It's Alive!

Just like when Frankenstein's monster came to life, it is equally exciting when a hunter sees a non typical monster in the woods. This happened to me for the first time last year. I had already shot my buck and a week later this gnarly buck comes up on camera. An absolute monster, he has a typical left side but each point on his right side comes out of his head separately except for two points that are forked together. I didn't see the buck this year and I suppose that there is a small chance that he is still out there somewhere, lurking around. I am just grateful that he came out for a pose and to this day is the coolest buck I've seen. We all have that one buck, this guy is that one buck for me. Maybe just maybe next year I'll get to exclaim as Frankenstein so famously did, "it's alive!"

Reminder

Remember, the end of the month is drawing near. You have a week and a half to submit your biggest trail camera picture or biggest buck taken. The winner receives a free camo Bible. Click on our monthly contest tab for more details.

There's Always More Fish In The Sea

The Hunt: 11/2/2010

Life is like hunting a new stand location for the first time, you never know what you're going to see! Apparently, I'm in the mood for using old adages today. But it's true, there is a certain kind of excitement/fear that accompanies hunting a new location for the first time. Even if you have had a lot of trail camera activity prior to setting up in the location, that does not mean you are guaranteed to see anything.

That brings us to my friend Dave Beck. Dave decided to hunt a new stand location for the first time. About an hour after first light, Dave spotted a nice 8 point at around 80 yards. After a few grunt calls, Dave almost had the buck within shooting range when our story takes a turn for the worse. The buck caught Dave's scent and left.

But there's always more fish in the sea, right? Or in this case, another monster buck in the forest! Only minutes after Dave's first encounter, Dave saw antlers moving in the distance. It wouldn't be long until the buck closed in within shooting range. No doubt the deer had heard Dave's grunt call from earlier and wanted to get in on the action. This buck was a 140' 10 pointer and Dave went to full draw with the deer being withing 20 yards. The rest is history!

Sometimes we do not understand why things happen the way they do. But I believe two things, God knows best, and He will find a way for it to work out in our (Christian's) best interest. Here are two verses that illustrate this point:

(Romans 8:28) - "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

(Isaiah 55:9)- "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

Dave Beck serves as a deacon at the New Concord church of Christ and resides in Zanesville, Ohio.

My 2012 Ohio Hunt

November 5-10 marked vacation. What better way to spend vacation than visit  my parents and go hunt? It was a very enjoyable week. Saw four nice bucks during the week and shot the last of the four. The first big buck was certainly a Pope & Young caliber buck but I'm not sure what he would score because I didn't get a great look at him. The other three bucks were all very similar in size. All in all, I'm very happy with my deer and am very encouraged with all the deer activity that I saw. From all indications, next year should be very promising with a lot of 3 1/2 year old bucks roaming around!

First picture of my deer and inspection: Turns out he was a 9 pointer, I originally thought he was an 8.

Tag em' and load em' (literally I loaded him on the tractor bucket)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life Lessons From Bubby

Don't Let History Repeat Itself

 There are many methods in which we can learn. The key is finding which method best suits you. Most, if not all learning methods appeal to the senses. Some learn better visually, others through hearing, and so on.  Same can be said Biblically, Simon Peter was a close friend and Apostle of Jesus. You know what method best suited Simon? He learned things the hard way! Jesus told his disciples that he would suffer and die, yet Simon told Jesus that he shouldn't die. His comments showed his complete ignorance and misunderstanding of the atonement. Simon promised Jesus that he would never forsake Him, yet he did so three times. Simon Peter may have made some mistakes, but he learned from those mistakes and moved forward.

Now we come to the Simon Peter of this story, Travis Shirer or in some circles, Bubby.  Travis is a close friend of mine and an avid bow hunter. In many respects, he has taught me most of what I know about hunting. Yet, on November 6, 2012, Bubby would make a big mistake. In an attempt to move in on where he thought the deer were moving, he took his self climber to a timber bottom and set up. No he wasn't winded, the deer never picked up on his scent, his mistake was more tragic. He wasn't able to cut any shooting lanes, a big 9 pointer came in around sundown, and Travis was left trying to make a shot through a thick, wooded area. Bubby's miss could have been avoided if proper shooting lanes were cut out.

