Big Booner

I guess if I harvested this deer, my quest would be over.

Multi-Quest

I think I am going to turn this into a multi-quest for me.  My goal is to introduce my wife, Ashley, to the world of Whitetail Deer hunting.  We have been together for six years and married for two of them.  She is a fantastic person that I never want to spend a day without.  And that is the reason for my multi-quest.  I love hunting, but I always hate leaving my wife behind all weekend.  It makes hunting a little less enjoyable when she’s not around.  Over the past few years, she has been getting more and more comfortable with the fact that I am an avid hunter.  This past September I was actually able to get her to say that she would go hunting, but that did not necessarily mean that she would be doing it anytime soon.  It’s a start at least.  Since she is now more accepting of the idea, everyone around her needs to start giving her encouragement so it isn’t so taboo for her.  How sweet would it be to bag that record booner with my wife by my side?

Exciting footage

I am backtracking a bit here to this past October.  I got some decent footage of a good size doe and her two fawns.  The video may be deceiving, but these deer were literally no more than five yards at their closest point to me.  Since she had two fawns with her, I decided to pass on them.  Any other year I might have taken a shot at her, but since my wife and I are battling fertility issues I thought it would be a bad omen to take a mother away from two fawns.  Check out my wife's blog on infertility.  It is great and informative writing.  "THE SPEED BUMP BEFORE THE BABY BUMP"  This footage was taken on my first day out this season and I figured I had plenty of time to get a deer better suited for harvesting.  I was hunting with my Hoyt Alpha Max 32.  It is an incredible bow that knows how to smoke a deer.  My treestand is a Summit Viper.  I love this stand, but I'm contemplating purchasing a Lone Wolf climber stand.  Let me know your opinion on this if you have one.  My video camera is a Canon FS100.  It is not much to brag about, but it did a nice job for a beginner videographer.

AND SO IT BEGINS

The purpose of this blog is to document my every step towards taking that buck of a lifetime.  I have been hunting public land in Missouri for the past13 years and I don't have any trophies to show for it.  I don't like to consider myself the lazy hunter, but at the same time I have never put a major emphasis on scouting and preparation.  Typically, I head out into the woods and hope for the best, but usually get the worst.  I have made it my quest from here on out to make every effort possible to bag a record booner.  I will document everything down to the gear I purchase, to private hunting land requests, to hunting techniques, and to the final moment to where I can proudly hang that booner buck on my wall.

Even though we are in the middle of the Missouri rut I am already thinking about next season.  So far this year I have hunted three times; two weekends for archery and one weekend during the November firearms season with no luck.  When I proposed to my wife I had sold my guns to pay for her ring.  So, I am forced to archery hunt during rifle season.  Yesterday, I went to a local gun shop to see what's out there.  I was hellbent on getting a 45-70.  A Marlin 1895XLR to be exact.  I wanted a rifle with a ton of knock down power, but was ideal for the short range brush hunting I am use to in Missouri.  It turns out that Marlin has relocated their offices and is way behind on orders.  I have been contemplating a 30-06 too.  Since I cannot get the 45-70 that I want right away, I settled on the Browning X-Bolt.  This rifle is incredibly sweet.  Check it out.  Browning X-Bolt This rifle has everything I was looking for and the gun shop was selling it for next to nothing.  I am happy with the decision of going with the 30-06 because of the wide range of bullets it can handle.  My old 30-30 was limited to just one type of bullet.  Overall, my new Browning X-Bolt 30-06 was a perfect choice that won't fail when that shot at a record booner comes up.