Fog rolled over the pond as the sun began to rise over the tall white pines. The date was September 20, 2014. Last night, my buddy Carter and I had partied until the early a.m. just excited for what the next day would bring. I was woken by the smell of freshly brewed Folgers coffee and a bird chirping from my phone. It was five AM and I was not happy partially because it was early, but also there was no sugar for my damn coffee. In ten minutes I was up and getting my clothes and other essentials ready for today’s adventure. The mixed smell of coffee, cheese, mayo and ham filled the air.

I left my cabin and walked to the garage where my ATV stood gassed up and ready to go. At a cruising speed of twenty miles per hour, I figured I would make it to my blind in about ten minutes. When I arrived I still had to walk a quarter mile though the dark oak and pine tree forest. As I scaled the ladder to my blind, a bat flew in front of me. I figured that I left a window open, which I ended up doing. I set my Remington model 700 30-06 in the corner, leaned back in my chair, and watched as the sun began to rise over the pine trees.

I took three long sips of my dark coffee, praying today would be the day I got the big one, the wall hanger of a life time. The sun was rising faster and faster every minute, and its bright rays shined though the camo fabric, covered windows.

It was about 7:30 when my first doe walked over to my pile of corn, carrots, and mineral lick. She wasn’t anything fancy, but she was a nice size. No shooter for me; I was waiting for a buck. The short legged deer sat on my bait pile for about forty-five minutes before a long antlered beast wandered out of the nearby swamp. Not only did one buck walk in, but another one right after with a bigger body and also a bigger wider rack did too. I knew he was the one I wanted on my wall and in my freezer.

The white rack that showed eight points was one to remember. I grabbed my 30-06 rifle out of the corner and stuck it slowly out the window, feeling the cool morning breeze cover my skin. I clicked the safety off. The metal was cool on my skin, while slowly putting the scope up to my eye. I stuck my cross hairs over the body right behind the shoulder in the “sweet spot”. I took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and squeezed the trigger. The gun went off, but for some odd reason though, I couldn’t hear the gun go off. I did feel the kick on my shoulder. I assume it was because of how much adrenaline I had at a time.

I waited thirty minutes to see if my deer was down, and finally I couldn’t take any more excitement so I climbed down the ladder. Not fifteen yards from where I shot him he was lying there with a perfect shot right through his heart.