head out of the tall grass and revealed
its massive, white, 11-point rack.
Before I knew what was happen-
ing, I heard a branch break in front
of me and saw the buck’s antlers
through an opening. As he stepped
into the clearing in front of me, I
drew my bow. At 15 yards, the buck
came to a halt.
My pin was already settled on his
chest when he stopped. I watched
as the arrow’s fletching disappeared
right where I was aiming, then the
buck leapt forward and ran toward the
edge of the trees. Moments later, I saw
him through a cedar, swaying back
and forth; he crashed at its base mo-
ments later, and the woods fell silent.
I sat my bow on the treestand’s
seat in complete shock. Could this
season get any better?
That question came to my mind
again weeks later when I found my-
self driving back to school after hav-
ing missed an opportunity to fill my
antelope tag back home on a beautiful
Saturday morning. My arrow shaving
hair off the top of the mature buck’s
back was on my mind all week, and
I began to find it nearly impossible
to think of anything else. Finally, I
couldn’t take it anymore. Fall break
was starting, so I made the decision
to go home one day early at the end of
the week and finish what I’d started.
I returned for a Friday morning hunt
as motivated as I had been all season.
It was a brisk, windy day, much
different than the previous few. All
week, I had practiced over and over
at the range after class in hopes of re-
demption, and as I lay on my stom-
ach behind a yucca plant 53 yards
from a mature antelope buck bedded
with his harem of does, I knew my
opportunity had come. In one mo-
tion, I drew my bow from a prone
position and settled my 50-yard pin
a few inches high on the back half of
the bedded buck to account for the
strong crosswind.
I immediately lost sight of the ar-
row upon its release, but the thunk
that followed the shot assured me it
had flown true. The does scattered in
all directions, but the buck stayed be-
hind, clearly hurt. With a bloody spot
showing low in his armpit, I knew
the shot was lethal but wouldn’t suf-
fer from a follow-up. When the buck
walked into a draw, my dad and I cir-
cled to get ahead of him while staying
out of sight. As we crept up over the
edge of the draw, the buck was stand-
ing broadside, unaware of our pres-
ence. A second arrow ended the hunt
within seconds.
Without a doubt, this was the
toughest hunt of my Super Tag ad-
venture, but the highs and lows I ex-
perienced stalking antelope made it
all the more rewarding.Christmas Comes Early
Christmas break arrived before I
knew it. I was flying high after fill-ing my two regular-season buck
tags with my bow, so, with a nearly
month-long break in my schedule, I
set my sights on finishing the Super
Tag, as well as filling the freezer with
late-season does.
While in the stand one evening
during the first week of the break, I
was snapped out of a daze by a flock
of 30 turkeys coming my way. A few
minutes later, I was surrounded by
the birds.
I picked out one of the largest
jakes in the group and eased my bow