On Sept. 12, 2008, while hunting in Montana with friends Brian Hubkey and John Malley, we heard a bull bugle near us. It was about 7:50 a.m. and 50 degrees out when Brian and I set up just inside the treeline, while John called from behind us. The bull came from an open hillside and headed down the slope towards the timber we were waiting in.

After some sapling thrashing and more bugling by the bull, he presented a 17-yard broadside shot to my left. My arrow connected just behind the bull’s left shoulder and went through both lungs. The bull spun and ran into the timber, crashing over deadfalls and finally coming to rest about 120 yards away. To top it off, this was my first bowhunt. Mark Munoz, Minden, Nev.