Call It A Quick Buck

By Jim Rose
Jonesville, Michigan

Category: Hunting Stories

A Michigan bowhunter's late start on opening day turns into an unforgettable morning when two bucks appear, a little improvisation changes everything, and a hunt that should have been over before it began ends in record time.

It was opening day of archery deer season in Hillsdale County, Michigan, and the excitement was almost too much to bear. As I got into my truck to drive out to my tree stand I realized that I was getting too late a start. It was about 7:00 a.m. and it was already starting to get light. I probably ruined my chances of seeing any deer that morning.

Michigan archery buck

I got my quiver of arrows and attached them to my bow. Then I made my way around the 15-acre woods, which sat adjacent to a hay field. As I rounded the corner of the woods to go to my blind I spotted two deer off in the distance, probably about 250 yards away and upwind. Luckily they did not spot me. I kept close to the edge of the woods, trying to be as quiet as I could while still keeping my eye on those two deer. I was about halfway down the edge of the woods when the deer ducked into another small two-acre woods across the hay field from my stand. I figured that was the last I would see of those two.

It was now about 7:15 a.m. and I was in my tree stand, bow in hand and still cursing myself for getting out so late, when I noticed the two deer had stepped out of the little woods and were walking parallel with the woods that I was in. As they moved closer I noticed they were both bucks. I knew at that point, by the way they were walking, that I would never get a shot.

I recalled hearing people tell stories about grunting deer in, but since I didn't have a grunt call, I figured I'd just make a loud growling sound. Instantly both deer picked their heads up and looked toward me. When they lowered their heads again I growled once more. Again they looked over, trying to figure out what the sound was. I continued until they finally started walking toward me.

At this point I was pretty excited. They were close enough that I could tell one was a five-point and the other a six-point. They moved along the woods and right over my tracks toward my tree stand. When they were about twenty yards away I drew my bow, waiting for the six-point to step into a small opening. My bow must have made a sound because both deer stopped. I held at full draw as long as I could before slowly letting down. Five more minutes passed although it felt like five hours before the six-point finally stepped into the clearing. I released the arrow. Perfect hit through the lungs! I watched the buck run about fifty yards before collapsing. The other buck disappeared. After waiting a few minutes to make sure he wasn't getting up, I walked over to him. By 8:00 that morning he was dressed and hanging in my garage. The whole hunt had taken about an hour.

My friends still accuse me of tying him up the night before.