I decided to make an evening hunt yesterday but was running late getting to my stand. As I drove up I watched a buck cross the road and thought "great, the deer are already moving". I parked, grabbed my longbow and backquiver and began stalking toward my stand, in case I came upon more deer up and feeding. The trail I was on put me heading straight into the sun and after covering sixty yards or so I checked the wind and realized it was not going to work for the stand I was headed to. As I stood in the trail trying to decide what to do, I turned and looked back towards my truck and out stepped a doe, 40 yards away. She began feeding right in the middle of the trail I just walked down. I figured I had nothing to loose so I started slow as molasses trying to cut the distance to her. Someone was watching over me because I managed to get to 25 yards without her realizing I was there. I figured I was already pushing my luck and when she turned slightly quartering away, head down, I drew back my BBO longbow and picked a dark tuft of hair over her heart and away the cedar went. Unfortunately my arrow went just below her belly and stuck in the grass. She turned, now facing straight away from me, and sniffed and then licked the shaft. I got another arrow on the string and waited to see if she would give me another chance.....she didn't. In a single bound she hopped off the trail and walked away, never giving me a clear shot. This had to be one of the coolest encounters I've ever had, even if it didn't end with a roast in the oven. Thinking back I know what I did to cause the miss....looked to see where my arrow went and dropped my bow arm instead of following through with my shot. I'm still surprised that this all happened within 20 yards of my truck and she was standing in my boot tracks from minutes before, but she never seemed bothered by this.
Topic: Cool Encounter (Read 266 times)
