Opening day of the 2017 Bow opener I was able to kill the biggest deer of my life. It was a deer we had tons of history with, and this is his story. I'm not posting this to show off or to act like I'm a better hunter than anyone, I just want to share the story of "Baby Tines".
The first pictures we got of the deer were in August of 2015, and right away we knew he was clearly a young deer that had massive potential. He had 12 points on a strangely tiny frame that sat well inside his ears. After bringing the pictures back to the house to show everyone, we quickly decided his name would be "Baby Tines' after a deer that had been killed in the area a few years prior (who was named "Tines". Throughout the 2015 season, Baby Tines was basically a celebrity who was not afraid to show up in front of any bow stand with his running buddy who we call Sidekick. We knew that the deer had potential but we had no clue the story that would become of him.
Fast forward to 2016 and what do you know, Sidekick and baby tines show up again, together. The two deer hadn't been together since September of 2016, but like clock work they were side by side headed to the peanuts every afternoon. Both deer had put on considerable inches, but Baby Tines was really turning into a superstar. He had basically an identical frame, but every aspect of it had grown since 2015. Knowing that both deer were 4 1/2 years old we decided as a group to give them the pass for 2016. We sent his pictures to the neighboring properties, and everyone agreed to pass him so we were confident that he could make it to the 2017 season. Just as the year before, Baby Tines and Sidekick shed their velvet and parted ways. Baby tines stuck around all season in 2016 up until he shed, so we knew he didn't get shot by a hunter.
May of 2017, the hunt was on. Throughout the month of May, no pictures. June, no pictures. July, no pictures. Then finally on August 19th, the deer shows on my brothers camera coming into one of our Buck Muscle feeding stations. With his best summer buddy, Sidekick of course. While this was great news, we surrounded the area with cameras for the next 3 weeks and didn't manage to get a single daylight picture of him. Opening morning rolls around and we had to leave him alone out of fear of bumping him in the dark on our walk in. After the morning hunt we check the cameras to find that the two running mates had shown up in daylight on Friday afternoon right in front of a ground blind we (shoutout to my brother again) had set up. Our whole group has always worked together on cameras, hanging stands, patterning deer, etc. so we decided it would come down to drawing straws to see who is up to bat with a bow in hand. I drew the longest straw and immediately the nerves came over me
4:30 pm September 9, my brother Brooks and I head out to the blind with high hopes. Neither one of us has done much hunting out of a ground blind so we didn't realize it feels like a sauna in the 90 degree Georgia heat. An hour goes by without a deer, then another hour. At 7:30, the exact time Baby Tines showed up the day before, out comes the first deer of the hunt. The wind was heavy and swirling, and the does knew something wasn't right as they turned around and headed back where they came from. This absolutely crushed our hopes for the afternoon as the sun dropped below the horizon. What happened next, I will never forget. The words "There he is" have never sounded so sweet. Here comes Sidekick towards my shooting lane. I reach down for my bow as sweat is dropping down my arms and as soon as I get it up the deer turns directly away from us and disappears down the road. Just as he leaves our sight, Baby Tines appears 12 yards to the right of the blind out of my sight. He is headed toward the same trail the Sidekick had taken, but instead of turning down the road he keeps his head up and continues on the trail leading to my only shooting lane. I ask Brooks to tell me when to draw. When he whispered the words, I came to full draw and the second I looked through my peep sight he appeared. I stopped the deer at 36 yards, settled my pin, and let the arrow fly.
After what felt like 10 seconds of my arrow in flight, I heard it hit. The deer turns to run and I could clearly see it was a shoulder hit with little penetration, a shot that we have had bad luck with in the family. We gave him some time then checked the shot sight to find a broken arrow and not a drop of blood. After about 20 minutes of searching we find one drop and nothing after. I replayed it over and over in my head and had convinced myself the shot was too far forward so we backed out and went to the house. With Hurricane Irma hitting on Sunday, we knew we had to find the deer that night or it was unlikely we would ever find him, After about 3 hours of calling dog trackers and talking out every scenario possible, we decided it was now or never. 15 of us suited up with flashlights and head lamps and tore off toward the scene with the plan of spreading out and combing the entire property in search of blood or a deer. This is not the way we would typically handle the situation, but with the Hurricane rolling in and no available dogs it was the only option. I looked like a techno concert with all of the lights frantically shining in every direction. Rather than start slow, looking for blood, half of the group confidently took off into the 1 year old clear cut that borders young planted pines. Their level of confidence really gave me hope we would find the deer. I slowly start off down the perimeter road and as soon as I turn my light on I hear shouting. Through the confusion, all I hear is "Deer! Deer! Deer!" I see lights everywhere, all running to the same spot so I tear off towards the group. As I get closer I can see bodies all standing in a circle, but still have no idea what is going on. I approach the group and as everyone steps aside I see him laying there only 70 yards from the shot sight. Emotions poured over me and, honestly, I don't even really remember what happened in the next 5 minutes other than a lot of high-fives and laughter. I am truly blessed to have such a supportive group of family and friends that were genuinely thrilled about my success. It was as if everyone in the group had killed the deer and was a moment I will cherish for the rest of my life. It was amazing to see this deer grow and see everyone work together to help this deer grow to his full potential.
