by Dave Stueve 

There are many reasons why we hunt. We love the outdoors, we like a little venison on the table, and the camaraderie of fellow hunters, but every hunter knows that all of that pales compared to the deep satisfaction of that memorable instant when it all comes together, and life is being lived to the fullest. Like all things in life, preparation, practice, more practice, and a bit of good fortune are necessary elements in creating the perfect hunt.

Recently it all came together for me when I took my best-ever buck, a nice 11 pointer. It was a going away quartering shot at thirty five yards. A difficult shot, but I was well prepared when Lady Luck paid a visit. And luck did play its part. It always does. Firstly, I was fortunate, and honored, that my friend and customer, Brent, had very generously lent me the use of an excellently placed stand on his property. Thank you Brent. Preparation for the shot involved practice on the indoor range here at Double Lung Archery. Lots of practice. Our thirty five foot indoor range is an excellent place to hone the skills that have to become completely intuitive for the bow hunter: we normally get just one shot. This morning, I had to work very quickly. Not a good time to start questioning my technique. In the course of selecting, and testing the very best equipment for the Double Lung Archery store, I rigorously test, and often reject, many of the new products that continually appear on the market. The best of the rest are tested in the field. As I re-thought this hunt, I realized that I had upgraded virtually every piece of gear in the last year. I had selected a Ross Cardiac bow. In the quiver, I had G5 three blade broad- heads, threaded on Carbon Express Maxima 250, 27”inch shafts for strength and speed. Vanes are by Blazer which provide excellent flight control. For camo I selected the new Enigma pattern by Enigma Camo. For scent control I used No Trace base layers and a layer of Scent Lok. Thus equipped, I met Brent at 5:45 am, and we went to his stand. I sat down in the rain. Brent wished me luck, left me at the base of the tree, walked back to his truck and went to work. For the next two hours I sat in the rain, not seeing a single deer, wondering as hunters often do, " what the hell am I doing, up a tree in the rain"? Sure wished I had brought my rain gear but it wasn’t raining when I left my house. Keeping warm and dry is so important: if and when a shot presents, we need to be relaxed, not shivering, ready to swing smoothly into action. The buck came in over my shoulder. He stopped about 15 yards away, but I didn't have a shot. Damn. Then he stopped again at 35 yards, and I realized that it was now or never. The shot was far from ideal. Not only the distance, but the cover, and the position of the deer gave me about a 4 inch target. But, I had a hole in the cover to thread my arrow thru. Stealthily, I stood up in the stand, drew my bow, put my 35 yard pin where I wanted to hit and released my arrow, just as I had done hundreds of times on the range. The endless wait, the perfect moment of total silence as the arrow raced across time and space, taking all my hopes, skills, and years of preparation with it. The hit. Breath exhaled. The arrow plunged in between the last and 2nd to last rib at about 45º angle from the left rear, taking out the liver and the right lung. Total time between first seeing the buck and making the shot: less than a minute. The buck ran about a 100 yards, hopped a fence, did a 3/4 circle and fell over. I stood in my stand, in half disbelief, at what had just happened! I thought I was going to fall out of the tree with excitement. Good thing I was strapped in with my safety harness. I couldn’t resist calling Brent to tell him the news! When he answered his phone I could hardly talk. I told him I just killed the biggest buck of my life. I think he was just as pumped as me. I waited for about an hour and a half before I went to get it. This was one buck that I didn't want to see jump up. Anyway I needed to wait for Brent to get back to help me load it on to the ATV. It was not a one man job for this hunter. One minute. One very special minute. I will always remember every single second of it. “That's what hunting is all about for me." Dave's buck