Well,
I hit my chosen area of the Apalachicola National Forest around 1030 am. Hunted along the Ochlockonee river within about 200yds of the river for several hours, playing the air currents and just trying to move slow and quiet and spot some game. It was cool out all day and sunny, and we have had freezing temps the last few nights. Good stuff.
I had to settle for a middle of the day hunt simply due to work/family logistics.
Anyway, I walked for a while, and finally decided to set up my chair right on the border between the dry swamp area bordering the river and the oak/ palmetto hammock that paralleled it inland. I found a nice clearing with some pines and oaks and lots of acorns on the ground. I setup the chair and figured I might see something heading toward the river as the day went on.
I'm sorry to say I didn't end up seeing any deer or pigs. Lots of squirrels of course. Lots of bird activity, including a really neat Owl "sonata" LOL.
But toward the end of my allotted time I did score my FIRST traditional kill!! Actually my first kill with ANY kind of bow!
Thanks Faith!!
First trad kill ever! First kill with any kind of bow for that matter. And the best part is I did it with Sarrels' Miss Faith 2014!
I have been on TG for over 2 years now, learning, buying and selling all kinds of bows, shooting all the time at home, attending 3D shoots, getting out into the woods now for my third season. I have seen lots of critters in the last few years, gotten pretty close to some. Deer, hogs, coons, skunks, etc.
I have learned A LOT watching animals from a distance, up close, and of course getting busted plenty of times.
Well, I wish I could say I popped the cork on a deer or hog for #1, but instead it was a big plump female raccoon! LOL.
I only had time today for a middle of the day hunt. I went to a spot that I like in the Apalachicola National Forest that runs along the Ochlockonee River.
Got out there at a late 1030am and planned to hunt to about 4. Not ideal, but hey, in two years I have seen a bunch of animals in the middle of the day. We have been having cold weather so I figured odds were good.
I still hunted along the river for several hours. Saw plenty of squirrels of course. Lots of bird activity, including a pretty comical 'owl sonata'. I moved slowly and spent a lot of time stopped, just scanning the distance always searching for the faintest sign of movement.
Well, that didn't yield any results, and I was frustrated because I wasn't finding much ground sign either...so I found a nice spot to sit, right east of an oxbow in the river...the area where I decided to sit was just outside the bow, meaning anything that was heading away from the river would likely pass somewhere north or south of my location.
Several hours went by. I grew a little antsy. But I forced myself to stay quiet and still, seated on my chair surrounded by some palmettos and saplings.
It was getting close to being time to head back to the car.
Finally after lots of false alarm racket from the danged squirrels I heard some more purposeful movement coming from the river's direction. I listened intently and prayed it would be a pig, as I had heard some sloshing sounds coming from the direction of an islet to the north of the oxbow.
Then I spotted movement and a glimpse of fur through the brush. Still wasn't sure what I was about to see...
Then out crept two big fat raccoons! LOL. Not quite what I was hoping for, but I was ready to play ball. I had not ever taken a raccoon, had passed on several on prior hunts, and decided today was gonna be the day. I have always wanted to try the meat also.
They were headed in a zig zag line pretty much right for me.
I already had an arrow on the string, so I waited until they were looking away and stood up silently and 'made ready'.
There were lots of trees of all sizes interspersed between them and I...it was going to very likely be a shot where I could not hesitate and had to make sure I didn't hit a sapling or tree.
Once they got within 10-12 yds I decided it was going to happen. I chose the larger of the two of them as my target and silently whispered to myself 'it's time'.
For whatever reason they were now really making a beeline for me. I had to move to my left to keep the shot clear and I raised up my bow.
That's when my target, the big one, must have just spotted my slightest movement...I tried to time it for when it was looking away but the big coon must have just caught me!
No worries! What the coon did next proved to be its undoing! In anticipation of having to flee whatever it thought it just saw it sprang and hugged the base of a tree directly in front of me..
This provided a picture perfect broadside shot.
I picked a spot, came to full draw, and let it fly...visualizing the arrow hitting its mark, which it did.
It is a fascinating sound when a sharp broadhead tipped arrow hits where its supposed to on an animal.
That raccoon acted like it had just been tazed. It bolted up the tree, and I could clearly see that my arrow had perfectly transected its rib cage right behind the elbow and come out the other side...it was likely a double lung pass through but the arrow got stuck on the fletching inside its chest cavity. This was worrisome as it was more or less partially plugging the hole!!
