I woke up at 5:45 A.M. on a Saturday in October.  The only feeling that could arise me out of bed this early would be the desire to hunt whitetail deer.  Half asleep, I hopped into my jet black jeans, threw on my bleach white Under Armor shirt, my warm hoodie, and then last my camo to keep me out of sight from all of the deer in the woods.  I trotted to our garage and snatched my brand new camo compound bow off the hanger.  With chapped lips and a dry mouth, I twisted open an ice cold bottle of water, took a few drinks of the cold tastiest liquid, sat it back in the fridge and shuffled out the door with my bow in my left hand and my mini flashlight in my right.  As I quietly walked through the field that leads to my prime deer stand, I glanced at the shining moon and noticed my warm breath was visible. 

The morning was crisp as ice but still manageable to hunt in.  After the thirty-minute walk, I reached my deer stand and ascended into the tree.  I sat in the black morning and waited for the blazing sun to rise.  The cold metal tree stand sucked the heat from my warm body as I sat with my eyes closed.  I pulled my phone out to check the time; 6:30 A.M. abruptly, a snort echoed behind me.  I snapped my head around only to see a cold breath in the air fifty yards behind me followed by a faint white tail pointing to the sky.  The sound of the orange and brown leaves cracking under the deer’s hooves vibrated to my eardrums as the deer bounded out of the woods into a safe field.  I thought to myself, ‘Busted, and I didn’t even know it was there.’

Before I knew it, the sun was rising, and my body became become sharp and alert.  I kept my eyes moving side-to-side, evaluating the woods to see if any deer have appeared yet, but nothing.  The shining sun signified it was prime time for deer to wonder around. After sitting for an hour and a half in the tree, a large thud erupted behind me.  I slowly grabbed my bow off the hanger and twisted my head like an owl.  An eight-point buck jumped down from the bank of the creek that was fifteen yards to my backside.  The buck stood for a few seconds recovering from his leap across the creek and stared forward, but not up at up.  The majestic animal slowly marched forward closer to me.  The sun shined off his brown coat, making the deer appear as if he were glowing with light.  My body shook, as I knew it was time to stand up and prepare for the shot.  The buck froze again and gave me my chance to rise out of my seat.  I slowly stood up with my bow in my left hand and then looked down at the buck.  He hadn’t noticed me as I attempted to control my shakes and heavy breathing.  He then continued his march forward.  The buck stood frozen in his tracks broadside at ten yards staring forward, and I knew this was my chance.  Standing fifteen feet in the air on a cold metal platform, I slowly drew my bow, pulling the cold string back until it rested against my warm dry lips.  I closed my left eye and looked through the sights, placed the pin over the buck’s beating heart then slowly clinched my right index finger pushing the trigger release backwards, allowing the strings to retract like lighting.  The string slapped the arrow out of the bow; the arrow sliced through the cold morning air and then sank into the buck’s thick skin.  The second the arrow plunged into the animal he jumped in the air, almost out of his skin.  The big buck sprinted with everything in his tank and headed directly for the thick tangled mess of trees I call a thicket.  I stood, shaking, viewing with my cold eyeballs that the deer bounded out of sight in front of me. Only seconds after this, a very loud smack reverberated through the trees followed by silence.  Fairly certain the buck had taken his last breath, I dug in my pocket for my phone to call my father.  “I shot a nice buck, and I’m pretty sure he’s down!” He replied,“Awesome, son!  Just wait in the tree for me.  I’ll get on the wheeler and meet you in a few minutes.”  I waited in the tree shaking with excitement and joy; still in shock I harvested my first buck with my bow.