T.J.'s HUGE BUCK

My name is T.J. Wallis.  I am 13 years old and live in New Bloomfield, MO.  I shot my first buck on Sunday, October 29, 2006 during youth season.  I went hunting with my step-dad Donnie Rice on my friends Mike and Kim Veit’s land.  We sprayed ourselves with H.S. Scents’ fresh earth spray, grabbed our Ameri-Step outhouse blind and headed for the woods.  Actually, we weren’t too far from the edge of their back yard.  Once we got the blind set up, I loaded my .243 Winchester Super Short Mag with Winchester Supreme 95 grain ballistic silvertips and sat at the blind’s window to watch for deer.  I had sat there watching for about 2 hours when finally, about 5:30 p.m., I saw a buck came up in a section of trees in front of me.  By the time I got my Leupold scope up, he had walked behind a tree so I could only see part of him.  I told Donnie “there is a buck out here.”  He looked out the window but said he couldn’t see him from where he was sitting.  He told me when I got a good clean shot at him to go ahead and shoot him.  I said “OK” and he sat back in his chair and covered his ears with his hands.  I looked through the scope and saw the deer moving behind the tree.  He walked a few feet then stopped and looked right at me.  He was about 60 yards away.  I watched him through my scope until I knew I could get a clean shot at him.  I clicked off my safety, aimed at his neck, and then boom!   I shot him and never even blinked.  I saw the fire leave my gun, I saw his tail fly up in the air, and then I saw him drop to the ground.  He didn’t even run.  Donnie asked me if I got him and I said “Yes!  I got him.  I saw him drop.  I never even blinked.”  He asked me how many points it had.  I said “I think four or six but he was still in the trees a little ways when I shot him.”  We got out of the blind and I looked through the scope to see if it was totally dead.  His tail was still twitching a little bit so Donnie went to get his knife.  He told me to stay at the blind and watch the deer to make sure he didn’t try to get up and run off.  Donnie and Mike came back on the four-wheeler and drove past me up to the deer.  When they got to the deer Mike said “T.J. this thing is huge!”  I said “What?  I thought the deer was only a four or six pointer.”  Mike said “A four or six pointer?  This thing is a ten pointer!”  I said “What?”  I unloaded my gun, laid it down by the blind, and ran the rest of the way to where the deer was laying.  When I finally got to look at it up close I saw that it was huge!  I said “I shot that?  Are you sure?  I didn’t think it was that big.”  I was amazed by how big it was.  Donnie and Mike said it was probably a good thing I didn’t know it was that big or I probably would have gotten so excited that I might have missed it.  They’re probably right because I was shaking bad enough when I figured out what I had shot!  Donnie and Mike couldn’t believe I had shot something that big either.  We called my Mom to come over and look at it and take pictures.  When she got out of her truck her eyes were huge.  She said “Way to go T.J.!”  We called a friend of ours who knows how to score deer and asked him if we could bring it over for him to look at.  He green scored my buck at 181 4/8.  After deductions, the net green score was 179 3/8.  On December 31, 2006 we had my deer officially scored by Lawrence Redel.  The inside spread was 24”.  The official gross score was 178 4/8 and the official net score was 172 1/8.  Needless to say, my buck was sent off to be mounted two days after I shot it.  Chris Deaver from Jefferson City, MO is doing the mount for me.  He let me watch him while he caped it.  That was cool!  He even found my bullet still stuck in the deer’s neck.  I can’t wait until Chris gets done mounting it.  I’ve already got the spot picked out where I’m going to hang him!