Background: I have been an avid hunter for some time and have dabbled in bow hunting here and there but really got into this year because some of my students (I am a student pastor in a small country town) are shooting a lot of bows. I have pretty good knowledge of deer behavior and harvest several each year on MLD land with rifles.
The Spot: I found a small wooded area between a field and a large tank that has crazy foot traffic of all kinds on a piece of ranch land. I bought a small blind and set it up 20 yards off of two converging trails, brushing it in really well. I've seen deer every time I go and have already taken a spike in this location.
The Hunt: I do not have a feeder because the deer are already here but have started throwing out hand corn. I had thrown out a can the night before the hunt in the lane where I had primarily been seeing deer but that night the wind shifted and made that lane downwind. The morning of the hunt (10/26) I threw another can of corn out in my secondary lane and changed my blind setup to block the wind and face the fed lane. Early on I had a buck walk through quickly with his head down and never came back. At one point in the hunt it hit me that there could possibly be deer in the lane that I had fed the evening before so I found a peep hole in the blind and lo and behold this buck is standing there. I had to figure out a) how to open the window without spooking him and b) whether or not I wanted to take him. I was able to get the window open by placing my finger between the zipper pulls and using my finger to slowly unzip the window. It helped that he was looking away from me the whole time. After watching him for a few minutes I decided I would take him because I am working on the landowner's trust (she doesn't want me to kill "trophies"). As I reach down to lift my bow he turns and walks off toward the field. I am hoping that he decides to head toward my other lane but instead he turns to walk down the tree line of the field. He is now at 30 yards and there is only one gap in my set up that it is possible to shoot him in. I come to full draw and, as he reaches the gap, he stops (quartering away). I instinctively release the arrow and put a shot through both lungs. (Full disclosure: The arrow passed through him so fast that I thought it was possible I missed him even though I felt like I had taken a good shot.) After sitting a while and finding my arrow covered in blood I decided to back out to my truck and give him a few more minutes. Little did I know at time that he had ran within 20 yards of my truck to lay down and die. Next time I will leave the tailgate open...
Thanks for reading!
What say you? Would this be a buck you would cull? 3 1/2 14.25" spread.
Where he died:
Equipment:
Mathews z2 65 lbs @30"
Gold tip velocity XT 340 spine arrows
Grim reaper 1 3/8 razortip
The Spot: I found a small wooded area between a field and a large tank that has crazy foot traffic of all kinds on a piece of ranch land. I bought a small blind and set it up 20 yards off of two converging trails, brushing it in really well. I've seen deer every time I go and have already taken a spike in this location.
The Hunt: I do not have a feeder because the deer are already here but have started throwing out hand corn. I had thrown out a can the night before the hunt in the lane where I had primarily been seeing deer but that night the wind shifted and made that lane downwind. The morning of the hunt (10/26) I threw another can of corn out in my secondary lane and changed my blind setup to block the wind and face the fed lane. Early on I had a buck walk through quickly with his head down and never came back. At one point in the hunt it hit me that there could possibly be deer in the lane that I had fed the evening before so I found a peep hole in the blind and lo and behold this buck is standing there. I had to figure out a) how to open the window without spooking him and b) whether or not I wanted to take him. I was able to get the window open by placing my finger between the zipper pulls and using my finger to slowly unzip the window. It helped that he was looking away from me the whole time. After watching him for a few minutes I decided I would take him because I am working on the landowner's trust (she doesn't want me to kill "trophies"). As I reach down to lift my bow he turns and walks off toward the field. I am hoping that he decides to head toward my other lane but instead he turns to walk down the tree line of the field. He is now at 30 yards and there is only one gap in my set up that it is possible to shoot him in. I come to full draw and, as he reaches the gap, he stops (quartering away). I instinctively release the arrow and put a shot through both lungs. (Full disclosure: The arrow passed through him so fast that I thought it was possible I missed him even though I felt like I had taken a good shot.) After sitting a while and finding my arrow covered in blood I decided to back out to my truck and give him a few more minutes. Little did I know at time that he had ran within 20 yards of my truck to lay down and die. Next time I will leave the tailgate open...
Thanks for reading!
What say you? Would this be a buck you would cull? 3 1/2 14.25" spread.
Where he died:
Equipment:
Mathews z2 65 lbs @30"
Gold tip velocity XT 340 spine arrows
Grim reaper 1 3/8 razortip
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