Sometimes it’s best to not have time to prepare. Just react to the situation. No time to get nervous or overthink the task at hand. Like Nike says, Just do it.
Just before he was behind some limbs I let it fly. He was quartering away a little at this point, and my arrow buried to the fletching just forward of mid body. The shot felt good and looked good. He tore out of there like he got hit with a cattle prod. I was able to see him cut out into the field and cut across a corner, but he made it further than what I would’ve liked and I didn’t see much blood on him.
Did I really hit where I thought I did? Unless I see them go down or hear them crash hard, I always have that doubt creep in. I knew that he had made into another block of woods across the field corner from me, so I only waited a few minutes to get down and check my arrow. It was snapped off, and from the looks of things I must’ve hit him right where I thought.
Tracking him turned out to be an exercise in futility. He ran across a plowed field with only pin drops of blood. I finally gave up looking for blood and just followed his fresh tracks. It was unmistakable where he ran. When I got over where he crossed a field road I had to just guess on which path he took. The road was hard packed and absolutely no sign of where he entered the woods.
I felt that he had to be close, so I just walked the 1st trail I saw and there was nothing. I figured he has to have taken another trail. So I started paralleling the field and made it about 20 yards when something caught my eye. I had to do a double take with my binoculars to make sure it was him. Sure enough, he was down for good. He went in on another trail and hadn’t made it 25 yards into the woods.
A sight all bow hunters love to see.
I knew this buck well. I’ve watched him for the past 3 years and finally got a chance at him. Sorry for being so long winded, but hope you enjoyed a recap of the hunt.