Went on a guided trip with Matt Cousins from Gormanranches.com the weekend of the 12th. I knew this was going to be a special weekend as I had some big plans, but it turned out way better than anticipated.

Katie had been wanting her first buck for a couple years now. she had dropped several does over the last few years and had the buck bug. she talked about it all the time, even during summer she would bring it up atleast once a week. For her birthday i wanted to get her her first buck, so i reached out to some outfitters here on the forum and landed with Matt. From the get-go Matt was extremely tentative to our needs and desires for this hunt. He kept me updated for a couple months with the types of bucks coming in and their whereabouts. We showed up in Gorman about 12pm on friday afternoon, just minutes after i told katie that we were going deer hunting for her first buck instead of just visiting friends out west. to say she was excited and eager would be an understatement.

We got in the stand about 2 hours later and quickly started seeing Does. we were both hopeful that she would get her first buck, but no boys came out to play. she was dishearted but i quickly reminded her that it was only the first sitting. The next morning we woke, i made some quick breakfast tacos, and off we went to get back in the stand. ALmost immediately we were covered in does. all in all by 9am we had 34 does come through (yes we were counting) but no bucks again. i was feeling good about seeing that many does in the morning and was highly confident we would see a buck in the afternoon. although, i will admit at this point i was getting a little nervous myself.

Afternoon come around and still no buck, just a single yearling spike and a bunch of Does.

Matt thought it over and decided he wanted to place us in a different stand in the morning. Next morning rolls around and we get dropped off and start walking to the stand. unfortunately it was a little bit later than we would have liked and we ended up jumping a big buck walking in. i tried to get down on the ground and let her shoot off my back but 200yards with no real support in low light makes for a difficult shot, so she decided to hold off. Although normally i would have agreed with this decision, this time i was very upset and cussin like a sailor under my breathe that she just missed out on her first buck. we quickly climb in the blind and get settled. we are sitting about 15-20 mins and im still fumin mad. i decide to get out the grunt call and hit it since the bucks were in full rut, and even the buck we jumped stopped and checked his scrape before going into the brush. hit the grunt and about 4-5 mins later an 8 point comes trotting out. he was angry and looking for a fight. katie was trying to get lined up but was shaking so bad she couldnt get the gun under control. when she finally got herself together she asked me to stop the buck, which at this point was only about 70 yards out. i yelled, no good. yelled again, still keep going. so i yelled for a third time and he finally stopped to look up. she took a breath and pulled the trigger, drilling him in the shoulder. We wait a few mins and i call Matt to come down with his wife and dog to help us find the buck. we look around where she shot him and not a drop of blood was anywhere. scanned all around and not even a little tiny drop could be found. at this point i was extremely scared that she may have missed, but once Matt watched the video of the shot he knew that the deer got hit hard. We walked around and eventually found the buck in the brush. This is when i bagged my gooden.

Once she had a chance to look over her deer i sneakily slid the engagement ring i had been carrying around all weekend on the deers g2. i told her to hold both sets of antlers and take couple pics (without her noticing the ring) and once we got the pics i asked her what was on the antler. THat's when she saw it and freaked out. i got down on my knee and used up the only antlerless tag i had ever wanted to fill ha.

she got her first buck and i got her. all in all a great weekend! I cant thank Matt enough for all that he did to make my plan come together (he had known about the engagement plan for months) and for making sure we got on a deer.

If anyone can post pics/vid for me than i can send to them. I would greatly appreciate it!

Pics and story can be seen here:
http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=621790

Congrats

Thanks for the kind words, Bryley! It was my pleasure. MAN was I relieved when you texted me that she'd shot! haha

Here's another pic

Congrats.....

What a great buck and story... Thanks for sharing, and congratulations to you both.

Thanks guys! It's a weekend to remember for sure!

Congratulations to you both.

well played!

agreed. Congrats

OK, I'm going to say it - She bagged a cull, you bagged a trophy! Congrats...

You definitely got the better end of the deal, congrats

I don't care what anyone says. Proposing to your lady over the steaming carcass of an animal she just killed is both classy and romantic as hell. I'm not even going to try and talk her out of it. Well done, Sir.

X's2, not your "every day hunt"

Congratulations! That is a great story.

That's awesome! Congratulations to you both.

Awesome story. What were you going to do if she didn't bag one?

Congratulations on all three big events!

Good job all around!

Well done.