No worries, I could already hear the blood dripping down. I looked at the ground at the base of the tree and sure enough bright red blood was steadily raining down. The coon had frantically climbed as high up into the slender tree as it could..it made it up about 15 feet. With my arrow still sticking completely out one side!! It gnawed and bit at the arrow, finally chewing through the carbon shaft partially, as I could see the arrow flop down where it had been biting at it.
By this time I already had a second arrow on the string, and was waiting to see what would happen. The blood that was accumulating on the ground said the wound was mortal, but the coon's behavior said it wasn't going down fast or easy.
Meanwhile the second raccoon was mightily confused by this whole sequence of events, and went ahead and climbed the tree right next to my target's. It climbed up to where my coon was hanging on for dear life to investigate. It managed to cross a branch and make it to where the dying raccoon was hanging on. At this point I contemplated taking the second one, but it was a very high angle shot, and I didn't to risk either pinning that one to the tree 15ft up, or pinning them both with the same arrow!
I started moving around the tree, assessing what I might do, and trying to wait out the one I shot.
After about 10 minutes from the initial shot it finally lost its hold and fell down from the canopy.
It was still alive at this point, and limped away dragging my broken arrow hanging out of one side of its chest. Again, all the bright red blood had me shaking my head that this animal was still not ready to give up. I started moving toward it, with plans to go for a second arrow. It noticed me and went for the next nearest tree once more. It passed through some underbrush, and must have lost the long part of my arrow with the broadhead there, cause it emerged and I noticed the arrow was gone, either that or the arrow broke when it fell and I just didn't notice it missing then. I saw it start to climb and move around the backside of the tree... I moved swiftly and smoothly around the tree knowing I would want to take any immediate opportunity to put it down with a second arrow if necessary. I spotted more blood on the ground.
All the blood aside, I knew it was the fletched end of my arrow that was delaying the process.
As I came around the tree, to my surprise it had a hollow in it, and the mortally wounded raccoon had crawled inside to take refuge about 7 feet above the ground.
I did not want it to die up in the hollow, so I did the only thing I could think to do, not having a ladder on hand...I reached up with my second arrow and poked it!
This elicited a snarl that actually surprised the heck out of me! Wow! Talk about PO'd! Sounded more like a lion than a raccoon! LOL!!
This did the trick though. The coon crawled up out of the hollow, now about 10 feet up. I moved into position for another broadside shot, and planned angle wise so I didn't have to shoot straight up and might actually recover my arrow.
I got it lined up and once again picked a spot and drew back, knowing the shot would be true. Perfect hit! Right behind the elbow into the chest cavity and this time a total pass through like butter. My arrow lodged tip first in a smaller tree behind where I shot. I would retrieve it by knocking it down later.
1-2 more minutes and the tough coon fell down to the ground. Dead.
The second raccoon was long gone by now.
I gutted the dispatched coon and examined the inside of the chest cavity. My fletching had indeed partially plugged the first hit, massive as the blood loss was to my eyes on the ground, there was even more blood flooded inside the body cavity. The heart was also lacerated. This was perhaps from the second arrow? Can't be sure.
Anyway, even though I left the woods today with "only" a raccoon, to me it was absolutely exhilarating and a total synthesis of everything I have been working hard on for the last few years...my shooting, my fieldcraft, etc.
I'm raring to go now. Just put a deer or pig in front of me! I will get the job done so help me!
This big ol' raccoon is now on ice, waiting to be skinned out and cooked at the station tomorrow. Parboil it and then slow bake it with some Sweet Baby Ray's
I will tan the hide, flesh out the skull etc also.
Faith was a joy to carry and shoot today. I plan on a review of this Sarrels bow soon, probably tomorrow. I was shooting full length Beman Centershot 400s with 3x5 shields, 50g insert and 125g Magnus Stingers. The first arrow was a 2 blade Stinger, the second arrow a 4 blade Stinger. I think the 4 blade really did the trick on the second shot.
Here she is, big female coon:
I am going write about it now on Pow Wow under "Chuck's First Trad Kill". More pics and story there:
http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=141132
Topic: Hope and Faith Sarrels of 2014 (Read 47448 times)
