Bow Kill During Gun Season

 

Shooting a deer with a gun seems to carry less satisfaction than taking one with a bow, and that is the main reason I generally opt out of taking a gun into the woods when I can take the trusty Hoyt.  Don’t get me wrong, there is still a certain satisfaction of letting a round fly out the end of your gun barrel and having it meet up with a perfect kill shot on your desired prey, but I prefer the up close and personal  (and sometimes frustrating) challenge of the bow. 

That is why on Sunday, November 18, 2012 I decided to sit in the lower bank stand with my bow.  After watching four mature doe walk by at 60 to 70 yards, I feared I made the wrong decision on my weapon choice.  But then from the north came my chance at redemption.  A single mature doe was heading in my direction.  It was walking directly into my wind so I feared that I would be winded at any moment, but it didn’t happen.  She gave me a 30 yard shot and I took it.  It must have jumped my string a bit (at least that is my excuse) because the shot was high and it the spine. 



 

 

I would say taking a doe that is on edge from gun hunting pressure with a bow at 30 yards is a pretty impressive feat.  I have gone bow hunting during gun season in previous seasons with no luck so this kill makes me feel pretty good.  All glory be to God for letting me make this harvest.  It may not be a trophy but it was another exciting hunting challenge. 

Stats:
Weapon - Hoyt CRX35
Shot Distance - 30 yards
Sex - Female
Weight - 95 lbs
Shot Placement - spine
Stand - Lower Bank Stand

P.S. Just so you know Brad, my Burt Coyote Lumenock failed me.  I know your shocked.

Unforgettable Miss

This past weekend (November 1 and 2) I took Friday off from work and went to hunt with Chrixus in Hastings.  We planned on leaving for home Friday night after we were done hunting.  Well, up until the Friday night hunt I had been skunked in my attempts to even see a deer so I decided to strap the climber stand to my back and try a completely different area of the property. 

After getting in my tree, which was quite the ordeal in its self, I saw nothing up until about a half hour before dark.  The buck of a life time came strolling in about thirty yards away.  It was moving fast and was in some thick brush that I couldn’t shoot through.  Suddenly it stopped dead in its tracks.  It either spotted me or the cat that had decided to come and take a stroll directly under my tree stand.   Whatever the case, it was in statue mode, as was I.  We had a 15 minute stare off, and in that time, I was formulating a plan of action.  There was a small hole that I could maybe, possibly shoot through if it took five more steps forward.  It was getting dark and I was getting desperate.  I contemplated a shot at its back hips because it was the only open area in the brush.  That thought quickly left my head as the deer started to progress forward.  It entered the somewhat of an opening that I was planning on, so I took action.  Things looked much different through the peep site so I crouched down as far as I could and in the most uncomfortable shooting position ever, I decided it was now or never.  The arrow flew and I heard a loud whack.  Did I hit the shoulder?  The questions and concerns flooded my mind. 

Ten minutes later it was completely dark, and I could see my luminock glowing only 15 yards from the base of my stand.  Confused at the position of the arrow, I got down from my stand to assess the situation.  I found my arrow like the picture you see below.  The end was shattered and the luminock was jammed two inches down the end of the inside of the arrow shaft.  The arrow had hit a rock or tree and bounced straight back nearly 15 yards.  And the buck of a life time just walked away like nothing had happened. 

 

I wish I could accurately describe the size of this deer but I can't.  Just trust me when I say it was big.  One detail I can remember is that the antlers were around 6" past the ears. 

 

Oh and a shout out to Nocturnal nocks again because if the nock had not stayed lit I would have been looking for that arrow 15 yards further from my stand in the dark and I would have probably thought that it was still in the deer. It saved me a lot of time and wasted excitement.