Love a good Blood Trail....even when not needed

[Bluesman]

Nice job!

[DeadeyeDeb]

Way to go!!! Wow everything is still so green down there!!! Curious did ya get her @ a feeder or on a trail???

She was just to the right of a hanging feeder. She came in from my left and went towards the feeder, it moved in the wind and she was spooky. She remained spooky for the whole time, a bird would fly and she'd get ready to bolt and did a time or 2. Then she moved to the right and there is a pretty good branch that hangs down and gives some cover. She stayed facing me for some time. As I was studying her, I could see tiny twigs off the bigger branch and thought I need her to step over to the other hand corn I put down (with buck candy in it) just 3-4 more steps and there won't be any little twigs to deflect off. Well she finally did.
But she remained spooky. But never looked up at me. Wind was good and in my face directly.
I had the pin on her at the"V" and when I let loose, she ducked backward and took it in the neck. Sliced the trachea and carotid. She squirted blood 20 ft when she ran. But she only ran 20 yards, walked 20 and dropped. I waited about 10 minutes after I did not see her move any more. When I walked up to her, she was still alive. I could have waited another 15-20 minutes, but I wanted as much daylight that was left to get her skinned and quartered. I did put the same arrow in her again, but I was behind her and it was higher than I thought, I should have walked around her and shot her again from that side, I knew she wasn't getting up. I will remember that. (Always learn something every hunt)
She just didn't want to give it up. She looked at me and I was so upset she was suffering, I tried to cut her throat, but it already was and she was still breathing poorly, but breathing. I then stabbed her in the heart and that was all she wrote.
I knelt down, and petted her and shed a couple tears for the suffering she went thru and thanked God for the bounty.
It was tough. She was tough.
Reminded me of the fallow I took at 3Fingers. That gal took an arrow thru both lungs, broke it in half, hid in tall grass for an hour and when I found her (only 2 blood spots about the size of my hand) she looked up at me. I called out that she was alive (I did not have my bow at this point), Ryan came and put a 9 mil right between the eyes. She up and ran. It took 2 more to the head, 2 to the body and finally down and sliced her throat. I was in tears then too.
I not only kept her meat, but her hide including tail, and skull. A reminder to me of the strong will to live these animals have.
Some of you know this of me, most probably do not, but I am very picky about my shots. I pass more animals because "the shot is not right", they're not quite where I want them standing or broadside or quartering away enough, I want them within 20-25 yards.

[elkoholic]

Nice job deb!

[K_Wittenburg]

Nice shootin!

[salth2o]

I love a good blood trail!

[BTLowry]

Congrats

Looks like some good eating

[Leonhogboy]

Deb's last whitetail.

[TP3]

Dang man. That puts things in perspective.
So sad.

[Chew]

She was a great hunter. She purchased a whitetail hunt in south texas when people were helping out with hospital bills. I must have talked to her 10 times during that hunt.