That's right! After 33 years of bowhunting, I don't have a clue! Long read so here we go!
There is a particular deer I have devoted my season to bow hunting. I know his life history and really like him. I have set for him at least 120 hours so far this season with multiple sightings and close calls including the rookie mistakes I made in the thread "A Living Nightmare!". Now that old buck has been MIA for a couple of weeks until five days ago. He showed back up looking like crap. probably lost 50lbs! He was hungry and was just living in my super secret corn pile. He would come in and out five or six times per hour. The problem was, he was getting back to my sanctuary every morning around 4 AM and camping in the corn.I had him patterned and all I needed was a North wind which I knew was coming Sunday night but also knew I had to be set up before he got home.
Monday(yesterday) morning, I parked a long way back and sneaked in perfectly in the moonlight. As I peeked over the tent blind, there was a big ol boar hog in my corn pile. Now I had a choice...I knew no deer were coming with him there so I had to wait for him to leave or shoot him. Now a quick mulling of that and I realized he was going nowhere until all my corn was gone so I knocked an arrow and turned the pin light on. SMACK! Right in the sweet spot and he charged out of there. I was in by 4am. I hunted till daybreak and at 7:04 I saw my shooter come out of my sanctuary about 100yds down and kept staring into the woods. I threw all my tricks at him but he eventually walked away toward one of my food plots and never came back.
After I got out of the stand, I pulled the card and discovered that hog had been there since 10:30pm. I picked up the trail and he went about 120yds into the thicket and was laying right in the middle of the buck trail. I couldn't even move him out of the trail and I was afraid he might ruin the spot.
This morning, I hit it early and was set up by 3AM. At 4:05 My target deer showed up in the moonlight and ate at 20yds. he did his routine of eating a few minutes, then walk out and work some scrapes, come back and eat some more. He did that for over 2 hours and I was really wanting shooting hours to arrive. At about 6:15 he was working a scrape about 40yds away and walked out of my view to the right. Its light enough to shoot now and Im ready for his next snack!
I had about worn my phone out txting Johnny and Jooger. Suddenly his antlers appeared in my peep hole about 6yds from me and headed back to the corn pile. I was afraid to move and waited until he was past me and about 16yds ot. He turned almost broad side with a slight quartering away, leg forward, Pin a third of the way up...Rock steady...WHACK! he bucked and made a short run and then I couldn't hear him anymore. Afew seconds later, a big buck came charging in from my left and was watching my shot deer. I raised my binoculars and he looked just like my shooter! I knew it couldn't be since the deer I shot went the opposite direction. I text several folks and told them I drilled him. Now Steve(Jooger) owed me one since I helped track his buck and I started calling him but he was snuggled up to Momma and wouldn't answer the phone.
He finally called me back after an eternal 15 minutes and said he was on the way! I sneaked out and met Steve on the road. I was giggling because I knew I smoked him but wanted Steve to see him anyway. He got here about 8am and we headed back.
As we approached, the arrow was easy to find and painted bright red. Blood started immediately. Within 20 yds there was a red streak on each side as he literally painted the ground. He wont be far. WRONG! At about 75yds the blood went from a road stripe to a few spots! It got hard for the next 150yds. We were expecting to find him any second. Now let me stop and say this.... Steve is one of the best blood trailers I have ever trailed with. Im really particular about working the trail and I quickly learned we had exactly the same ideas of how it should work. I shortly relinquished the lead to him and I marked blood. Hands and knees dried specks on pine straw kind of trailing! Eventually and after 300yds we found a bed. Very little blood in it and the trail leaving was dried up so we knew we hadn't jumped him. I told Steve that if we didn't know this deer was centerpunched, that bed would say a flesh wounded deer. We were able to work the blood another 50yds or so and he went into about an acre opening where the blood was totally dried up and we lost it.
It was 10:45 and I arranged a breakfast to regroup and see if we could find a dog. No luck on the dog so we went back with full bellies to start fresh. Steve found another tiny fleck of dried blood that gave us a general direction and we started circling. A few minutes later I saw Steve waving his arms and hand signaling so I sneaked over there. He had jumped a very much alive buck and gotten a good look at his side with no visible blood. We checked where the deer was bedded and sure enough, There was about two tablespoons of blood in it.
Its now close to noon and 5.5 hours after I centerpunched that buck. Now for the next twist. Steve described the deer and he had nothing in common with the deer I was hunting! We tailed the deer by tracks for another 100yds and never saw another drop of blood so we came home. I popped the card from my camera in the computer and there was a new 8pt about 18 inches wide that I had never seen before. Steve immediately identified him as the deer we were tracking!
All I can figure on that is since I had seen my target deer for hours, when he came in so close, I just presumed it was him when I saw big antlers. Im a ROOKIE! I never looked at the antlers again until I shot. That explains the mystery deer running in after the shot that looked just like the deer I was hunting!
Next is the mystery of the shot. I was shooting a mechanical broad head which deployed and looked perfect. If I live to be a hundred , I will never understand how that deer lived over that shot!
Steve, I sure appreciate the help. Ill do better next time! I owe you one again.
