May be a little long, but just wanted to share a hunt I had with my wife yesterday evening.

When we married 29 years ago she loved fishing but had never hunted. She killed a deer early in our marriage but didn’t really start going until our boys got of age. She’s killed a few deer during that time when we had joined a lease. We had a little travel trailer and would camp out every weekend.

We lost the lease when the boys got in high school and hunted 12ac of a buddies land. It was just something fun for us to do.

When CJ came along she quit hunting all together. He was a handful and even I didn’t go as much. It wasn’t too long after that I got invited to help out at the Plantation on their pre hunting season work day. Needless to say, I’ve been there every since, lol.

As stated in a previous post, this is CJ’s first year of really getting bit by the hunting bug. The wife asked to go a couple of weeks ago, but just wanted to go sit, so we did. We saw a nice little 10pt and that was it.

Well after CJ got his deer Saturday evening, the wife told me she wanted to go Sunday afternoon. Now may be the time to say, I’ve mellowed in my older age. When I’m after a particular buck by myself I can get hardcore. But, now that I’m taking someone, I want it to be fun. I’ve also learned over the years, you can get away with a lot of junk when hunting deer, especially from a tower stand and during the rut.

A little preface…I have a procedure today so yesterday was fasting with liquids only.

We arrived in the stand about 1530. It was mid 60’s and not a creature was stirring. I’d peed at the truck before we walked to the stand and by 1630 I had to pee again. So what does any man do? Pee from the stand. The wife was like, I can’t believe you did that!! I told her when I pee we see deer, lol.

I swear she turned to watch “her area” and sees a doe running. Now her trying to tell me where when I spun around to see it was comedy. Her response, “by that pine over there” as she’s pointing inside the blind so she couldn’t be seen. Now mind you, we’re hunting nothing but pines for the most part, lol. I finally spot the doe that’s being chased by a smaller buck.

At 1700 I have to pee again. At 1705 three does come from behind us and cut across from the South heading sorta NW on her side. She’s watching them and I spot a buck come out and start to give pursuit. I realize he’s not much on antlers, but this joker is mature and grown. I get her on the gun and she’s tracking. He stops between two trees as the does scatter and he just stands there. I’m looking through optics while she’s on the gun and I ask if she has a shot? She said all she can see is neck and doesn’t feel comfortable with it.

I told her just be patient and he’ll step on out. Three minutes later he just takes off running South. He never blew and had his tail down, but runs nonetheless. I started thinking maybe he saw the sun reflect off the scope. Either way he was gone. I was more impressed she got the gun up and was considering shooting.

Well, since some time had passed since the buck ran and the peeing worked so far, I had to go again…so I did. I sat back down and told her to get ready cause we were about to see deer. We are in office type chairs that spin and she’s watching N/W/S and I’m watching N/E/S. I look South and here come two other bucks so I grab her chair and spin her South. These are 3.5yr olds so we just watch as they cross does trail and start to track.

Things start to slow down after they pass and we’re just whispering back and forth when she spots a little bitty spike. Heck, I thought it was a fawn until it turned its head and I saw the little 3” spikes. We’re watching him when I turn back SE and see the large dark spot about 250yrs away. I get on the optics and it’s that same buck from earlier. Again I spun the wife around and she sees the dark form immediately.

I’m watching him and all of a sudden he takes off coming straight to us. So now we’re playing musical chairs and getting the gun out the side. The only issue is there’s a frame/poles for the tower. We have the front which is North, and the two sides which are East and West. Then on either side of the entrance are what I consider like the SE/SW. I told her to put her gun out the East side.

This buck gets less than 75 yards and stops. Here’s one video where she can’t go anymore South and he’s not moving anymore North for her to get on him!!


[video:youtube]https://youtube.com/shorts/LV5VwfdC994?[/video]

I end up taking another video before he finally decides to move on up on her side. Then this video…she would die if she knew I posted this. Yes, she missed, but what you don’t see is her immediately turning her head after the shot “asking” if she missed, lol!!! But the story doesn’t end there…

[video:youtube]https://youtube.com/shorts/ICRnQplCkWk?[/video]

Now we get to pure comedy. Believe it or not, he only ran about 5 yards and stopped. The doe never moved either. I reach up and slowly eject the shell and close the bolt. She gets back on the buck and when she squeezes the trigger again and we hear is a loud click!!! I’d ejected the spent cartridge, but never loaded another. Still they don’t run!

