I got to my hunting lease earlier than I expected on 11/19/2025 in Fairmont, NC. It was 4:00 pm and I needed to replace one of two ratchet straps on my ladder stand that had dry rotted so I grabbed a new strap and decided to walk back before my son-inlaw arrived so there would be plenty of time to let the woods settle down. Once I was up in the stand I debated if I should pull my .270 riffle up since I would be fiddling around securing the stand. I decided to pull my trusted riffle of 25 years up. I unloaded the new strap and stood up and turned towards the tree. Just as I hooked one side to the stand and was about to reach around the tree I felt the need to look back down my shooting lane. That’s when this beautiful 8 point walked out at 75yds broadside. I froze as he turned his head and stared in my direction. He put his head back down and started to graze and I slowly rotated and sat down with the ratchet strap in my hand. I exchanged the ratchet strap for my trusted riffle and brought it up and into position when the Buck again lifted his head. He went back to grazing and I centered the cross hairs and squeezed off a perfect shot. He kicked up his rear legs and bolted into the brush. I heard a crash then 10 seconds later another crash. This crazy sequence of events took place within 5 minutes of being up in my stand. I talked with God and gave thanks for this amazing chance to hunt again. I had back surgery on 10/24/25 and had a few set back so I was not sure I would be able to climb into my ladder stand again this season. Time does heal and so I packed up and climbed down and walked back to the truck.
My son-inlaw had arrived and I told him to go ahead and complete his hunt. Unfortunately he did not see anything so we headed back to my stand and sure enough found my 8 point 50yds from where he was shot. This was the quickest and most rewarding hunt I have had given the trials and tribulations of my life so far in 2025.
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