It was a cold and windy afternoon with wind gusts in the 30mph range and temps in the twenties. I knew the sit was going to be cold, but I was not going to let that stop me, especially with the wind direction being perfect. In addition, the high winds would help to cover my entry to the blind seeing as the deer bed as close as 100 yards from the blind. I also felt that the deer would also be moving earlier because of the bad weather. So I headed out for the afternoon sit.
The way my blind had been set up allowed me to remain behind a stump and lean over periodically to check the bait, then sit back to wait some more. Really was very effective! I hope from the pictures it is evident that I really can only shoot one direction out of the blind through a small opening. I was soon to find out how effective and thorough this blind aided in concealment.
As I sat in the prescence of my thoughts with a hot cup of tea to warm my bones on this cold windy day I took my periodic check of the baitpile and area behind it...There's a deer!! And another one...and another one! There about 30-40 yards behind the bait pile were three does making there way slowly my direction. I could tell they were tense checking the wind and looking all around every few seconds. My heart began to race as the deer came closer and closer, anticipation filling my veins with adrenaline, that serum oh so exciting! I slowly began to prepare myself trying ever so desperately to calm my pulsing body. In order to shoot more freely I drape a jacket around my back and slip it off when ready to shoot. I ever so slowly let it fall behind me.
I leaned over again to check the deers' progress. It took me a minute to pick them up again...10-12 yards from my blind to the left side! Again, they checked around them from all directions looking for signs of danger, but none would be found of the predator not 15 yards from them. Slowly, one of the does came to the baitpile. I turned on the small camera I had with me and prepared myself to shoot.
http://good-times.webshots.com/video/3063287850102827975vdJuuJ?vhost=good-times -Unfortunately, the camera battery died shortly before I took my shot...sorry.
I finally calmed my nerves enough that I felt comfortable to shoot. I slowly drew back thinking in my mind "Pick a spot dummy! Pick a spot!" My eyes seemingly burned a hole in the small patch of hair covering her heart. I reached full draw and the string slipped from my fingers. The razor sharp zwickey tipped arrow was on it's way. The draw felt right, the release felt right. A split second later I heard a ka-thunk and the deer spooked to about 80 yards out and looked back to try to see what caused that funny noise.
"Did I hit her?" I thought to myself. I kept replaying the shot over and over in my mind. In my sinking heart I knew I missed. She was wired up and jumped the string at the shot resulting in a miss just over her back. The ka-thunk was the resounding noise of my arrow striking crisp snow, then the tree trunk beneath it. I could also still see the deer all of which remained standing confirming my miss. The deer apparently did not know what the source of the sound was and were actually joined by even more deer from the same direction!!!
This whole group of about 5 or 6 deer began to all slowly come back to the bait!!!!! By this time I have lost track of which deer was which and it was now past shooting hours. I stood up in the blind(yes, stood up!) and was surprised to see a doe about 10 yards away coming in from the left just like the others had done. All the deer were oblivious to my prescence. It really is a testament to the effectiveness of a properly constructed blind(These deer spook immediately if they see you walking around). I thought "Oh man, now they're just mocking me" as a two does began to feed at the bait. But then I thought "Enjoy it for what it is, a gift!" So, I sat and enjoyed them for about a half hour before scaring them off.
I went out and retrieved my arrow confirming my miss. From the angle and placement the shot looked absolutely dead on, but she must have just jumped it enough to miss her. I walked back to the car a bit bummed again, yet excited and thankful to have seen so many deer.
In discussing it with my buddy it was decided to leave the blind for a few days to let the deer get used to it again and try it again Sunday, the last day of the season. Little did I know Sunday would become a day that I will never forget...
Here's a couple more pictures to make it a bit more real:
Here's my good friend I'm hunting with:
And a couple of the peace in the swamp after a snowfall:
The best is yet to come guys! More of the story, pics and videos on the way! Good night Gang, Matt
Topic: Never give up! (Conclusion- pg 4) (Read 9104 times)
