Billy Skinner Drops a Double on Opening Day!

It was the opening day of rifle season and I knew the bucks were in the early signs of rut it was pretty cold that morning. I had a climbing stand set up next to an open field where I have seen deer cross several times earlier in the season. I was sitting in my stand about 5:40 am or so, I slipped up the tall pine tree quietly, surprisingly quiet actually lol. Once in the tree I set myself up to view the woods to my left and the field to my right the best of both worlds.

Right before the sunrise I decided to grunt a few times to get a feel for what was around. Then I heard “it” maybe 120yards or so crashing and smashing through the forest bottom. Excited as one could be I got everything in order just a waiting game now, well the woods drew quite.

The sun rose up and I could see two does in the field to my right a real nice girl maybe 130lbs or so with a yearling. I decided to let them walk I wanted that swamp donkey. So its been about 20 minutes or so since the sun has been up, with my head down straining to hear anything nothing but silence my eyes glanced up and their “it” was heading straight towards my stand I raised up my rifle which I had a limited amount of time to do for this guy was coming in kinda quick I placed the crosshairs between his shoulder blades and squeezed the trusty 30-30 my fathers, father had given him, which he gave me last Christmas. He dropped straight to the ground, utterly excited at this point I glance down at my watch and see that its only 6:25 am.

So I do what anybody else in this situation would or should do sat and waited. My father wasn’t planning on heading out until 10 or so I felt good about sitting and waiting. The way I figured it everybody and their cousin was out hunting that mourning and the deer should be all over, no set place.

It was about 1 hour later I watched another doe cross the field she was nice to but kinda far and it was still early so let her walk. It wasn’t ten minutes or so later I heard something rustling through the leaves I saw out of my peripheral vision It was a young deer exiting the stage very quickly I kinda of chuckled to myself. I decided to grunt again this would be my fourth time of the day it was around 8:40 I sat there and waited low and behold another small buck slipped under my stand from behind he walked the same trail in as the other deer was walking on as soon as their paths intersected the deer throws his foot down blows I was expecting him to run then he drops his little head blows again and then proceeds to try and fight the dead deer when I say try it was a spike the big guy was a 7 pointer 16 ½ inch spread. I slowly rose up and placed the crosshairs towards its mid neck spine area squeezed on down and well the pictures shows the rest. By far the most exciting deer hunt ever.

—-Special thanks to my father Tom Skinner who gave me my knowledge of the outdoor world, and one heck of good hunting location.—-

Billy Skinner