...Now everything just went into slow motion. The arrow leaves the bow with just flo yellow nock and feathers seen tracking to this spot under the deer. He drops... and drops... and drops... all the while this nock and feathers tracking is getting higher and higher on him. Finally the arrow strikes home, looks high to me but he tears out of there through the scrub brush instead of around it and I can see blood on the side I shot him on.
Now, do you remember the other 25 or 30 deer that are in the area? All heck broke loose! I bet it looked like a covey of quail from the field! Deer gettin with it in all directions! Shortly there after, maybe 15 seconds, all was quiet. Then I hear 3-4 thrashes just up the hill the way the buck had run. 10 or so seconds later the same thing. Then all was silent...
EXCEPT for my heart trying to thump out of my chest! I set the bow down on the seat next to me and took about 3 - 4 or 50 nice deep breaths and tried to calm myself down. I was like to fall out of the tree, but that always happens after the shot for me... I seem to keep my cool when I need to but fall to pieces after. If that ever quits happening I guess I'll take up golf! When I finally settled down I took stock of the area. Low and behold my arrow is sticking in the dirt and the regularly flo yellow end of my arrow has taken on more of a crimson color...
Robert had told us if we shoot a buck we are done hunting and stay in the tree. I.E. don't make two blood trails that can confuse Taz (his blood trailing dog). So my bow never left the seat beside me until Robert showed up like a day and a half later! I guess in hindsight it was really like 30 minutes or so... I believe Randy... or maybe it was David... was in the truck already, and I gave a brief lowdown and we went and picked up the Thomas and David (or Randy). Then we went and got Taz.
When we got back to the stand, Robert took Taz out and put his bell on, walked him out on a short leash to the shot site and gave him a smell. When he unhooked him Taz took off directly in line with the way the buck left. We heard the bell go for a few seconds then no bell... Robert told us to stay there and he would sneek up and see what was up. Shortly there after we heard a HOOOWEE!!! (which we came to learn was a really good sound in the days to come!
).
Sure enough the thrashing I'd heard was him up there, maybe 65 yards away. Ended up being a 10 point with a sticker just above the base of the right antler so an 11 point. Right side isn't as big as the left for whatever reason and has a broken G3, and the left has a broken brow tine. But, I couldn't be happier with him. Definately the medicine I needed from a long fall with no hunting at all!
I shot him with a Morrison Shawnee, 60# @ 29", with a 31" Gold Tip 55/75 with a Magnus 1 2-blade on the end, flo yellow 9" Onestringer wrap and 4-fletched with 4-4" RW sheilds at 90 degrees, and flo yellow nocks. Went in 3/4's the way up the left side of the chest just behind the heart and out about 1/2 way up the right side in the same line of the chest as it went in. Double lungs and most likely dorsal aorta as it runs through there too...
Topic: Hunting in the 'New Year' @ Solana Ranch.... (Read 36460 times)
