Two words: buck fever.
Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there.
Your hands shake, your breathing is fast, your mind is racing, and your heart feels like it is going to jump out of your throat. There he is, your dream buck standing 40 yards away from you, perfectly broadside. He came out of nowhere, you didn’t even hear him coming, you’re just lucky you looked up from carving your name in the base of a tree before he moved out of sight completely.
But was it really luck?
It was about thirty minutes before nightfall; I had been sitting in the same spot for hours and had seen absolutely nothing, I was growing more impatient by the second. ‘C’mon God, can I at least see one deer? Just something to look at?’ I was thinking to myself. This was the perfect hunting spot; I was sitting behind and to the left of a tree and could see clearly for about 70 yards all the way around me and I had seen nothing. My Marlin 30-30 lever action sat across my lap, and I had half-way given up so I began quietly putting my gear back into my hunting backpack. I grabbed my knife and started to carve my name in the base of the tree, A-U-D-R-
Wait, was that a branch that cracked?
I looked up and there he stood. He held up the huge mass of antlers on top of his head proudly with his thick, strong neck. I slowly grabbed my rifle and braced up against the tree.
Dang it, he saw me.
He stomped his front foot, snorted loudly, and trotted off. My stomach dropped to the ground, he was gone. That was by far the most amazing animal I had ever seen and he got away. I followed him through the scope of my rifle as he trotted off, I was hopeful that maybe he would stop and I could get a shot at him. To my utter amazement, he circled around and came back. The huge buck stopped about 50 yards off and turned his head to look at me again.
It was probably only a matter of seconds, but it felt like hours to me. I was shaking so bad that I could hardly see out of my scope. I was screaming at myself, THIS IS YOUR ONLY CHANCE! DON’T MESS THIS UP! Which I’m sure was only adding to the pressure that I felt and making me shake even more. He stomped his foot, he was getting ready to leave and I knew that was going to be the last time I would ever see him.
“God help me get ahold myself.” I whispered out loud and my hands stopped shaking, my breathing steadied, and my mind cleared. I aimed at his vitals and squeezed off the trigger.
That was one of those moments where anything could have changed the outcome. I could have shrugged off the sound of that branch cracking as a squirrel or just my imagination, I could have moved too quickly scared him off for good, or I could have quit hunting and left minutes before he even came. So was it really luck?
I have a very hard time attributing my success to good luck; doesn’t it say in God’s word that in all things God works for the good of those who love him?
In hunting, just like in life, we cannot give up. Because when nothing seems like it is going right, something good is just about to come around the corner. In my case, it was a 200 pound, 10-point whitetail buck that is now hanging above my fireplace.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
Written by,
Audrey Liddle
Hunter’s For Christ Pro-Staff
