Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum Your First Deer as a Kid

Dec. 26, 1984. 1st day of doe season back then. I was 18 and had just started college at AUM. I had an aluminum tube ladder stand that I got for Christmas and a Marlin 30-30 open sight rifle that my high school girlfriend’s dad had given me (wished I still had that gun!). Walked in with both and put up the stand and climbed up. No sling. No pull up rope. No safety belt. 🙄

This tract was in Elmore county on my dad’s boss’s land around Real Island at lake Martin. I was close enough to the water I could hear boats and folks talking on the lake. Anyway, I was sitting there and after an hour or so to my right I see a deer walking straight towards me at my 3:00. “I’m thinking oh my God, there’s a deer!!” I turned around and had my legs hanging off the side of the stand and raised my gun. That’s when I saw he had like 3-4 inch spikes! So now I’m really freaked out because I now know he’s a buck! Well, I took aim at his front shoulder as he’s quartering to me. It he sees me move and when I shot, I hit him farther back than I wanted.

So he started running directly behind me so I spin around and start working that 30-30 like Matt Dillion. Aiming at brown and I keep shooting til I’m empty. I see the poor thing cross a creek and bed down facing away from me about 40 yards away. I watch him for a bit but he’s pretty alert with his head up. So I load 2 more bullets in and put the sight on the back of his neck and that was it.

I got to him and I was so happy! Deer probably wasn’t 100lbs but I felt like I had just killed a 170 BC buck! I managed to get him field dressed and drug him back to the road. My oldest younger brother was there and helped me load him up into the back of my 1980 Honda Civic and we headed home but not before stopping at every little gas station between there and Prattville so I could show off my trophy!!