The first pictures we got of the deer were in August of 2015, and right away we knew he was clearly a young deer that had massive potential. He had 12 points on a strangely tiny frame that sat well inside his ears. After bringing the pictures back to the house to show everyone, we quickly decided his name would be "Baby Tines' after a deer that had been killed in the area a few years prior (who was named "Tines". Throughout the 2015 season, Baby Tines was basically a celebrity who was not afraid to show up in front of any bow stand with his running buddy who we call Sidekick. We knew that the deer had potential but we had no clue the story that would become of him.
Fast forward to 2016 and what do you know, Sidekick and baby tines show up again, together. The two deer hadn't been together since September of 2016, but like clock work they were side by side headed to the peanuts every afternoon. Both deer had put on considerable inches, but Baby Tines was really turning into a superstar. He had basically an identical frame, but every aspect of it had grown since 2015. Knowing that both deer were 4 1/2 years old we decided as a group to give them the pass for 2016. We sent his pictures to the neighboring properties, and everyone agreed to pass him so we were confident that he could make it to the 2017 season. Just as the year before, Baby Tines and Sidekick shed their velvet and parted ways. Baby tines stuck around all season in 2016 up until he shed, so we knew he didn't get shot by a hunter.
May of 2017, the hunt was on. Throughout the month of May, no pictures. June, no pictures. July, no pictures. Then finally on August 19th, the deer shows on my brothers camera coming into one of our Buck Muscle feeding stations. With his best summer buddy, Sidekick of course. While this was great news, we surrounded the area with cameras for the next 3 weeks and didn't manage to get a single daylight picture of him. Opening morning rolls around and we had to leave him alone out of fear of bumping him in the dark on our walk in. After the morning hunt we check the cameras to find that the two running mates had shown up in daylight on Friday afternoon right in front of a ground blind we (shoutout to my brother again) had set up. Our whole group has always worked together on cameras, hanging stands, patterning deer, etc. so we decided it would come down to drawing straws to see who is up to bat with a bow in hand. I drew the longest straw and immediately the nerves came over me
4:30 pm September 9, my brother Brooks and I head out to the blind with high hopes. Neither one of us has done much hunting out of a ground blind so we didn't realize it feels like a sauna in the 90 degree Georgia heat. An hour goes by without a deer, then another hour. At 7:30, the exact time Baby Tines showed up the day before, out comes the first deer of the hunt. The wind was heavy and swirling, and the does knew something wasn't right as they turned around and headed back where they came from. This absolutely crushed our hopes for the afternoon as the sun dropped below the horizon. What happened next, I will never forget. The words "There he is" have never sounded so sweet. Here comes Sidekick towards my shooting lane. I reach down for my bow as sweat is dropping down my arms and as soon as I get it up the deer turns directly away from us and disappears down the road. Just as he leaves our sight, Baby Tines appears 12 yards to the right of the blind out of my sight. He is headed toward the same trail the Sidekick had taken, but instead of turning down the road he keeps his head up and continues on the trail leading to my only shooting lane. I ask Brooks to tell me when to draw. When he whispered the words, I came to full draw and the second I looked through my peep sight he appeared. I stopped the deer at 36 yards, settled my pin, and let the arrow fly.
After what felt like 10 seconds of my arrow in flight, I heard it hit. The deer turns to run and I could clearly see it was a shoulder hit with little penetration, a shot that we have had bad luck with in the family. We gave him some time then checked the shot sight to find a broken arrow and not a drop of blood. After about 20 minutes of searching we find one drop and nothing after. I replayed it over and over in my head and had convinced myself the shot was too far forward so we backed out and went to the house. With Hurricane Irma hitting on Sunday, we knew we had to find the deer that night or it was unlikely we would ever find him, After about 3 hours of calling dog trackers and talking out every scenario possible, we decided it was now or never. 15 of us suited up with flashlights and head lamps and tore off toward the scene with the plan of spreading out and combing the entire property in search of blood or a deer. This is not the way we would typically handle the situation, but with the Hurricane rolling in and no available dogs it was the only option. I looked like a techno concert with all of the lights frantically shining in every direction. Rather than start slow, looking for blood, half of the group confidently took off into the 1 year old clear cut that borders young planted pines. Their level of confidence really gave me hope we would find the deer. I slowly start off down the perimeter road and as soon as I turn my light on I hear shouting. Through the confusion, all I hear is "Deer! Deer! Deer!" I see lights everywhere, all running to the same spot so I tear off towards the group. As I get closer I can see bodies all standing in a circle, but still have no idea what is going on. I approach the group and as everyone steps aside I see him laying there only 70 yards from the shot sight. Emotions poured over me and, honestly, I don't even really remember what happened in the next 5 minutes other than a lot of high-fives and laughter. I am truly blessed to have such a supportive group of family and friends that were genuinely thrilled about my success. It was as if everyone in the group had killed the deer and was a moment I will cherish for the rest of my life. It was amazing to see this deer grow and see everyone work together to help this deer grow to his full potential.
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