This year i'm going to keep a deer journal. I've done so in the past and its alway interesting to look back and see how many deer were seen through the season. So far i've had 5 sits from ground blinds (natural) and tree stand. Of the 5 sits 3 were on the ground and two from my climber.
I have been busted all 3 times on the ground and not necessarily from the wind. It has been from not having enough background cover and deer either coming in from the wrong direction (why can't they get the script right
) or me just standing out like a sore thumb!
I use a Kill Suit type grille, but have learned that I do better if I have full cover all the way around me. Its the drawing of the bow that get me busted more often than anything else.
The first sit in the climber produced nothing as I set up in an new area to give the hot one a break. But yesterday we had a cold front move through, so I planned to be in the climber in the white oak grove. The oaks are on private land I have permission to hunt. It was here that i've been busted while on the ground those 3 times. I hoped to change the stories narrative if at all possible.
I got set up by 0640 the next morning (not without a comedy of errors, dropped my backpack half way up, clanging banging etc...) and seen the first deer, a doe by 0740. At 0859 a young basket rack buck stepped into a small dry creek bed and I shot low shaving hair off it chest.
At 1000 I heard squirrels moving behind and over my left shoulder and turned to see if I could locate it. When I did it somehow morphed into a deer standing board sides at 18 yards lol.
I couldn't see its head but was sure it was a doe by the looks of the body. I committed myself to shoot more this year and not be concerned if I missed, this has always kept me back from a lot of opportunities. I hate missing!
I quickly drew and shot and honestly I don't recall focusing on a certain spot (pick a spot, pick a spot...).
At the shot the deer turned slightly my direction and I remember seeing the arrow glance off it neck! How in the word did I miss that bad was my first thoughts. But the deer turning in towards me was enough to shift the sight picture from a kill zone shot to a graze across the neck.
I watched it calmly take 2 steps and stand in place for at least 5-10 minutes, then watched it get wobbly legged on me. It half fell/laid down with it back towards me and laid there for 20 minutes, until a coyote showed up!
I tried to find a shot at the yote but couldn't get a shot off before it turned and left. When I looked back at the deer it was slowly walking away with it tailed tucked hard against it hind quarters.
Long story short it travel for about 300 yards and made for a difficult track on pine needles and me on hands and knees crawling through gallberry thickets. It continued to bleed every 3' but after backing out and giving it more time it had dried and was hard to see in pine needles.
And the doe turned into that same basket racked 3 point from the earlier miss.
IMG_1490 I'm grateful to the Lord for this deer and a shaving sharp Simmons Tigershark! I'm a believer that if not for these heads I would not have this deer due to where it was hit.
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Topic: 2016-2017 MISSISSIPPI HARVEST THREAD (Read 985 times)
