The Surreal Experience of Harvesting Your First Deer

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Quincy Milton

Quincy is an avid fly fisherman and bird hunter who approaches outdoor activities from the perspective of an outdoor scientist. He loves experimenting with wild game recipes, especially when it involves a smoker.

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As an experienced hunter, I am no stranger to the obsession with the pursuit of wild game as a means to foster sustenance for oneself. The idea that I can become one with nature by fully connecting with the meat I eat is a large part of why I embark on this great hobby. However, nothing could have prepared me for the feeling of deer hunting.

This past fall, I was urged to finally try deer hunting by several hunting buddies. I went in with no expectations and an insatiable appetite for learning the craft. I did not know what to expect and took each day with a grain of salt. To make a long story short, I managed to harvest a deer on my second day of deer hunting. The feeling of that moment is one that I will cherish forever.

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Switching The Mindset From Birds To Deer

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a consummate bird hunter. I love the sound of whistling wings on a crisp winter morning. I relish in the face my dog makes when those first ducks splash into my spread after legal shooting light. Most importantly, I love being on the water, and chasing ducks is by far my favorite form of bird hunting and hunting in general.

Bird hunting is a numbers game. Depending on where you live, you could see up to hundreds, if not thousands of game birds in a single day. You could go through an entire box of shotgun shells before you fill your limit. When you have a good day bird hunting, there is constant non-stop
action.

Even turkey hunting which involves less game sighted, can still yield the sound of several birds gobbling throughout a given day. Having been involved in turkey, upland, and duck hunting to this point, I knew I had to change my mindset as I ventured into deer hunting. Deer hunting is a scouting game. You could scout and hunt for several days in a row and never see a deer. Deer patterns change from year to year and may even change from day to day depending on the season. I had to fully prepare myself to never see a game item as a result.

The Hunt

My big game-hunting mentor helped me through the ropes. We convened, e-scouted large pieces of public land, and made a plan of attack. We decided to burn leather on our boots and cover miles in search of deer sign in areas that provided great habitat.

Day one was a bit of a bust. We did not see any majorly fresh sign that suggested we should sit for hours. We knew there were deer in the area, but we had not yet found the absolute X. Day two was a different story.

We ventured to a new public land and found fresh tracks and scratches throughout. The major point of no return was when we came across a fresh scrape. It was no older than six hours old. That was when we decided to sit down and wait out the buck that left the scrape at 0730.

The Moment

In all of my hunting outings, I use amplified hearing protection. It comes especially in handy when hunting big game and turkeys. I sat down, turned up my ears, and waited. After listening to chipmunks rustle through the woods for 20 minutes, I heard what could only be a deer or other larger mammal approaching. I put my legs into a shooting position on which to rest my muzzleloader and peeled my eyes out in front.

Within another minute, I saw brown legs through the bushes. The hunt was on at this point. Within another 30 seconds, I could see a 200-plus-pound buck coming right at me. 30 yards, 25 yards, 20 yards, stop. When the buck went behind a tree I slowly raised my muzzleloader into my lap. Unfortunately, I scratched a couple of leaves in doing so and found myself in an intense staring competition with this animal.

What felt like a lifetime of staring was probably more like 60 seconds. At this point, all I could ask was that this deer not panic. Because of the prolonged stare, I had time to reflect on the magnitude of the situation. Here I was, motionless, staring down an animal that could provide for me for the next half a year.

That was the moment that it really set in. This deer would either decide it did not like what it saw, and I may never get another chance all season. Or, he would settle down and march right in. Lucky for me this particular buck really wanted to check the scrape he left 10 yards from me. He put his head down and continued his march. Once he stepped out from behind his tree, I put the sight right on his chest and drilled him. He bounded three times and dropped. Success!

The Aftermath

After sitting down at 0730, I had a harvested deer by 0800. I never had time to shake or freak out. As an experienced hunter, I never expected to feel that way, but nothing prepared me for the surreal feeling I felt once the deer was officially in my possession. With this animal lying there, I was overcome with a feeling of gratitude and responsibility. I have shot hundreds of birds in my life, and I have made sure to respect their lives as much as possible by using every last piece of meat that I feasibly could. This was different. Birds last a few days, I was in it for the long haul with this beast.

Throughout processing, I could not help but feel a sense of pride knowing that I knew exactly what went into harvesting this deer. I know that I hiked a total of 17 miles in two days to find this animal. I know that care was taken to maximize the yield of meat. I know that the animal did not suffer throughout the harvest. Most importantly, I know that this animal will be respected, and in some cases revered, by each person who has a chance to taste a morsel.

Hunting is a funny hobby. New experiences within the hobby constantly put you in touch with reality in a way that you really cannot experience otherwise. I am thankful for this deer, and I cannot wait for the many more that I hope to harvest in the future. I know that no matter what, the same care and grace that went into my first deer will go into every one between now and my last.