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My first bow kill

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,735
274
North Carolina
Well I just logged on and saw this forum and figuired I'd relive my first time.... Well I'm one of the more mature hunters (old) and I first went deer hunting for a couple of years back in the early 70's. Gun season wasn't quite a week long and you had a Doe/Buck opening day and buck only after that..... I may be wrong on that but that seems too come too mind.... Well both years I hunted was cold and snowy, my Mom and Dad would let us take the first day of deer season off of school....Well in the snow you could find some tracks every once in a while, and we'd try and track them.... I used an old Model 12 winchester 16ga. that belonged too my grandfather.... Never patterned it didn't know where it would of hit but my older brother said aim a little higher.... Never saw a deer in two years hunting them.... Fast fwd too 1985 I move back too Ohio from Illinois where I was stationed and live in Columbus joined the reserves and lived in Worthington for 2 years seeing deer all over the place... No time too hunt but getting the itch.... In 1987 wife is pregnant and I get a job in Riverside Californication and off we go..... May 0f 88 my Son is born and a week before he makes his arrival I get called from Youngstown wanting too know if I want too move back too Ohio.... Oh hell yeah!!!! I move the new family back too ohio..... My Brother an experianced bowhunter shooting some fancy thing called a compound bow took me too an archery shop in Austintown called Al's archery.... I shot a Hoyt Gamegetter and was hooked.... Shot all summer long and picked up a TSS wood climbing treestand.... Yeah it was primitive but it worked lol.... My brother took me too meet his neighbor and with in a half hour he gave me permision and said I was free too have the run of the property... Nice guy but had a boatload of dogs..... Very hard trying too sneak back into the woods... Come too find out lol.... Well I hunted opening day and every after noon after work for weeks and every weekend morning I could get away with.... About a month into it I finally had a deer make an appearance.... It was about 100 yards in front of me and was walking my way..... I stood up and got ready way in advance it took forever for that little bugger too make the trek my way.... I was shaking like a leaf on the tree in a tornado..... I was using a pendulium tree stand sight... The deer came out about 40 yards in front of me and was feeding....Still way too far for my comfort zone for a 30% let off 70lb 30" modern compound (well at least for the day) Well from the moment I first saw it till the time I had a shot at it took about 20 minutes.... A life time for me.... Well it made it's way too 20 yards and I drew back put the sight on the boilermaker and let it go.... Right under it's chest never touched it.... It jumped 3 feet in the air spun around and trotted off for about 10 yards stopped and looked around for a couple of minutes and went back too feeding... Right back toward me.... I knocked up another arrow and waited and waited and it got back too almost the same spot..... Turned broadside draw... Aim.... release...... Dang.... Shot over it's back.... It turns runs too almost the same spot and stops.... Sniffs the air for a couple of minutes and starts heading back toward me..... By this time I'm calling myself every name in the book in my head..... Still shaking like a leaf..... But so pissed at myself I finally calmed myself down.... I'm down too one arrow and I got to make it count..... Again 20 yards broadside.... Draw.... Aim... Take your time..... make it count this time you idiot.... Release..... I watch the arrow all the way too the boiler maker then lost it at impact but thought I saw the fletchings kick straight down.... But the deer dropped like a rock..... I'm standing 20' up a tree looking at a deer dead on the ground and thinking what WTF just happened... I always thought they'd run a little bit and drop over not drop dead on the spot...... I have no more arrows so I climb down and slowly walk over with my knife in hand.... I guess you could say I was stalking it lol.... I walk over too it and sure enough it's dead..... It's a button buck and it's mine, I tag it and go back too get my brother..... We get back and gut it out and find out why it dropped like it did.... Arrow went in and came off a rib kicking the arrow straight up into the spine..... Dropped him in between my 2 other arrows lol.... It didn't have spots but I didn't look too hard for them either rotflmao...... My brother and I dragged it out and finished cleanin him up skinned him and took it too one of our buddies who is a butcher..... Couple of hours later I was home with venision in the freezer.... It wasn't big and didn't have a rack but it's one of my favorite hunting memories of hunting by myself..... I have a picture somewhere in the collection if I find it I'll post it..... Sorry for the long trip down memory lane.....
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,735
274
North Carolina
That was the first deer I had ever seen with either bow or gun in hand.... wasn't anywhere near the populations we have now.....

Thanks Guy's for the comments
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,735
274
North Carolina
I look back on that story and remember going out for days on end and not seeing a deer back then.... Fast forward a decade and I get bad feeling when I don't see a couple everytime I go out rotflmao We are spoiled these days compared too back then... Sam and I spent a morning rabbit hunting last season at his place and talked about the numbers of deer we saw in our youth versus today.... Too bad we don't see the pheasant numbers we had back in the 70's..... It's a shame..... I have another first story about rabbit hunting That I think after all these years I can post..... Stay tuned.....
 

Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,362
191
Portage
I look back on that story and remember going out for days on end and not seeing a deer back then.... ..

Those were the old days when grouse and pheasant existed in decent populations and a deer track was tough to find. Now we're overrun with deer and spoiled.