It was six in the morning when I reached my stand. It was a little spooky because it was pitch dark and I was all by myself. I was sitting there thinking that if I saw a big buck I would be happy. When it started to get light I thought I heard a noise behind me. It got closer and closer, and then it sounded like it was right under my stand. I looked down and saw it was a giant monster squirrel!

After that little incident, my heart was pounding. I thought it was going to be a big buck. When I finally settled down again, I heard something else coming. My heart dropped and I could hear it beating. There were a million thoughts racing through my head: Would I get it? Was it big? What would my dad say? I stayed down for 10 minutes before I could see it was a doe. It ate at my pile for another 10 minutes, then she put her head up and ran away.

I don't know why she ran, but in a split second, I had bucks running in my bait. I couldn't believe my eyes. There were three little ones snorting and blowing around by my stand since it was rutting season. They were too small; I wanted a bigger one. I watched them for a while and relaxed. Then one of the bucks put his head up and ran away.

This time I was ready for anything. Sure enough, the other two left; what had scared them was a big eight-pointer. It was about 40 yards away, and it was going to follow the other bucks since that was where the doe was going.

I thought fast. I got out my buck call and snorted a couple times. The buck stopped on a dime. His hormones were raging and he thought I was a buck with his doe. He came over so fast I needed to stop him to place a good shot, so I grunted and he stopped.

I am an experienced hunter, so I had my bow pulled back already. He looked around and then the arrow hit him and he ran. After sitting in the stand for a long time, I got down. My heart was going crazy. I found the blood trail and followed it to him. I was jumping for joy. I gutted him and brought the deer back to the shack, my favorite place in the world.

On that day I knew I would never stop bow hunting. That was the best hunt I've had!