took my bow for a walk tonight looking for stumps and small game. carried 2 broadheads just in case, as we have until January 31st in MD to hunt deer. on my way back to my truck with 30mins of shooting light left, i hear what sounds like a deer and catch just a bit of movement, confirming what i heard. i sneak along towards the direction of the sighting. once within 50yds of where i think this deer should be i take a knee. just then, i see the deer appear, looks a little stumbly (if that's even a word), and lays down about 35 yds away, which is 20yds beyond my comfort zone. almost immediately the deer sees me. after a brief stare-down, it gets up, stumbles again, and makes its way down a fairly steep decline. i know for sure at this point the deer is hurt and, without any other vehicles in the parking lot, feel fairly confident that i am not running off a deer that a fellow hunter may have just shot. instincts took over at this point and i decided to chase this deer as hard as i could. several times i got within 30yds but opted not to shoot. this chase lasted for what seemed like an eternity. through briar patches, deadfalls, then ending in a half-frozen creekbed. at one point i lost the deer completely. made a 75yd circle then sighted it again. at this point i eased back into the creek and took a 20yd shot that barely missed. the deer continued down the creek and i proceeded after him with my one remaining broadhead. after a short stalk i got within 15 yards and took another shot. i was exhausted at this point and did not make a perfect hit, only catching what looked like one lung. not wanting this animal to suffer any longer, i went back upstream, recovered my arrow from the earlier miss, and put another one into him. this shot too hit nearly the exact same spot. at this point, knowing he would expire but not as quickly as i would like, i approached him and did what i thought was right-details not necessary. i will post pics tomorrow, but he looks to be a 1.5 year old buck whose already lost his antlers. he was shot with a 45lb mamba and 2016 shaft tipped with 125gr woodsmen head and 125gr adapter. both of his front legs were broken at the joint, which i assume was the work of a vehicle not too long ago. this was not the way i envisioned my first trad harvest, but i will sleep well tonight knowing that i took this deer's life before a coyote or starvation had the chance. thanks for reading and my apologies for such a long post.
Topic: non-traditional first trad harvest-PIC ADDED (Read 1138 times)