There is a particular deer I have devoted my season to bow hunting. I know his life history and really like him. I have set for him at least 120 hours so far this season with multiple sightings and close calls including the rookie mistakes I made in the thread "A Living Nightmare!". Now that old buck has been MIA for a couple of weeks until five days ago. He showed back up looking like crap. probably lost 50lbs! He was hungry and was just living in my super secret corn pile. He would come in and out five or six times per hour. The problem was, he was getting back to my sanctuary every morning around 4 AM and camping in the corn.I had him patterned and all I needed was a North wind which I knew was coming Sunday night but also knew I had to be set up before he got home.
Monday(yesterday) morning, I parked a long way back and sneaked in perfectly in the moonlight. As I peeked over the tent blind, there was a big ol boar hog in my corn pile. Now I had a choice...I knew no deer were coming with him there so I had to wait for him to leave or shoot him. Now a quick mulling of that and I realized he was going nowhere until all my corn was gone so I knocked an arrow and turned the pin light on. SMACK! Right in the sweet spot and he charged out of there. I was in by 4am. I hunted till daybreak and at 7:04 I saw my shooter come out of my sanctuary about 100yds down and kept staring into the woods. I threw all my tricks at him but he eventually walked away toward one of my food plots and never came back.
After I got out of the stand, I pulled the card and discovered that hog had been there since 10:30pm. I picked up the trail and he went about 120yds into the thicket and was laying right in the middle of the buck trail. I couldn't even move him out of the trail and I was afraid he might ruin the spot.
This morning, I hit it early and was set up by 3AM. At 4:05 My target deer showed up in the moonlight and ate at 20yds. he did his routine of eating a few minutes, then walk out and work some scrapes, come back and eat some more. He did that for over 2 hours and I was really wanting shooting hours to arrive. At about 6:15 he was working a scrape about 40yds away and walked out of my view to the right. Its light enough to shoot now and Im ready for his next snack!
I had about worn my phone out txting Johnny and Jooger. Suddenly his antlers appeared in my peep hole about 6yds from me and headed back to the corn pile. I was afraid to move and waited until he was past me and about 16yds ot. He turned almost broad side with a slight quartering away, leg forward, Pin a third of the way up...Rock steady...WHACK! he bucked and made a short run and then I couldn't hear him anymore. Afew seconds later, a big buck came charging in from my left and was watching my shot deer. I raised my binoculars and he looked just like my shooter! I knew it couldn't be since the deer I shot went the opposite direction. I text several folks and told them I drilled him. Now Steve(Jooger) owed me one since I helped track his buck and I started calling him but he was snuggled up to Momma and wouldn't answer the phone.
He finally called me back after an eternal 15 minutes and said he was on the way! I sneaked out and met Steve on the road. I was giggling because I knew I smoked him but wanted Steve to see him anyway. He got here about 8am and we headed back.
As we approached, the arrow was easy to find and painted bright red. Blood started immediately. Within 20 yds there was a red streak on each side as he literally painted the ground. He wont be far. WRONG! At about 75yds the blood went from a road stripe to a few spots! It got hard for the next 150yds. We were expecting to find him any second. Now let me stop and say this.... Steve is one of the best blood trailers I have ever trailed with. Im really particular about working the trail and I quickly learned we had exactly the same ideas of how it should work. I shortly relinquished the lead to him and I marked blood. Hands and knees dried specks on pine straw kind of trailing! Eventually and after 300yds we found a bed. Very little blood in it and the trail leaving was dried up so we knew we hadn't jumped him. I told Steve that if we didn't know this deer was centerpunched, that bed would say a flesh wounded deer. We were able to work the blood another 50yds or so and he went into about an acre opening where the blood was totally dried up and we lost it.
It was 10:45 and I arranged a breakfast to regroup and see if we could find a dog. No luck on the dog so we went back with full bellies to start fresh. Steve found another tiny fleck of dried blood that gave us a general direction and we started circling. A few minutes later I saw Steve waving his arms and hand signaling so I sneaked over there. He had jumped a very much alive buck and gotten a good look at his side with no visible blood. We checked where the deer was bedded and sure enough, There was about two tablespoons of blood in it.
Its now close to noon and 5.5 hours after I centerpunched that buck. Now for the next twist. Steve described the deer and he had nothing in common with the deer I was hunting! We tailed the deer by tracks for another 100yds and never saw another drop of blood so we came home. I popped the card from my camera in the computer and there was a new 8pt about 18 inches wide that I had never seen before. Steve immediately identified him as the deer we were tracking!
All I can figure on that is since I had seen my target deer for hours, when he came in so close, I just presumed it was him when I saw big antlers. Im a ROOKIE! I never looked at the antlers again until I shot. That explains the mystery deer running in after the shot that looked just like the deer I was hunting!
Next is the mystery of the shot. I was shooting a mechanical broad head which deployed and looked perfect. If I live to be a hundred , I will never understand how that deer lived over that shot!
Steve, I sure appreciate the help. Ill do better next time! I owe you one again.
Attached Files
He's not boogered though and I bet you get him before the weekend. 
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