunt if we were lucky! When we got to the woods we put on our hunting gear and set out for the long walk to our stands. It was still dark out at this time and cold. Luckily the day before my dad bought me a set of Justin Charles Exposition Thermals to stay warm. After what seemed like miles walking, we finally reached my tree-stand. My stand is in a huge white pine, it was a sticky mess climbing up the climbing stick, but it’s a lot easier than using the branches. As I climbed up my stand a huge owl busted out of the tree right by my stand, I think it even startled dad, and scared the heck out of me! Once I got settled in and cleared all the owls out, Dad headed off to his stand a couple hundred yards away, and I was ready for the hunt.

As the sun began to rise and the birds started to chirp, the anticipation and excitement was building with hopes of seeing a nice buck. Around seven o’clock, a doe and two fawns came out of the woods and onto my trail. Their careful footsteps made quiet crunches on the frosty leaves. The doe was a nice size and gave me plenty of opportunities to shoot, but I had a feeling this would be the morning that a buck would cross my path. As the doe and her fawns went off into the nearby field I kept my bow lying across my lap. It was so cold out that morning that I didn’t want to move! However, around 7:30 I had a feeling I should stand up and get ready for a buck if he were to come my way. Luckily, a few minutes later I looked to my right and coming down the path was a nice size buck! I knew that if he was coming down the path in front of me, I would need to be ready and drawn back in order to get a shot at him. When the buck was a few yards away from the shooting lane, I carefully pulled back, despite the nerves of seeing the huge buck in front of me and how close it was underneath the stand. But just as he was walking by, he turned to face the stand and walked right up to the tree! At this point I had to let down because it was too tiring to hold that long. I knew this would be a risk because he might hear me, or I wouldn’t have any time to get another chance of drawing back when he turns around. It was then when I looked down at the rack and saw how wide he was, I knew he was going down! When I regained some energy and strength I pulled back again, aimed at the shooting lane and waited for him to cross. It was now 7:45 and just as I anticipated, he slowly walked right into the lane; I squeezed the trigger on my release and smack! He took off running! I knew I had a good shot on him because after he took off running, a few seconds later I heard the crash in the woods, he was down! I was so excited I got my buck!

I just about ran down my stand and went to go get dad to share the news. When we first started to track the buck we found a good amount of blood to lead us to the deer. After 35-40 yards of tracking we found him and I couldn’t have been more excited! I ended up double-lunging him and clipping the heart. After I helped Dad clean and dress him, we got the quad to haul the buck out, and met mom to take some nice pictures. Overall it was a great experience for me. I enjoyed spending this hunting season with my dad. I was glad that all the practice shots using our shooting platform on the roof, and sitting in the stand in the cold, paid off. I encourage hunters to be patient and let the small guys go, because you never know when the monster will come strolling through your shooting lane.

Little Bow Peep

Aka – Jessica Heeg

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jeff_heeg

I enjoy helping others excel, we are all here to have fun with the sport no matter what you use.

0 Comments

  8. Jessica. The world could use more hunters like you and you sound like seasoned pro! Congrats on a super buck! btw-great looking pics.

  11. Heck of a buck!

    Look what you get to shoot when you pass up on smaller bucks!
    You might not get to shoot as many bucks but they can be a lot bigger.

    Nice work!

  19. WOW Congrats Jessica!

    Now that is what I call quality time with Dad. A proud Dad you must have! I heard about the buck last week from your Dad, but was out of town until late last night. So I did not get to read or see it until now. Great read and story. Thanks for sharing your hunt and pics here @ IDO.

  20. Congratulations Jessica! That is outstanding and I’m very happy for you!

    Thank you for taking the time and sharing your hunt with us. Your report is very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I also thought it was a classy that you included both of your parents in your report and it just wasn’t all about your big buck. It certainly shows that family and the relationship that you have with your parents (Jeff and Karla) is very special. It’s easy to tell that they have done an outstanding job raising you and being postive role models for you to follow.

    I hope you don’t mind me doing this…

    For those of you who don’t know, Jessica is on the Mathews Pro Staff team and last year (2008) ended up winning The Las Vegas World Archery Tournament at the age of just 17. That is an amazing accomplishment. Maybe someday Jessica will share that memorable time in her life with us as well.

    Congrats once again Jessica and I wish you many more fond memories in the field. In-Depth Outdoors feels honored and privileged to have someone of your caliber sharing your hunts with us.

  21. Thank you to everyone who made comments, I appreciate your support! Looking forward to another great season next year! For those of you interested in getting your children involved, always keep them in mind when choosing equipment. Personalizing their equipment will keep them motivated to practice and better their skills. My dad always makes an effort to make everything he can for me in pink, whether it be the arrow vanes, bow, quiver, or sight kit and I can’t wait to show it off on the shooting line or in my stand!

    Thanks again, Jessica

  24. Great story and great deer, I really enjoyed reading it!

    Also congrats on the Vegas win as well.

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