Here is a picture of a deer that we think could have been the deer or at least very similar to the deer that Travis shot at.

Like Simon, Bubby would learn and move forward from this hunting experience. The next week, November 13, 2012 and the last day of his vacation, Bubby tagged a buck. This time he was hunting at a different location, he set up his climber, but you better believe he brought a hand saw with him this time! He made the necessary adjustments, cut some small trees down and began his morning hunt. Around 10:00 am he spotted a deer coming his way. Within moments, Travis stood up with old faithful (PSE Nova) in hand. The buck had come directly under his stand. Travis went to full draw, let it go, and hit the deer in the spine, dropping it instantly. It was an adrenaline rush, a great lesson learned, a successful hunt, and a blessing from God.

Here is Travis with his 2012 buck

Every End Has A Beginning

Operation: First Bow Kill

The beginning for me started after I shot my first buck with a shotgun in 2000. My uncle took me out, we sat in a ground blind that consisted of branches and logs that we collected and we fortified ourselves in between two nice trees. I shot a small six pointer that day but I had no idea that it would be eleven years before I would shoot another deer. Sports, schooling, more schooling, and work would keep me out of the woods for the majority of eleven years. Sure, I went out occasionally, I even bought a compound bow with the thought that I would have an extended hunting period to take some deer. Still, I had no success.

That all changed in 2011. I began to take hunting much more seriously. I started practicing something called, shooting. Previously, shooting my bow was something I rarely did if ever. I bought trail cameras and built a couple feeders to see what the deer population looked like. I stopped saying, "Oh, that tree looks good, I think I'll put a stand in that one." I put the time into scouting that was required and on November 1, 2011 I was rewarded.

It was a cold morning. I had gone out hunting a few times the week before and saw a total of one or two deer. I had become very discouraged but I made myself get up early that morning and made the trip out to my stand. The wind was swirling that morning, sometime between 7-8 a deer that I could not see caught my scent and took off through the woods. After about an hour had passed, I heard some noise in a wooded bottom below me. I reached for my grunt tube, blew into it a few times, and sure enough about a minute later a buck started trotting up out of the bottom looking for a fight.

I stood up slowly and turned my back to him for a moment (that's not really a good idea fyi). But I figured I would use my body as a shield so he wouldn't see me reach for my bow. I had been busted before by moving too much, I was not about to let it happen again. I grabbed the bow without him spotting me, everything up to this point had gone smoothly, but from here on out it would get interesting. I told you it was cold that morning, my hands weren't covered very well, so when I tried to get the release attached to my bowstring I couldn't. My nerves were already shot, plus I had very little feeling in my fingers.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour but was only a few seconds, my release was secured to my Martin Jaguar. I turned back to where I had last seen the deer, but he wasn't there. My heart sank into my stomach, "I blew it," was all that was running through my mind. As I was frantically looking around for this deer, I decided to look down by my ladder.  Believe it or not, the buck had walked right under my stand. I drew back, he looked up at me, with barely anytime to look out of my peep sight, I let it fly. He went about seventy yards and crashed. He wasn't a very big buck, just a small eight pointer, but he marked the end of a drought, he signified the end of so many failures, he marked the end of one journey and paved the way for the beginning of another.

(Ecclesiastes 7:8)- "The end of a thing is better than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit."

Regardless of what you are hunting, it is truly a blessing when all of your hard work and labor comes to fruition. Stay humble, but enjoy the blessings that God gives us!

Our Ignagural Post

Welcome to The Christian Hunter. This blog will serve as a means to discuss Christianity and hunting. An emphasis will be placed on bow hunting whitetail deer but other areas of hunting may be discussed as well. The purpose of this blog will be to share hunting stories, pictures, videos, and conduct interviews with Christian hunters from many different places.We encourage you to subscribe to our blog, like us and share us on your Facebook and other social networks. Stay tuned to the next blog where I will share the story behind the first deer that I ever shot with a bow. The story and pictures will be posted!

 (Genesis 10:9) Will serve as our theme verse. Many people work hard to become mighty hunters, but the key to the verse is the presence of the Lord. Being a mighty hunter before the Lord does not mean that being a hunter is more important than serving the Lord, rather it indicates that the hunting taking place is done before God's presence.