So I lean up again, my phone which was in my lap falls to the floor of the tower making a very loud thud as I bolt another round in. This buck still doesn’t run but starts slowly walking back the way he’d come while he kept turning his head wanting that doe to go with him! I think the doe figured she was safe because she’s out the East window and appears to be laughing at a couple idiots in a tower stand!!

I’m trying to calm the wife and said just follow and if he turns slightly to aim for the opposite front leg and send it. Now did I have ANY confidence in her doing that? NO, 😂

But she did it!! Ole boy stopped and gave her a quartering away shot and she sent it. At the shot he took off at the “low death run” and made it about 75yds before piling up!! We hugged, we laughed, we even watched the video and laughed some more before she said she needed to climb down cause she had to pee!! Good thing cause I had to go again too!!

We walked straight to her buck and he was as big as I thought. That’s two mature deer in two days from the same stand. This was definitely a weekend I won’t forget. What made this even better was her telling our boys she didn’t know who this “man” was that took her hunting, but she liked him a lot better than the “man” that used to take them hunting.

So guys, have a little fun when you’re hunting with family and friends. When you’re by yourself after that trophy you can be hardcore and reserved, but still have fun along the way!!

Nice buck and story to go with it.

Great story and nice buck! I'm hoping my daughter catches the bug when shes a little older (she's 4) so I have a hunting buddy again.

great your wife hunts with you
enjoy it

one thing I have had to do with people and describing directions , compass are great but less relative to the immediate , and this works at least until you get to gen z and they can't read an analog clock then you get to teach them that.

give the "time direction" and range , and range trees with features or range features so your range is a known without pulling out a range finder.

I have never hunted tower blinds , we teach them rapid target acquisition , our ranges aren't far but our deer are seldom sitting still if at all it won't be long.

Great story. Congrats.

Great story and great deer. Thanks for sharing.

That’s fantastic.

Holy COW is that a big deer!

Great pix! No tongue hanging out, front legs folded up. Awesome story

That's the kind of deer I'd want to shoot. Good supply of meat. Looks like ke had some far!
You better find out who that "other" guy was taking her hunting!,

… like a regular olan mills studio out there

Congratulations and having fun is so important. Wife shot a doe for tonight and it was a blast, she is so cool!

Congrat's to the wife.
My wife used to go fishing with me all the time... Well I'd fish and she bask in the sun.

We were on a pond out in the middle of nowhere. She told me she hated her tan lines. I said we'll drive a mile on either side of the pond and see if anyone's around and you can go topless. Not a car in sight the five mile ride back the road and no cars on either side for a mile.

Well I set up two rods and she got to tanning. I got strikes on both rods at the same time. I told her to grab one while I brought in the other. We caught two nice carp. We measured them and hers was bigger than mine. Well she gets up and starts doing a happy dance. I'm watching when all the sudden she freezes. I turn to look at where she's looking and there stands a guy and his young son (Probably 13 or 14) Kids eyes are huge and he's got a grin on his face. Dad is standing there dumbfounded. One thing to understand, my wife is well endowed in the chest area. Finally she gets her wits about her and covers up. Dad hustles son off the other direction. I can hear him telling not to tell his mom about it. Where these two came from we have no clue.

My wife (er nurse) goes into work a couple days later and her coworker is telling a story about how her son came on a lady fishing topless. She doesn't tell her it was her. Later that day her husband and son came to visit her at work. The son loudly says; "Dad that's the lady from the pond the other day." My wife turned about 40 different shades of red. Her coworker comes up to her laughing after they left and says "So you're chesty lady that was fishing topless?" My wife proceeds to tell the story. It was a great laugh for all.

From then on she wouldn't go fishing with me. Or she'd go and sit there and read a book dressed like a person on an arctic expedition.
Now she'll go and lay out, but she's says it's not relaxing because she's so paranoid. The only way she relaxes is if we're in the boat and she can lie on the floor.

That might be the best fishing story I've ever heard. I bet she made that boys day.

I have killed two deer in the last year. Most days, if I wanted, I could kill four or five a day - at least. I get hung up on one buck. But, enter my five grand daughters, four of them which now hunt. They are a little particular about what they shoot - but nothing like me. I enjoy hunting with them because the standards are lower and the excitement is higher.

Nice!
As soon as we got married, wife started hunting with me.
Once we started having kids, she said, " You watch 'em, I'mma go kill.a deer!"