Call It A Quick Buck Jim Rose Jonesville, Michigan

It was opening day of archery deer season in Hillsdale County , Michigan and the excitement was almost too much to bear. As I got into my truck to drive out to my tree stand I realized that I was getting too late a start. It was about 7:00 am and that it was starting to get light. I probably ruined my chances of seeing any deer for that morning.

I got my quiver of arrows and attached them to my bow. Then I made my way around the 15-acres of woods, which sets adjacent to a hay field. As I rounded the corner of the woods to go to my blind I spotted two deer off in the distance (probably about 250 yards away up wind). Luckily they did not spot me. I kept close to the edge of the woods trying to be as quiet as I could but still keeping my eye on those two deer. I was about half way down the edge of the woods when the deer ducked into another small 2-acre woods across the hay field and the woods my stand was in. I figured that was the last I saw of those two!

It was now about 7:15 am and I was in my tree stand, (which incidentally was about ten yards into the edge of the woods) bow in hand and still cursing myself for getting out so late, when I noticed the two deer had stepped out of the little woods and were walking parallel with the woods that I was in. As they moved closer I noticed that they were both bucks! I knew at that point by the way they were walking that I would NEVER get a shot.

I recalled hearing some people tell tales of how they grunted deer in but since I didn't have a grunt call, I figured I'd just make a very loud growling sound. At that instant both deer picked their heads up and looked to where the sound had came from. When they put their heads back down I growled again. Again they looked over towards me trying to figure out what the sound was. I growled again and again until they finally started to walk towards me.

At this point I was quite excited. They were close enough to me that I could tell one was a 5 point and the other a 6. They moved next to the woods that I was in and were walking right over my tracks to my tree stand. They were about twenty yards away when I drew my bow back, waiting for the 6 point to step into a clearing for a good shot. My bow must have made a sound because they both stopped. I held my bow for as long as I could before I had to release it slowly. I waited for about 5 more minutes (seemed more like 5 hours) when finally the 6 point buck stepped into the clearing for me to get a nice broadside shot. Shhhhouuut, Perfect hit through the lungs! I watched the deer run about 50 yards and fall. The other one got out of there. I waited a couple minutes to make sure he was not getting up and I walked over to him. I had him dressed and hanging in my garage by 8:00am. The whole thing took about an hour.

My friends still accuse me of tying him up the night before.