Tuesday night we sat around and I made a new friend. Mac i really enjoyed your company and i am looking forward to hunting with you again partner.
well the moon was close to full but playing peek-a-boo with the front that was moving in during the night. one minute you could see like it was day time and the next it was pitch black dark. by the time i hit the sack it was almost midnight and the alarm was set to go off at 5am. as with the first night on most every hunt, sleep was fitful. my internal clock went off around 4:30 so i went ahead and got myself situated and then just lay there in the back of my truck watching the stars in between banks of black low flying clouds.
by 6am it was starting to brighten up so i headed out for the morning hunt. i had decided to hunt in close proximity to the Old Oak from the evening before. there was a good creek crossing that went from one field through the hedge row to the hedge row on the opposite side where the big oak stood. the trouble was i couldn't find a decent tree to put my climber on. this is one of the times that i really like having a hang on handy.
i just hate to wonder around in the pre dawn woods looking for a decent tree, but if i wanted to sit in a tree i wouldn't have much choice. so after about 20 minutes of searching for the perfect perch i settled on a fairly straight maple that was about 20 yards off the creek in a small patch of woods that separated 3 different fields. there were just no good trees near the spot where i had really hoped to sit so i had to make due with what i had to work with.
there would be no sunrise today as the rain was looming on the horizon in the form of dark almost black clouds. from first light until 10am my only visitors were an assortment of birds and one fat gray squirrel that almost made himself a date with the judo i had tucked into my quiver. i watched this little furry rascal for about 20 minutes before deciding to give him a free get-away-card for the day.
the temps were hanging right around the 70 degree mark and with the moister in the air the humidity had it feeling closer to 100. the hike in and climb had left my clothes sticky wet. it was almost 10am before i had started to cool down and with the stiff breeze i had just about dried out.
i zipped up my shirt and settled myself in for the long vigil. it would be short lived however. leaning my head back against the tree i let my eyelids block out the daylight and no sooner had my mind drifted i heard an animal running from behind me. sensing it was a deer i quickly grabbed my Schafer Silver Tip and readied myself.
turning slightly to my left i spotted the doe coming straight towards my tree at a fast pace. she ran right up under me stopping at less than 5 steps from my tree. i could tell by the way she put on the brakes that she had detected my scent and was now on high alert. to compound the problem i could hear another deer walking directly behind me. not knowing where this deer was looking i dared move even a muscle.
i had a shot at the doe standing under me, but there were several small branches and some leaves they gave me just enough uncertainty that i wouldn't take the shot. i could see her nostrils working in air trying to sort out the intruders where abouts. we were at a stalemate. no way was i going to make the first move, especially not knowing where the other deer was at this point.
she finally made move and she bounded out to about 15 yards before turning broadside to look back. the bow came up and the arrow was away before i could even think. seeing the arrow strike the deer i questioned myself, had i hurried the shot? did my arrow hit something en route to it's target? i hate to second guess, but my arrow had struck the deer a little high and a little back.
i watched her escape path and could see my arrow protruding out both sides. this was not a good situation as i knew there would be little if any blood with the arrow plugging up both holes. my only hope would be that the arrow would be pulled out soon.
after the shot i sat back down and collected myself trying to re live the shot in hopes of figuring out what i had done wrong. there were no answers. i had most likely rushed the shot and not locked in on a spot causing me to miss my mark. feeling down about my shot i came to the realization that there was no sense in beating myself up over the shot, what i needed to do now was try and recover this deer.
looking at my watch, 20 minutes had passed. not enough time for a liver shot most likely and if my arrow was back even more i would need at least 4 hours of wait time before taking up the trail. i decided to climb down and get my gear together and head back to the truck.
no sooner had my feet hit the ground the sky turned black and water began to spit. i picked up the pace with a sense of urgency knowing the rain would ruin any sign or hope i might have in finding this deer.
by the time i reached camp it was pouring down in sheets. i dumped my gear and with a single arrow and my bow i ran back to the last spot i had seen the doe. she had crossed the creek right where the trail cut through the hedge row. this gave me a direction to start so i eased down the edge of the field looking for tracks or blood.
to add to the difficulty the ground was covered in red maple leaves that had been freed from the clutches of the tree the night before during the howling winds. these leaves were not solid red but rather yellow with spots of red and burgundy. every leaf looked as if it might have blood on it.
after close to an hour of looking i had found exactly two spots the size of pea. the doe had traveled about 75-100 yards without stopping. my hopes of finding this deer were slipping away with each second. at this point i had a bad feeling in my gut so i headed back to camp to see if Ron or Martin might have tried escaping the pouring rain. to my surprise neither one of them had made it back to camp.
i downed a bottle of water and put on some dry clothes and my rubber boots then waited. i finally saw Ron as he made his way up the hill to camp. i hope you have your blood hound nose with you today bud, we are going to need any help we can get.
after telling Ron about my situation he grabbed his rain coat and by then Martin had made his way back to camp with his own stories of some nasty dogs he had been trying to avoid.
we checked all the creek bottoms and hedge rows in the area and looked for any sign that may have been left. the search turned up no evidence and after close to 3 hours of looking i made the decision to call it off. we stood under some cedars and talked for a bit while watching rain as it gave breath of life in the bone dry landscape that had been void of rain for months.
the rain was a life saver for the plants and animals, but for me it had erased just about any hopes i had of recovering this deer. it had been over 10 years since i had lost a deer. what could i have done different? did i rush the shot? forget to pick a spot? had she jumped the string? i won't find the answers to these questions, but i will be thinking about them the next time i get an opportunity to loose an arrow and one of these beautiful animals..
it's a tough lesson, and sometimes it just can't be helped for many different reasons. for now i think i will for go a days hunting to go back and look for this deer. my gut tells me she is dead and i realize the meat will be of little use to me, but i want to find her and use what i can so that her life was not given in vain. keep your fingers crossed that something will lead me to her.
Ron, Martin and I made our way back to camp after i had made a call home to get the weather update. more heavy rain was in the forecast and the next 3 days had a 70% chance or more of rain so we decided to hand the woods back over to mother nature and we headed for the comforts of home.
stay tuned, some of the gang just might be back at it hunting Fulfillment Farms come Friday and or Saturday. me personally, i could use some fulfillment in the form of a recovered deer.
there is nothing like a refreshing rain after months of drought!
Topic: Yet More VA Hunting opportunities with Pics page 3!!! (Read 9563 times)
