First Bow hunt for me ever this last weekend.

[thewal2]

Well,

This is my first Season of Deer hunting period.  I have had horrible luck shotgun hunting so i wanted to try bow hunting.  I purchased an old bear bow off of **** and to my suprise I have been very accurate up to 20 yards with some pretty groupings of about a dinner plate.

I have been hunting some private land in Knox County IL that my uncle owns.  So after New years eve I left to go out to my uncles for my first shot at bow hunting.  I had 4 Sits of 5 to 6 hours during 2.5 days of hunting.  I saw over 30 deer and had 7 within 17 yards.  I really wanted to take a shot at one of them but there was to much brush in the way to feel good about my shot(I was hunting on the ground in the middle of a few trees on the ground.  If the deer went down one of two trails they crossed they would have been within 10 yards with no brush but they kept heading where they were going.  My heart was beating so hard that I was hoping they would not hear it.

The whole weekend was pretty cool.  I got to see 2 deer walk past me at about 35 yards and sent a text message to my uncle that 2 deer were going his way and 5 minutes later I heard a snap and a deer take off.  He got one!  and the best part is it was with a sweet selfbow he had never got one with and the arrow was a shaft he made from his farm with the fletching being goose feathers from a goose he shot 2 weeks before.  

We then got the deer out of the woods and took it home in my work van.  A friend of my uncles (who is on this site) came over and I watched as they butchered the deer.  It was interesting to watch.

So this weekend I learned more about hunting, Saw a lot of deer, Saw my first bucks while hunting, had deer within range, and was part of a successful traditional hunt.  And if that was not good enough the weather was great.

Have a great weekend and i look forward to a year of practice before my next bow hunt.

Thewal2

[longbowben]

Looks like you got the bug.Welcome the the gang,and i hope you get a deer.  

[mdwatts]

Welcome aboard!

[Chris Surtees]

   

[blueline]

My heart was beating so hard that I was hoping they would not hear it.
 

Know that feeling well!!!!
           

blueline

[Arwin]

HAHAHAH your hooked and there is no turning back!!!!


   

[Stick_N_String]

Awesome expierience!!        
Daren

[cahaba]

Wome aboard. You showed great dicipline by passing up those shots. Hang in there and it will come together for you. Good Hunting cahaba      

[ChristopherO]

I can hear the excitement in your words through the computer.

[thewal2]

thanks for the comments guys...As far as passing up shots, that is the first thing I learned when reading about hunting and watching crappy hunting show...every person on TV and in the stories I read said, "I felt good about the shot so I took it" or something close to that.

I said if I did not feel good about a shot I would not take it cause I do not want to hurt an animal and not recover it because I "thought" I could hit it.

I am a musky fisherman (AKA Hunter) and I am very concerned about the management of the species I am fishing for.  100% catch and release on game fish is what I am for.  If you want to eat fish, eat gills, walleye, crappie, catfish, and other species like that.  I feel the same thing about deer if you can not harvest and eat your deer you should not even take the shot.  Do not ever waste a natural resource such as "game."  I want people to be able to enjoy the activities I love long after my life.

As Far as hooked?  I dont know if I am, all I know is that when the lakes freeze up I am going to start hunting.  So some years I might not hunt and other years I might hunt for a long time.  I enjoy my time hunting but there is nothing like Catching a trophy musky (especially in the figure 8) and then releasing it to fight again some other day!!!!!!!

Keep on loving the outdoors!

Thewal2

[thewal2]

So I finally got my first deer this weekend!  It was a doe during the season ending antlerless doe season in IL.  I got it with a shotgun, which is ok, but I now more then ever want to get one with the bow next year.

The excitement of bow hunting is 3 times more then shotgun hunting, but still the first deer is good to get any way you can...I also got to track the deer in fresh snow.  Pretty cool...

Look out deer next year I gonna bring some cedar arrows of death your way once I stop fishing for the year!