Iowa bruiser tag punched

So Wednesday 11/1 I found an old grown up field littered with sign. Checked wind direction for the following day and set a stand accordingly. Thursday evening I climbed into my setup around 2 pm. The afternoon was very uneventful and saw me scrolling thru forums and Midwest Whitetail videos on my phone as well as keeping tabs on all my buds out hunting in the woods around the country. So 5:30 rolls around and I lean back in my stand. I think I may have even closed my eyes for a minute.....

I hear crunching in the leaves behind me and to my left. I slowly turn my head and see a doe in the edge of the field making her way in my direction. She passes to my left within 10yds. That's when I hear more leaves and brush breaking in the same direction she came from. I don't want to move because the does is so close but eventually I'm able to get my head and eyes around to the point I can see a nice buck at the tree line working an overhead branch with his antlers. He steps into the field about 60 yds out. By this time the doe is right below me feeding on some little berry things that have never seen before.

While she is occupied I reach for my bow and clip my release on. I can see 9pts on the bucks rack. If he follows the doe's path I will have a 10yd shot. But he doesn't. He veers out into the field keeping a bit of distance between he and her. There is very little in the way of markers in this field of shoulder high grass, but earlier I had ranged some different colored weeds and he was heading directly for a group of these weeds that are 30yds away. He pausing every few steps to nibble on the tops of some of the grasses/weeds. When he approaches the stuff I had ranged I come to full draw(the doe is oblivious still what is going on above her). He pauses...I center my 30yd pin on his shoulder....squeeze the shot off....and I hear that vacuum breaking sound as the arrow passed thru his chest. The buck kicks straight up into the air and runs headlong to the corner of the field in front of me....he stops and all I can see are his head and his tail. His head is hanging low and his tail is flickering back and forth at a feverish pace. I think to myself, "he's gonna go down right there!" But I lose sight of him and a minute later I think I hear a crash. That's when the shakes set in.

I give him 45 minutes and get down. The impact site has good blood but in the dark and tall grass I can't find any more. I walk to where I last saw him and to my disappointment he isn't there....and no blood....and to make matters worse a deer blows at me from the brush and I think that I have just jumped him. I turn off my light and sneak out heartbroken.

I drank a few beers to help me get to sleep and am back at the last place I saw him at daylight Friday. But this time the sun allows me to see what I missed last night...blood and lots of it. Just a little over 20yds into the treeline off the field there he is in all his glory. I practically fall to my knees thanking God for this opportunity and for making me a bowhunter! And I have another surprise....he's a 10 with a 1" kicker on his right base. My best buck ever!

Congrats. That does make for a long sleepless night.

Awesome job! Congrats!!!

Wow great buck!

Well done, sir. Thanks for sharing your story.