Wow!  What a year it has already been.  As I said in my previous journal entry, I took my first two bucks just last season.  I recently got married in August and with that marriage came 3100 acres of prime deer hunting land just across the Red River.  My wife's family runs a large cattle business, but all of us share the same passion for chasing after that big mature buck.  My only delimma is the price of a tag in Oklahoma.  Last year I tagged out with my rifle on the last day of the season and almost saw $206 go down the drain.  Just after Christmas last year, I decided to buy a bow......Gun season is only 16 days in Oklahoma, however, bow seasons runs for 2 1/2 months or better which would allow me more time in the woods without rushing to make a kill due to the fear of losing a tag.

I got out early and as often as possible this year and have now found out why so many people get attached to bow hunting.  It is definitely a game of ups and downs, much like the teaching and coaching profession.  I learned that reality my very first night in the bow stand when the buck of a lifetime slipped away, staying just slightly out of range for the better part of an hour.  It was a good thing he finally made a decision to do something, because by that point I was on the verge of cardiac arrest, something very rare for a 25 year-old.  I have yet to see that buck again, but have had the same circumstances several other times.  I have also had several young bucks well within shooting range and completely oblivious to my presence that I have passed on.  Still everytime they come around me I get that feeling in my stomach and my heart starts racing.

I am still looking for my first bow kill, but regardless of what happens this season, I am hooked to bow hunting.  Whoever said patience is a virtue has never sat in a tree stand at 20 feet waiting for that big buck to make a fatal mistake.