Finally got it done Monday evening! Up until the past 7-10 days the action has been pretty slow up this way. Close to 55 hours on stand so far this year and only 3 deer in bow range. Been trying to find time since Monday to get this posted up, so here it is!
I got off Monday evening a little early from work and decided to take the LoneWolf Sticks/Stand in and hunt a spot that I had only hunted one other time. It has some of the last standing corn in the area so I figured it would be littered with deer. I had planned on hunting a corner where the corn/woods meet. I packed up all my gear on my back and hiked the 3/4 of a mile or so from the road back to the woods.
When I got back to the corner I had intended on hunting, there was absolutley no sign at all, no tracks, no rubs, no scrapes, NOTHING!! I was surprised to say the least, but I had already made the hike back and didn't have the time to get back to the truck so I started walking along the edge, had to walk about 500 yards or so before finding a trail that came in from the corn.
After having my stand and sticks on my back walking around for 45 minutes, I finally hung the stand and got up in the tree. Sweaty and aggravated I had winded the entire woods when I moved up so I was setup to shoot coming out of the corn, pretty much gave up on the woods. Having my clothes and gear filled up with hickory smoke really paid off!
About 6PM, wouldn't know you, I hear a crunch behind me and a doe and yearling are coming up the same path that I walked in on, directly downwind of me. The mature doe had her nose down on every boot track I made, stopping and looking around after every step and sniffing limbs and brush that I had rubbed against. I knew for sure I was gonna get busted. To my surprise she kept coming and coming.
I didn't notice her until she was about 45 yards, so it took a long time for me to get turned around quietly. I had one tree at 20 yards that gave me an opportunity to draw my bow, when she got behind it, I rip my bow back (evidently a little too quickly) and the nock of the arrow pulls off the string. So there I sit 20 foot up in the tree, a mature doe at 20 yards already knows something isn't quite right, with an XT Hunter dangling from my whisker biscuit.
To say that I was having a complete meltdown is an understatement, at this point she passes my shot window, I get my arrow back on the string and watch her head for the corn. I still have no clue why this happened, but all of the sudden she turns around and comes straight back toward my tree, in the direction she came from. When she gets behind the tree again I draw my bow (this time a little more carefully).
So I get to full draw, she decides to hang out behind the tree for 2 or 3 minutes before coming out and facing me dead on, no shot. I know if I let my bow down she is going to see me and bolt. Finally after about 4 or 5 minutes at full draw she turns and gives me a hard quartering away shot (or so I thought). My plan was to tuck it just at the back of the rib and let the Slick Trick do it's work.
I'm not sure if it was the amount of time I had to hold or I just rushed the shot, but I didn't snug my pins against the string enough, but regardless of the reason, once I hit her I knew I had hit to the right of where I was aiming. I watched her go about 30 yards and stop in the standing corn field all hunched up, so I knew she was hurting pretty bad.
In my mind the hard quartering angle, even with a few inch miss to the right, should still have been a fatal shot. So I took my time getting down and got all my gear packed up. I backed out quietly and gave her about an hour or so. When my cousin and I went back to track we didn't pick up blood for the first 15 yards or so. Once we did pick up blood it was like someone was pouring it out of a 5 gallon bucket!!
When I found her I knew I had hit about 3 inches behind the rips. We rolled her over and I was amazed at the lack of angle the arrow took through the deer. Came out on the other side almost still on the back side of the ribs! I was disgusted with the shot and angle judgement, but I caught an artery and she went less than 80 yards.
Feels good to have one in the freezer and I can focus on my buck now.
I got off Monday evening a little early from work and decided to take the LoneWolf Sticks/Stand in and hunt a spot that I had only hunted one other time. It has some of the last standing corn in the area so I figured it would be littered with deer. I had planned on hunting a corner where the corn/woods meet. I packed up all my gear on my back and hiked the 3/4 of a mile or so from the road back to the woods.
When I got back to the corner I had intended on hunting, there was absolutley no sign at all, no tracks, no rubs, no scrapes, NOTHING!! I was surprised to say the least, but I had already made the hike back and didn't have the time to get back to the truck so I started walking along the edge, had to walk about 500 yards or so before finding a trail that came in from the corn.
After having my stand and sticks on my back walking around for 45 minutes, I finally hung the stand and got up in the tree. Sweaty and aggravated I had winded the entire woods when I moved up so I was setup to shoot coming out of the corn, pretty much gave up on the woods. Having my clothes and gear filled up with hickory smoke really paid off!
About 6PM, wouldn't know you, I hear a crunch behind me and a doe and yearling are coming up the same path that I walked in on, directly downwind of me. The mature doe had her nose down on every boot track I made, stopping and looking around after every step and sniffing limbs and brush that I had rubbed against. I knew for sure I was gonna get busted. To my surprise she kept coming and coming.
I didn't notice her until she was about 45 yards, so it took a long time for me to get turned around quietly. I had one tree at 20 yards that gave me an opportunity to draw my bow, when she got behind it, I rip my bow back (evidently a little too quickly) and the nock of the arrow pulls off the string. So there I sit 20 foot up in the tree, a mature doe at 20 yards already knows something isn't quite right, with an XT Hunter dangling from my whisker biscuit.
To say that I was having a complete meltdown is an understatement, at this point she passes my shot window, I get my arrow back on the string and watch her head for the corn. I still have no clue why this happened, but all of the sudden she turns around and comes straight back toward my tree, in the direction she came from. When she gets behind the tree again I draw my bow (this time a little more carefully).
So I get to full draw, she decides to hang out behind the tree for 2 or 3 minutes before coming out and facing me dead on, no shot. I know if I let my bow down she is going to see me and bolt. Finally after about 4 or 5 minutes at full draw she turns and gives me a hard quartering away shot (or so I thought). My plan was to tuck it just at the back of the rib and let the Slick Trick do it's work.
I'm not sure if it was the amount of time I had to hold or I just rushed the shot, but I didn't snug my pins against the string enough, but regardless of the reason, once I hit her I knew I had hit to the right of where I was aiming. I watched her go about 30 yards and stop in the standing corn field all hunched up, so I knew she was hurting pretty bad.
In my mind the hard quartering angle, even with a few inch miss to the right, should still have been a fatal shot. So I took my time getting down and got all my gear packed up. I backed out quietly and gave her about an hour or so. When my cousin and I went back to track we didn't pick up blood for the first 15 yards or so. Once we did pick up blood it was like someone was pouring it out of a 5 gallon bucket!!
When I found her I knew I had hit about 3 inches behind the rips. We rolled her over and I was amazed at the lack of angle the arrow took through the deer. Came out on the other side almost still on the back side of the ribs! I was disgusted with the shot and angle judgement, but I caught an artery and she went less than 80 yards.
Feels good to have one in the freezer and I can focus on my buck now.
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