After getting the fever, I decided I would hunt deer with a firearm for the first time in 1993. The first major obstacle I had to overcome was what gun I would use. I didn't know of anyone I could borrow one from, so I ended up talking with a guy I was referred to and he sold me an SKS (7.62 X 39) for $130 and a box of 25 shells for $5.00. I sighted the rifle in, made sure everything was working all right, and figured I was ready to go. I knew I would hunt on my (at that time ?uture') in-laws farm, but knew my girlfriend's cousin and his friend were hunting the timber. I knew that they worked during the week and I could hunt a few times during the week. I decided I would let them hunt the timber by themselves and I would hunt a hay field where I usually saw groups of does. My thinking was, I would let them kill their bucks opening weekend and I would try to shoot a doe. Then, during the week, I would hunt the timber for my buck. Little did I know that this thinking would turn on me. I had never heard the saying, "If you want to kill a big buck, you have to hunt the does!" I placed my stand on the edge of the hay field in a little finger of timber. There was a crop field behind me with a creek on the other side of it. I spent the night at the farmhouse that night and didn't get much sleep because my stomach was turning so bad. I was finally becoming a deer hunter! I woke up opening morning to horrible weather for deer hunting, or so I thought. A stiff 15 to 20-mph wind out of the west and it was about 35 degrees before sunrise. I made the long walk to my stand after talking with the other two hunters about our strategies. I made it to my stand at about 6:15 a.m. (a little later than I wanted to be) and had little hopes of seeing anything due to the weather. I was expecting the deer to come from my left (north) and watched that area intently. Every now and then I would glance over to my right. Suddenly I noticed something wasn't right. I looked over to my right and saw a figure. It was still somewhat dark, but I could make out a silhouette. I determined it was a deer, but what sex? It walked closer to me and I saw something white on its head. Had to be a buck! He was walking along the edge of the field and at about 25 yards away from me, turned and started walking directly away and into the field. The only shot I had was a butt shot. I knew I was not going to let this buck get away without firing at least one shot at him, but did not want to take a butt shot. The deer continued walking and I was trying to figure out what I was going to do. I had my gun to my shoulder and thought to myself, "Oh PLEASE! Please just turn sideways and give me one shot!" Right after I thought it, he stopped and turned. I looked at my watch, 6:32 a.m., legal shooting time was 6:30. Time to act. I looked through the iron sights and couldn't see squat. On an SKS, there is a shield around the front sight and this was preventing me from seeing through the sights. I knew the gun was right on, so I eyed it several times and decided to take the shot. I squeezed the trigger and the deer fell immediately. I couldn't believe it! The Lucky Buck
With the tag applied, I went back to the house to get some help. I had no idea on how to dress a deer. On the walk back I spotted a small 7-point buck in a cow pasture. I figured the other two hunters would definitely be successful also. Unfortunately, they had not been. As a matter of fact, my buck was the only buck killed at the farm that year. The Lucky Buck
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