Another Iowa deer season had fast approached, and again, the quest for my trophy buck waged on. This was my 23rd deer season and that elusive prize continued to avoid me. Up to this point, I had hunted and killed many white tail bucks, but none worthy of being a wall mount. It was now opening day of yet another brisk December morning, and I wondered if this would be my lucky year?

My story begins as daylight was just starting to break over the eastern horizon; I quietly made my entry into a small 40-acre parcel of timber called the Postage Stamp. It is here where the wait for the elusive white tail prize would ensue. I entered the timber by carefully stepping over a barbwire fence and then began a quiet decent down a narrow logging road. After walking for about 150 yards I had arrived at my wooden deer stand which rested just along the path. An oak ladder stood erect waiting to hoist me to a 12 foot perch overlooking the surrounding woods. However, while ascending up the ladder, one of the support beams holding up the resting platform was busted. For safety reasons the stand could not be used and a quick alternative was required. About a month ago I had checked my stand and made the necessary repairs and safety checks, however, within the last month, something obviously gave out. Disgusted and dejected, I trodded off searching for a new location.

I stumbled around in the dark for about 10 minutes trying to decide on a suitable area to sit. All of my careful tiptoeing upon first entering the timber now proved to be a total waste of time. It seemed with every step, the leaves beneath my feet and snow would snap, crackle, and pop. Finally, an ideal spot was found and I took a seat, resting against a tree. While patiently waiting for a glimpse of a deer, an occasional sound of a gunshot being fired would echo in the surrounding woods. With every shot, I’d wonder how many deer were probably walking under my deer stand and what a disaster this hunt was going to be.

8:15 a.m. was soon upon me, and still not a deer in sight. I attempted to find a positive thought with what seemed to be the beginning of a long, uneventful hunt but couldn’t come up with much. It was about then when I noticed a small herd of 8 or 9 white tail deer about 200 yards in front of me trotting into the northeast corner of my timber. They appeared to be heading in my direction, and as they drew nearer I could identify three bucks, one of which had a nice sized rack! Adrenaline now raced through my body.

As the deer approached they momentarily went out of sight when they entered a shallow valley just behind a small hill in front of me. It was at this instant that I firmly nussled the gun stock to my shoulder, and set the gun safety to off. The deer soon reappeared on the crest of this hill directly across from where I was sitting at about 65 yards. I immediately honed in on the two biggest bucks, which were walking side by side, and trailing a couple of does. The larger of the two bucks, a wall hanger, was being shadowed by the other buck. I told myself - "Be patient!"

Fortunately, my need to be patient passed quickly as the larger buck moved to the forefront giving me a good view of him. The deer were slowly moving at a 45-degree angle on the hillside across from me providing a broadside view of their bodies. They were completely unaware of my presence. Now an unobstucted view had to be obtained where no twigs or branches could impede the shot. My heart pounded as I waited for him to walk past some brush between us. The whole time my red dot scope was fixated just behind his front shoulder. Finally, he moved into a clearing and I squeezed the trigger. A deafening blast sounded! The deer’s front legs buckled slightly indicating a hit! He regained his balance and streaked up and over the hill from which he had just come, and vanished from my sight.

The other deer in the herd scattered briefly after the shot, but stayed in the general area apparently trying to figure out what had just happened. The next largest buck was to become my new target, and like the other, I shot him just behind the front leg. He too took off running, but it was obvious he was seriously injured. This deer stumbled as he tried to escape down a small ravine leading out of the timber. He was likely to soon collapse, but another shot was sent his way, striking just behind his front shoulder. He immediately fell to the ground and did not move again!

Now some of the herd fled while others still stood around trying to figure out where the shots were coming from. A third buck in the group stood about 65 yards on the crest of the hill standing broadside across from me. My scope was quickly placed on him, but his life was spared since his rack was noticeably smaller than the other two bucks.

The remaining deer eventually scampered off including the small buck. From my vantage point the second buck shot was visable, lying motionless on the ground. But where had my potential wall hanger gone? Thinking back, I had thought the location of the shot to be a fatal blow, but it appeared some trailing may be necessary. Quietly, I rose from my sniper location and crept over to the initial killing zone. As expected, blood trails were in the snow. Following the blood splatter caused some confusion at first since the blood from the two deer overlaped one another. However, both trails seemed to go in the same direction, down a narrow path and around a small knoll. With every step, I watched and listened, expecting the white tail to jump up and run at anytime. Just around the small knoll, I looked forward and down slightly, and there he was lying motionless in a shallow ditch! Fortunately, he had not run more than maybe 40 yards from the point of being shot before collapsing. I approached the deer, and carefully checked to see if he was breathing. Sure enough he was dead.

I admired the beast for a moment before beginning to field dress him. He was a nice 8-point buck with about a 20-inch spread. It was one of the most typical and symmetrical racks I had ever seen, and an animal worth displaying on my wall. His buddy was another 8-point buck that lay some 40 yards away. What a thrill it was to get two nice bucks on opening morning. It was a long wait before finally getting my first wall hanger, but I must admit, the wait was well worth it. Now the only problem is convincing my wife to let me hang it up!