11-11
It's been a rough year for me. Only hunted 10-26 3 hrs morning, 10-27 3 hrs morning , and 10-29 sunup till 4:30. Walking out I seen where the on the property line on the main trail there was a 6 ft barrier built across the main trail coming out of the adjoining woods into my food plot.
Haven't been able to hunt the last 11 days due to MS leg cramps.
11-11 went out this morning and got into my tower at 6:15. Sat down and turned my head light on to put a arrow into my Horton crossbow and a deer blows a warning 60-70 yds west of me and probably on the other side of the food plot.
At 7:45 I see white antler tips in the neighbors woods brush almost to the property line. It takes him about 5 minutes to come out of the brush after standing there just looking around. He crosses the property line and starts walking north on the edge of my clover and oats plots. He is just walking and not bothering to eat anything.
With the problems I've been having I decided to take him at 40 yds. At the shot he lunges forward and I hit him on the front edge of the right rear leg at the proper height. He runs about 25 yds away from me and stops and looks around. The walks slowly 50 yds to the west side field fence and just stands there couple minutes and staggers. I thought he was going down or at least lay down. He slowly walks north along the fence stopping couple times and staggers. He walked about 100 yds and went through the gate going to the creek about 25 yds away.
I wait till 9:00 and that's a long 70 minutes. But I knew it was a fatal shot as he keep staggering. I walk over to the gate opening and only see a decent blood trail of blood drops every so many feet. I did notice when he was walking there was a good blood stream down his leg.
I get to the creek and cross it and no blood drops on the other side. I start to go back and then seen him laying about 15 ft off the tractor lane on this side of the creek. In back tracking him he got to the creek and walked 50 ft on my side until he got to the 18" waterfalls, crossed the creek and made about 5 ft on the other side and dropped over. He did stop after leaving the creek and left a good size blood spot. He totally bled out inside.
I drug him to the lane and went to the house and got my UTV and pulled him to the other pasture. Got my gear out of my tower and went to get my tractor with a frontend loader to field dress. But the tractor had a dead battery so it was a field dress job laying on the ground.
It turns out I hit the main artery in the rear leg and he bleed out in a hurry. He did go about 200 yds at a slow walk and I seen him walk all the way except the last 30 yds.
I used my new Horton Storm RDX crossbow with Ridge 3 blade broadhead.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12-Ridge-M...362657?hash=item3aea8f4b61:g:v4UAAOSwYIxX4jpa
