A few weeks ago Chad and I took a trip back to Live Oak Ranch in Uvalde. AND this time both of us were hunting, so the husband/wife competition began!
We arrived on Tues and had a nice relaxing drive through the ranch before it was time to "camo up" and sit in the stand. Since, Chad and I were both hunting I MADE Ivan, one of the guides, sit with me in the stand. I felt special....I was the first woman he has ever sat with (maybe his last). Chad sat by himself in his stand, so I felt like I had an advantage sitting with Ivan, because he knew all the deer on the ranch and which ones ran together, etc. Ivan and I chatted for a bit in the stand while we watched a doe eating corn. A few small bucks peeked out, but nothing exciting. THEN we heard a gunshot from Chad's stand. "Ohhhhh nooooo," is all I thought, because I knew that if Chad shot on the first hunt then it must have been a good deer. Then a few minutes later we got a text from him saying he missed the deer. WHAT????? NO WAY! I was literally dumbfounded. My husband NEVER misses anything....he is a great shot. We received another text saying that the deer had a drop tine. If you don't know what this is (mom), it is a tine that is facing downward instead of up. It is not very common and there are only a couple on this ranch. Ivan and I started joking around saying that wouldn't it be funny if the deer that Chad missed came to our stand and I shot him! So, we sat there quietly and waited. A couple more bucks came out, but again nothing worth taking. THEN, Ivan said "Brooke move real slow and look at the feeder." I turned and saw a nice buck. Ivan had the binoculars and I asked if he was a "good" buck. He looked at me and said "it has a drop tine." We both just stared at each other and thought....NO WAY! We both laughed and said this has got to be the deer Chad missed, because what are the chances of us seeing another deer with a drop tine? Ivan told me to check him out to see if I liked him. I looked through my scope and loved the deer. I told Ivan if it felt right I was going to shoot. A moment later the deer looked at me and I was so calm I knew it was the right time, so I took the shot and he dropped in his tracks! That was the best feeling seeing that big buck hit the ground right where he stood....it literally brought me to tears and a few happy curse words!!! Ivan probably was shocked...first tears, then cursing....THEN FEAR!!!! I looked at Ivan and thought OH NO.....I shot Chad's deer!!!!! Ivan and I both joked back and forth on who was going to tell Chad. I lost. When Chad, Tim, and Mr. Hopkins showed up I was hesitant, but I told him it had a drop tine. Thankfully, when we went to see the deer Chad said it was NOT his deer that the deer he missed had a drop tine on the opposite side. Phew.
After waiting about 10 minutes it was time for the picture! I LOVE hunting, but I also like to be girlie while doing it. I always joke around with the boys about how I need to fix my makeup or I need better lighting, etc. Thank goodness Mr. Hopkins is very patient with me! I do have to say that night time pictures are not the best. Girls...if you want to look good for your picture make sure you shoot your deer while you still have good lighting :)
Day one of hunting was over, so now I could relax and the pressure was on for Chad. My deer had 11 points and had scored a 149. I thought I had this competition bagged. So, while Chad was out hunting the next day I just relaxed and watched tv and ate and ate and ate. He had no luck on his morning hunt, but his evening hunt was a success....too successful!!!! He came back with a 13 point buck that scored 160. This buck was bigger than the buck he had missed, so that miss paid off in the end.
So, now it's Chad 1, Brooke 0, but this competition is only beginning! Look out BUCKS this rifle packing momma is on a mission to have the biggest whitetail in the house!
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