Memory Wall

So I finally managed to get the last set of antlers up on the wall today. Erin gave me an antler mounting kit for Valentine's Day and I finally got around to mounting my 2nd buck from 2016. To me, these antlers are so much more then trophies, they are a valuable reminder of all the good memories that I have had in the deer woods since I was young.

Deer hunting memory wall

Although I don't mount the antlers of every buck that I kill, the ones that I do mount hold some sort of special memory or significance. Below I have included a short description of each.

• Bottom Right - December 8, 2002 (1st Shotgun Season)
• This was the first ever big buck that I shot. I'm not certain on the age, but he was for sure 3 1/2 years old or older (I'm guessing older) and was a fighter. As you can see, his right main beam was broken off along with a few other small points. He also had a lot of scars on his cape from fighting and was carrying a very swollen and infected hoof. That season, I had taken a friend from high school up to shotgun hunt at my uncle Bruce's farm. We didn't get any opportunities to shoot a deer on Saturday, so on Sunday we both headed for a neighbor's property to a spot we call "The Finger" which is a wooded draw that sticks out into an agricultural field from a larger block of timber. The buck came in across the draw from where we were sitting and my friend did not have a good angle for a shot. I took a shot and dropped the buck in his tracks. Although not a monster, he was one of the biggest antlered deer that I had seen at that point in my life. 
• Bottom Left - December 1, 2007 (1st Shotgun Season)
• It didn't take long for me to end my season this year. On Saturday day morning I headed for "The Finger" and sat on the opposite side that we usually do because of the direction that the wind was coming from. It started to snow as we were headed out to hunt and we were all excited because historically the deer move a lot on my uncle's farm when it snowed. Shortly after shooting light, I looked up the other side of the draw to see this buck headed straight towards me. Although not running, he was walking at a quick pace and I did not want to take a head on shot at him. He didn't notice me until he was 5 yards away. As he turned to run, I took the opportunity at a perfect broadside shot and he didn't make it more than 20 yards before he died.
• Top Middle - December 22 - 2015 (Late Muzzleloader Season)
• It was my first time ever hunting Late Muzzleloader season and the conditions were perfectly wrong. It was a warm, calm, and very humid evening so I really didn't expect much. I was sitting in the Big Field box blind (which was new this season) and around sunset deer started to pile into the field. I was lining up to shoot a smaller buck that had come into the plot when this buck showed up right behind him. He was at about 60 yards and quartering towards me. After the shot, deer were running everywhere and it took awhile for the smoke to clear. It did appear that I had hit him as he ran from the food plot but it took me a long time to find the blood trail. It was dark by the time I followed it into the woods and lost it so I made the challenging decision to stay overnight and wait until morning. The next morning I was greeted by pouring rain and thus no remaining blood trail. By chance, I stumbled on the dead deer about 150 yards south of my property line as I was doing a grid search and I broke down crying right there. I managed to drag him back through the mud and get him loaded in my truck (which was no small feat). Because I was due in the Quad Cities for a Christmas celebration for my wife's family, I met my dad half way to his house to give him the deer to start processing. This is by far the oldest, biggest, and largest antlered deer that I have ever killed and my dad says probably the biggest one that has every hung in his garage. His antlers were very unique and I think the European mount really does him justice.
• Top Left - November 5, 2016 (Bow Season)
• Temperatures were unseasonably warm, but I had 4 days off work and was not going to waste them. I had seen a lot of deer from the stand on the afternoon/evening of the 4th and then had a buddy from work come down to spend the night and do some hiking. I decided to hunt the Ridge stand, which is my favorite tree stand on my property, because it was close to the cabin so I could get back quickly if needed. The hunt did not last long at all as heard a stick break to the north of me, looked up and saw him as he walked into 5 yards just below my tree stand. I quickly drew back and shot him straight through the front shoulder. He only ran about 50 yards and I watched him fall over dead. This was my first ever buck with a bow and the first big buck killed off of my own property. In addition, it was a deer that we had been getting a lot of trail camera pictures of all fall. I was so excited that I spent about 45 minutes texting and calling family and friends to share the good news before getting down to gut and drag him out. With a triple main beam on the right side and sticker points everywhere, he is one of the most unique deer that I have ever seen.
• Top Right - December 20, 2016 (Late Muzzleloader Season w/a bow)
• In stark contrast to the prior year, dad and I were greeted with very cold temperatures and snow on the ground for Late Muzzleloader season. On our first evening down, dad shot a yearling buck on the small field food plot and that was the only deer spotted between the 2 of us. With an antlerless bow tag in my pocket, and an any sex muzzleloader tag that I could use a bow to fill, I opted to head for our best stand on the neighboring counting land the next morning with the intention of filling the doe tag. About 10 minutes after shooting light, this buck came in from the west very slowly. I drew on him a couple of times but he just wouldn't turn broadside. On the 3rd try, he spotted me and bolted to about 20 yards but was quartering away hard. I aimed for the middle of his body but ended up hitting him just in front of his rear leg. My heart sank as I thought that I gut shot him. I watched him trot off to the west and lost him behind a brush pile. I called dad, told him to wait 4 hours and head my way with a muzzleloader and orange vest (just in case we found the buck still alive). I freezed my behind off for the next 4 hours and nearly got a shot at a doe during that time. Once dad arrived, I grabbed the muzzleloader and headed over to the brush pile where I last saw him. To my surprise he was laying dead right where I last saw him. When I gutted him I found that my shot was perfect as my arrow had slid along the stomach without puncturing it, went through the liver, one lung, and the heart meaning that he died very quickly and didn't suffer. The sick feeling that I had sat there with quickly turned to joy. I had never killed a buck with my bow, and now I had done it twice in a single year.