The Author after getting her second chance. Photo by Tyler Johnerson

Being fairly green when it comes to big game hunting, I figured my work was cut out for me when I decided to hunt the intelligent whitetail.  During archery season, I managed to harvest a beautiful doe but did not have enough experience to seal the deal on a buck.

On November 3rd, luck was in my favor.  My husband Tyler and I started off to find a vantage point where we could set up and patiently wait to see if a nice buck would show up.  Not long into our hike, we spotted a nice buck about 600 yards away.  We decided almost immediately to go after him.  We hurried to close the distance between us and the deer.  Just as I laid the gun over the Crew Cab backpack and clicked my safety off, the big fella fed behind some trees.  I could see he was bedding down through a small opening in the timber.  While the deer was chewing his cud and falling asleep, Tyler and I plotted my next move.

Ninety minutes later, I decided to take the difficult shot through the trees because I did not think he would move until well after dark.  I clicked the safety off, carefully took aim at the bedded buck, and then missed completely! The deer stood up in confusion not knowing where the bullet had come from.

The sky was only getting darker and I only had about 15 minutes left of shooting time.  About then I began praying for another opportunity.  I think most anyone would agree with me, big whitetail bucks normally won’t give you a second chance.

Five long minutes went by and the deer suddenly showed himself.  He started scraping his huge rack on a tree about 225 yards away.  I heard a doe hiss and knew it would only be seconds before the buck took off. He was facing directly towards me, eagerly looking around.  I settled the crosshairs on his chest and slowly pulled the trigger.  He dropped like a ton of bricks!  Today was my lucky day!  What a beautiful animal and such a prize for my 3rd buck!

Check out more of Marci and her husband Tyler Johnerson’s Adventures at www.huntsoloventures.com