Opening Day Buck
by Ron

11/03 Michigan (UP)

First of all I'd like to say that I am a Whitetail Deer Fanatic!!! I enjoy the pursuit of mature bucks. In the last 5 years I have shot 8 bucks that scored over 125, all in my home state of Michigan. Most of the bucks I shoot I call in by either rattling or grunting. With several big bucks sighted throughout the summer during pre-season scouting I was excited as bow season approached!

Opening night found me in a woodlot bordeing a cornfield. After an hour of sitting I saw a glimpse of movement 50 yards into the brush. I glassed the deer and could see part of his rack....tall tines good mass, could the first deer I see in the stand be a shooter? The buck moved through the thick cover making it hard to judge his rack, then I thought he had moved out of the area when I lost sight of him for 5 minutes. A short blow on my grunt call and his head snapped into view! A quick look with my spotting scope showed me what I wanted to see...definitely a shooter!

The buck stood still trying to find the deer that made the grunt. I grunted softly again and another buck, a 2 1/2 year old 8 pt marched right to my stand. Within a minute the tall 9 ptr was moving in my direction. He turned broadside at 20 yards and I anchored the pin behind his shoulder. I knew the hit was good when I released the arrow and watched as the buck dropped after a short 30 yard run.

What a opening night of bow season! I looked at my watch and it was 4:29 just over an hour into my season! After taking a few days to get caught up on some work I was ready to get back in the tree. I decided on a morning hunt that would let me observe the deer returning to their bedding areas. One of the rules of Deer hunting that I refuse to break is hunting when the wind is wrong. Even if the wind is coming from the deer to you and you are huntin

Ron in the Upper Penninsula