At 39 I decided to start hunting last year. Don't know why I wait so long; I had a bow about 15 years earlier and someone was supposed to "mentor" me. They didn't; I moved; the bow was sold.
1 mile from work is a State Park, and yearly they have an archery hunt that has the longest season in the state. I went in on the first day of season..green as can be, but proficient with my vert (within reason). What a trip! Couldn't enter until 5am, which was later than I wanted, but not much you can do. I had scouted the area and had a tree picked out. Luckily, someone (only 5 hunters in the park at any one time...about 100 acres) had my tree picked out, too and had put a reflector in it. I get there and it's snort city...I had never heard that before in my life...it was 10 yrds away and keep going all the while I struggled getting my hang-on up the tree. Finally got up there, watching my watch, and it turned game time.
Oh..but wait...aren't you supposed to have your hunting license on you? Yup...newbie left it in the car. So..as I climbed down and went back to the car I pretty much spooked 9 deer going and coming. LESSON LEARNED!! The more important lesson was that I took stock of their location, where they were hanging out. Hunted all day, dawn to dusk, but no luck...though I did undershoot one doe (on purpose...she was about 40-45 yrds..too long for a newbie), just to say I got a shot off my first day ever
.
My third day hunting, I go to the spot where the deer had been hanging, a nice little corridor. The tree I picked had a branch about 16' up that I felt I could stand on, so I didn't take my hang on. It's was Sept. 23rd, humid and about 65* that morning...sweating like a pig! I got up the tree, and standing there was pretty damn uncomfortable. Since I have to be at work by 8, though, it was only about 1.5 hrs that I had to put up with it. Game time is on, and I'm standing, scanning, and hoping. Five minutes to seven, and I look down to see a doe had come in from my left...just meandering along, browsing. First, I was surprised at how quietly she came along. It was like, I just looked down and she was there. I was already holding my bow because out on the branch I didn't want to risk having to reach around for it. I had two shooting lanes, one on the left and one on the right...the branch I was standing on separated the two. She was already moving into the branch and had no clue I was there. I drew and held, getting ready to loose once she came into the right lane. And...she stopped. She kept browsing, but I couldn't get an angle on her...she was almost out of the lane and quartered towards me. After an eternity, she started moving along again. As she crossed the branch, I pulled back again and held again...she's taking her time! Finally, she strolls through into the right lane and stops, broadside @ about 18~20 yrds. I put the pin on the spot and released. She jumped about 5' in the air and took off circling back around my tree to the right. I heard her crash through the woods, then, where she should have crossed the dirt road, it went silent.
Since she had circled behind me, I felt it was OK to get down, check the POI and see if I could see any blood. I got down and took my sticks off the tree and went out and found my arrow. Nice frothy blood, so I felt pretty good abut the shot. I figured I'd walk back to the dirt road and look for blood on the other side. I never even did look for a trail, since the road was only 15 yards behind my tree. I followed what I thought was her path, as I got a real good view up in the tree. I get 5' from the edge of the road, and she was piled up in the brush. I took a look at the exit wound and figured that when I heard the sound of her running stop (appx. 20 seconds after impact), she was already dead. She wasn't the biggest, but I haven't bought beef all year long, and still have about 8-10#'s left in the freeze. Just had some brisket yesterday!!
Gutting for the first time was fun, but I rushed it, as everything I read said to do it chop-chop, plus it was so warm out. Next deer, I'll know I have plenty of time to do it right, and won't nick the entrails, as I did with this one. No biggie, just a small spot easily cleaned out.
Anyway, I call the guys at work to come with the pickup truck...plus called a few of the folks that said, "Dave, what do you think you're just going to take up hunting, walk out into the woods, and bag a deer? Folks hunt for 20 years and never even take a shot with a gun, let alone shoot an arrow!", just to let them know what happened.
Got her back to work, and another hunter helped me through my first skinning and quartering. Put the pieces in the spare fridge at work, took it home and butchered it myself over the next 3 days. What a whole lotta satisfying work!
Then..my second time back in the woods, and I did my shoulder in climbing down from a tree. Didn't hunt the rest of the year; I kept waiting for it to heal, but it never happened. I have an MRI coming up, but decided I wasn't not hunting and came into the Excal fold! I'm debating ground hunting (I did some spot and stalks during the 2 previous days I went out, but without a range finder and the confidence to shoot past 30 yrds, I passed up shots I'd have taken with an Xbow, assuming confidence in my form), or using my tree saddle, which I only used the day I hurt my shoulder. I think I had overdone it with shooting and bumping up the poundage on my bow which made my shoulder ripe for a strain/tear/whatever. I think I'll be ok climbing, since I've limited the stress...of course, let's see what the Dr. says.....
Deer & beer...that's why arrows and Hop Devil were made.
SORRY BUDDY i just could not pass it up 
He's an 11 point, dressed at 200 lbs. and scored 137...enough to get me in the state record book for archery. Gary
