Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: LittleBen on November 16, 2013, 08:14:00 AM
-
Just arrowed my first trad deer. Small spike buck. **** was quartering away, 10 yds. Looked a little low and steeply quartering. Not sure how much penetration I got. Didn't seem like alot. Waiting till noon to track.
Wish me luck. More later.
-
Good luck,,,keep us posted.
-
Originally posted by LittleBen:
Just arrowed my first trad deer. Small spike buck. shot was quartering away, 10 yds. Looked a little low and steeply quartering. Not sure how much penetration I got. Didn't seem like alot. Waiting till noon to track.
Wish me luck. More later.
-
Good luck. Take your time.
-
Take it slow you will find him.
-
Awesome! Take it slow and when in doubt air on the side of caution.
-
4-6 hours is my gut rule. Go very slow and look hard. A follow shot may be needed.
This luck, keep us posted.
-
Good luck!
Bisch
-
I'll be watching your thread for some hero shots.
Keep us posted please!!
I hope everything ends up with your deer in hand.
I wish you the best of luck to you!
God bless,Mudd
-
Good luck! Hopefully we'll see some pics later.
-
Good luck. Can't wait to hear the outcome. I think its going to be good!
-
Go slow, be patient, post pictures.
-
I am pulling for you, don't give up.
-
Hands and knees if you have to. The tiniest speck may be the one that leads you to it.
-
Good Luck!
-
WOW! It was a long day!
Anyway, I sat in my blind running through every scenario, trying to imagine that arrow as the deer trotted off. Had bright yellow feathers and a blaze orange cap dip on the arrow so I saw pretty clearly that the arrow was sticking out of the deer a solid 12-18" ... that's generally not awesome.
I finally came to the conclusion that based on the angle and my shot placement, I'd have either a gut shot (if I got little penetration), or if I got 10" + of penetration I'd get at least on lung, and maybe the heart.
So, a little more back story ..... After the shot the deer had trotted off, not ran, and just like alot of gut shot deer, stopped for nearly a full minute at about 30yards, behind a thicket ... I could see the yellow fletching, not the deer.
I decicided to wait until 10am, 2 hours after the shot, and look for blood at the first spot the deer stopped, and also see if the arrow was there. I figureed any signs of a gut shot and I'd back out till evening.
-
So I stepped out of the blind and CREPT in the direction the deer had headed, everyone's words echoing in my mind. Literally one step at a time I made my way to where I thought the buck had stopped. At first nothing (this area is so full of deer theres no hope in tracking prints, there are just too many. So I following the most apparent trail, on foot at a time eventually coming up onto this:
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc450/Benjaminklein/Mobile%20Uploads/photo.jpg) (http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/Benjaminklein/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo.jpg.html)
There wasn't much blood, but it was bright red, so I kept on tracking very very slowly, taking two steps then looking around for a few minutes. Basically like still hunting.
Another 8 yards and I found where he had actually stopped, it turned out the first spot was just where first blood hit the ground. This is what he left when he stopped for 30-60seconds:
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc450/Benjaminklein/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-1.jpg) (http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/Benjaminklein/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-1.jpg.html)
-
Now I knew I was in business. Everything about this scene said lung/major artery/ and maybe heart.
I kept following the blood which out of no where peters out, just as the buck heads into a well established bedding area ...
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc450/Benjaminklein/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-2.jpg) (http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/Benjaminklein/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-2.jpg.html)
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc450/Benjaminklein/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-3.jpg) (http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/Benjaminklein/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-3.jpg.html)
-
At this point the roller coaster of emotions was starting to get to me. One minute I'm sure it's a great shot, the next I'm down to my last drops of blood.
As I creep into the bedding area, the buck, which had been following a pretty straight course, all of a sudden stops and turns to the left, heading down a shallow hill.
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc450/Benjaminklein/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-4.jpg) (http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/Benjaminklein/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-4.jpg.html)
Now I KNEW I had him! He was taking the very easy downhill route, and was winding side to side like he was unsteady.
I was excited! Then all of a sudden I pick my head up and notice something at the foot of the tree ahead ...
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc450/Benjaminklein/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-5.jpg) (http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/Benjaminklein/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-5.jpg.html)
a little closer ....
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc450/Benjaminklein/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-6.jpg) (http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/Benjaminklein/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-6.jpg.html)
There he was!!!!! I could hardly believe it! He'd gone less than 100 yards with solid blood on a shot I thought was marginal at best ... maybe not even a fatal shot.
-
So I throw my fist up into the air to proclaim my success, walk up to the deer ... and to be honest, my first thought was "it's a f****** kangaroo? .... no it's a kangalope"
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc450/Benjaminklein/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-7.jpg) (http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/Benjaminklein/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-7.jpg.html)
-
Good job, more pics?
-
He's certainly no giant, but he's mine! My first trad deer, and the first buck I've recovered (Sadly I've been on a roughly 3 year bad luck streak with recovering bucks)
Turns out the shot entered behind the last rib at a very steep angle, cut through the diaphragm only 2-3 inches above the bottom of the chest cavity, cut one lung, and cut the heart but not enough that it went into the chamber of the heart, but certainly weakened the muscle drastically.
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc450/Benjaminklein/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-8.jpg) (http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/Benjaminklein/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-8.jpg.html)
This is one I won't soon forget! I'm really happy that I was able to deliver a clean kill to this one, and I can only hope that all the rest go as smoothly.
Thanks to all for the advice and thanks for watching. Sorry I couldn't send updates along the way, but man did I have my hands full!!
-
Goodluck keep us posted!!
-
Sorry thread wasn't updated ...lol..CONGRATS BRO!
-
Nice! Congrats
-
That's a happy ending! Congrats!
-
A deer you will never forget, Congrats! :thumbsup:
-
Congratulations! Well done
-
Congrats! Well done! :thumbsup:
-
Was he missing a lower leg or was it just buried under the leaves?
Great shot by the way
-
Congrats on a beautiful buck!!!!
-
Awesome! I'm glad to see you recovered him.
Congrats on your first buck!
Bisch
-
Congrats on a great buck!
-
Great job on the recovery and nice buck!
-
You never forget the first one. Congrats!!
-
Awesome! Way to go!!! :clapper:
-
Congrats!
-
Thank to everyone for the kind words! Next weekend it's back to the woods, to try for a doe. Then I've got to decide If I start hunting in VA again, or stick it out in MD until late november when I can try to get a big boy during the gun season (with the bow of course).
I've also decided to try to take the next one with one of my handmade bows ...
Fanto, all his legs were intact, just the fronts were pulled in close and poartially buried under the leaves, and his back legs were stretched out perfectly straight so he just looks dispraportioned.
-
Congrats !!!!!!
-
:thumbsup: :clapper:
-
Way to go, congrats!
-
Nice job, nice story, nice buck.
-
Well Done!