Stacy Rogers may be new to deer hunting, but her hours of practice and patience paid off big once she came across a trophy 8-pointer in the deer woods. Photo by Don Pickell.

Growing up, I knew very little about the outdoors let alone deer hunting. However, during the last five years, I have learned to enjoy the outdoors from my boyfriend, Don Pickell. Don has been an avid hunter for the past 25 years. During our time together, I have been told many stories from Don and his twin brother, Dan, about all of the many deer they have taken over the years.

Hunting is their life. They live it 24/7. It all started when they were 11 years old and their dad introduced them to the sport. Deer hunting has since been their passion. To hear the excitement of hunting and the passion these two guys had for it made me want to get out and experience it for myself.

It all began in mid-July of 2007 when Don started preparing his stands; he asked me to come along and help out. We went out in the hot July heat and hung stands, trimmed out shooting lanes, and raked paths to the stands for easy access. This wasn't just a day job. It went on for several weeks. After all, these two avid sportsmen have around 60 stands placed around three counties. We worked three to four hours every evening to make sure things were in order. Believe me when I say I found out first-hand how much work goes into preparing for your hunt!

After watching Don shoot his bow for the last several years, I thought it would be fun to learn to shoot one myself. I kept telling him how much I wanted to shoot a bow, but he never really took me seriously. Then one day he was telling some friends at work that I was interested in a bow. One of them mentioned he had a bow he had bought for his wife that she never used. His friend offered to bring it in for us to look at.

This time I would be on my own. Being dropped off to do it alone this time was really different. To say I was a little nervous would have been an understatement.

Don brought the bow home the first week in October and immediately went to work on it. He put on new sights, a drop-away rest and a new peep sight. Having no experience shooting a bow, I began practicing with the help of Don, of course. He taught me how to hold the bow, how to aim it, and how to follow through with my shot. It wasn't long before I was consistently hitting the bull's-eye at 20 yards. After about two weeks of seeing me hitting the target, Don told me it was time to buy a tag. Before this, he had no intention of taking me out on a bowhunt. The next day I purchased my first deer tag and went out the next day for the first time.

During my first deer hunt, I had a doe and a yearling close to my stand near dark. There wasn't enough light to get a shot. It was exciting, though. The second and third times out hunting were about the same. We moved to another stand and had deer near us but no shot again. The fourth hunt it was drizzling rain. After about an hour into the hunt, we spotted four does that had come out of a bedding area. For well over an hour, we watched them feed in the stubble of a corn field.