We woke up this morning filled with much anticipation.  I can never sleep very well the night before the opener, so I wanted to kill the alarm clock when it went off.  But with the excitement of opening day, and the visions of the big buck we captured on trailcam a few weeks ago, we headed out for the first official archery hunt of the year.

The weather was perfect, as I eluded to yesterday, and the morning greeted us with a fresh blanket of frost.  It was perfect – gorgeous as a matter of fact.  As the sun began to warm the new day that blanket of frost began to melt from the trees, and the water making it’s way to the ground actually made it sound like it was raining.  Did I mention it was a gorgeous morning?

I settled into my stand around 6:30 – a good half hour before shooting light – and readied myself for what was to come of opening day.  It didn’t take long before, Corrin, the teenaged queen of the forest, reported that she had deer in the vicinity; not long after that, Jeff reported he had passed up a small buck,and was at full-draw on a decent doe, but ended up not being able to close the deal when she made the thick brush.

I started to be a little envious when my cousin reported that he had saw a few that morning as well, but my envy soon vanished as he reported that he had cleanly missed both of them.  Ahh, archery season, it can definitely humble a person.  Rather than be discouraged at my lack of deer sightings, though, I decided to just appreciate the moment and take it all in.  The morning was gorgeous – probably the best archery deer opener I’ve ever experienced – and I wanted to absorb all of it.

It didn’t take long before a group of turkeys showed themselves. They snuck in quietly behind me, and I was wishing that 5 days would pass so that I could take the big tom that was 15yds from me.  Our archery season parallels our fall turkey season, but he was spared this morning by only a few days.  Lucky guy!

Soon after that I noticed some movement to my left, and through the underbrush and glistening sunlight realized that the movement I was seeing was a pair of deer ears moving through the thicket; not long after that another pair appeared, and I was convinced that it was time to have my bow in hand.

I fully expected them to take a well-used trail that was to my right, but instead of taking that trail, they magically turned and took the trail that would put them 10yds in front of me.  My lucky day…….or was it?  The first shot opportunity I had, they were standing to close together, and didn’t offer me a shot.  I was already at full draw when the leader of the two does – and the larger one of the two as well – made her way to a shooting lane five yards in front of me.  The angle was real severe, and I was contemplating if I even wanted to take the shot, when she made my decision for me by looking squarely in my eyes, and spooking.

I honestly thought the jig was up, but thankfully held my full draw.  After spooking she didn’t trot 10yds, and stopped again to check what I was…………and that is when I touched the release and watched the arrow bury right behind the shoulder.  Can you say backstrap fever?

I calmed the nerves after the shot, thanked God for the opportunity, and gave her some time to expire.  I felt pretty confident about the shot, but I’ve learned through the years – and especially with a bow – that it’s always better to give them a little time.

A little over an hour later I had my arrow found and it told the story – it was completely covered in blood, and I could already see a decent blood trail.  I marked the spot, headed to the truck and grabbed Jeff and Corrin, and a half hour later we were looking at a gorgeous doe that would soon become table fare.

It was one heck of a morning, and I simply could not have scripted it any better.  The morning was gorgeous, all of us saw plenty of deer and had a few close encounters, and I managed to kill my first deer I’ve ever killed on the opening day of the archery season.

I don’t think I could have asked for a better birthday present.

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