About 5:30pm I was gonna get out of my stand because I haven't seen a deer here all season and thought yesterday would be the same. Well a big fox squirrel kept messing around under my stand so I put the broadhead tipped arrow back into my bow quiver and pulled a practice tipped arrow out and readied for a shot at the bushy tailed critter. That's when I heard a crunch, but it wasn't the leaves that the squirrel was running around in it sounded like a corn stalk in the field behind my stand. I slowly turn my head to see a little 6 or 8 point 30yds away in the cut corn! Well with a lot of wind and rain the previous week all the leaves were gone and I had no cover. I just knew he was gonna see me as I moved slowly as possible to get the practice arrow back in the quiver and get a broadhead on the string. By the time I got the arrows switched the buck had already picked up the scent drag and was following my trail right down to my shooting lanes! I said to myself "stay calm, pick a spot" but my heart was in my throat and I felt like I had concrete in my lungs! The buck stopped at 15 yds right where I dumped a few drops of scent to stop them. I stared at little patch of hair just behind the shoulder and came to full draw and the buck lifted his head and my focus was lost just as I loosed the arrow! Right over his back and into the mud! He runs right under my stand and then starts to walk off until he hits the scent and mock scrape I put in my other shooting lane. I come to full draw and my eyes are burning a hole in his ribs about 3" back from his front leg. I loose the arrow and watch in amazement as it cuts a clump of hair off his back!! He jumped and ran a couple steps and then stopped at 15yds behind a thick bush, and then just walked off. Man it was GREAT!!! I was a little upset at myself though because I've been shooting my new to me Mohawk all week and was shooting it really well out to 30yds yesterday but I chose to take my Kiowa recurve because I shoot it the best of all my bows. But I hadn't pulled the string on it in a week and forgot that it shot a bit higher than the Mohawk. What a rush, and what a great lesson learned! I'm gonna shoot both bows tonight and see which I'm shooting better and then put in a few practice shots before heading to the woods tomorrow at o'dark hundred with my new decoy. This little guy was cruising and I hope more will be doing the same tomorrow.
Ken