The season here in NH started off slowly. Bear baiting was a good three weeks with lots of bear pics but nothing showed up when I was able to get out. Day after baiting I was walking my property line thinking there were trespassers there. I did, however, walk right up on a bear about 20 yards of the side of the property line. He started to run and then stopped to give me another look. I shot him square in the shoulder and never got good penetration. Blood was sparse and the trail was difficult. Looked until midnight and again the next day until 2 PM. Blood ended and I feel confident that he survived.
Last week the turkeys were active and when I got home from the gym my small orchard had about 2 doz. birds feeding on the grass and insects. I grabbed my bow and set up in one of the areas they might be moving towards. It was the only place I could get without being spotted. Fortunately they came my way and I was able to tag one of the females.
I had been hunting deer on a friends oak ridge as the ground was covered with acorns and each time I went in for a scouting trip I saw deer. Hunting them proved to be more difficult. Several times they simply showed up too late for good shooting and one time I snort wheezed to get them moving on their way. To my surprise one of them had to be a buck as he came right over to my tree and stayed in the hemlocks. It was too dark to shoot but he stomped hid feet and tried to find the intruder. They were all still there when I left but didn't move more than 20 yards or so as I left.
Last weekend Laura was able to hunt so we headed to our property. Wanting to leave her alone I decided to sit in a standI had near an apple tree that has been good to me over the years. I had a stand there and a special doe permit for my area. The apple tree did not look promising as last years heavy snow had one tree leaning at a 44 degree angle with no apples and the one bearing tree had very few and only one on the ground. However, at 5:30 a doe showed up seemingly from the ground with another trailing somewhat off in the distance. She gave me a nice broadside shot at 20 yards or so and the arrow went right under her chest. She jumped up and facing me all the time tried to figure out what that glowing blue nock was all about. Abruptly she started for the apple tree and offered me herself at ten yards. I took the shot and hit her high and penetration seemed negligible. The blue nock was visible for about 50 yards. As she turned to go thru a thicket that would allow her to cross the road onto posted land I saw her go down. To give her some time I texted a few people and took up the trail. I knew where she was, hopefully dead. By the time I got to her there was no blood trail and I was unable to find the arrow or what was left of it. When I got to her she was indeed dead. There was no exit hole, hence no blood trail. First time in maybe 20 years or so that I did not get two holes. The arrow hit mid ribs where I wanted but she must have been turning as the arrow hit as the wound channel was angling back and the arrow stopped right at the skin on the opposite side. Two lungs, a bit of liver and lower portion of the intestine was hit. Fortunately finding her quickly allowed me to salvage all the meat.
For the record I was shooting my beloved DAS Gen I riser with Morrison short Max 2 limbs at 54#. Arrow was an Easton Axis with a 200 grain Razorcap head. She was so stiff the next morning getting good pics was difficult and I was too excited to think about setting her up where I found her to do any photos. But here I am with her the next morning. Since I still have all three of my regular tags and two months to go My season seems to be just getting started. I had been diagnosed with Lyme disease about 2 months ago and just finished the meds. They took a lot out of me and now am feeling much more myself with a brighter outlook on everything.
Topic: Slow but good start to season (Read 314 times)
