The Adventures of 'Hope' and 'Faith'

[KenSel]

How are the girls doing??

[Walkingstick]

Well I hunted several more days off the ground rattling and calling. Saw a few deer but nothing within shooting distance. Didn't take a camera as it just gets in my way or I loose it when moving. Saw two little bucks (a spike and a small six) in NY state but I guess I am done now for awhile. At least the lil lady got me off my duff and hunting.  It was fun and a pleasure and now the pleasure belongs to Dick Easter as it is on its way to his place as of today. Good Luck Dick as I am sure those Ohio bruisers are just cruising and waiting for you to show up with the lil gal........Mac~

[Guru]

Glad ya got out bud...hope to see you in a couple months at Shawns


 Com'on Dick  up to you now bud!!

[cjones]

My time with Hope is over and she will be going on to the next in line. For some reason i just couldn't get Hope to shoot right for me. Plus i was too busy hunting to spend alot of time trying to tune arrows to her.

[Guru]

Chad, I had the same problem.....and with hunting time at such a premium these days...I just couldn't bring myself to sacrifice what precious little time I had getting "Faith" to shoot like I needed her to.....congrats again on your great buck!!

[rabbitman]

Got a package today from Walkingstick....Thanks Mac.  It's raining here today so after stringing up Faith, I fired away at my basement target bag. I can only shoot 10 yds. in the basement but it was enough to see my cedar shafts were flying true.  Of course, these were the same shafts I had last May in Texas for the Mod Melt hunt where Faith was first introduced...so I knew they would fly.  Guess I'm lucky I didn't have to go through a bunch or different arrows to find a good match.  Planning on a few morning and/or evening local hunts and a three day outing next week at a farm a couple of hours from home....be at the yardbarn Chad, I'll call you for dinner one evening.  The bucks are really getting into chasing right now so we should see deer.      I'll keep you posted.

[BigRonHuntAlot]

Best of Luck to you Dick. Hopin to see some pics  

[Walkingstick]

Dick, glad she arrived safe and sound. She is one sweet bow...enjoy.............Mac~

[rabbitman]

Got out with Faith yesterday morning and missed a good 8 point at 22 yds....shot right over his back.(quit looking at the rack and pick a spot stupid!)    Going to spend next Tuesday and Wednesday in a treestand so hope to have happier things to report by turkey day.

[KenSel]

Don't worry Dick, you'll connect.  Best of luck to you.

How is Hope doing?

Keep us posted,

Ken

P.S.  Let's see some pics of your guys/gals dates with the fine ladies.

[rabbitman]

Spent the last two days sitting in treestands with Faith.  Mid 20's in the mornings, warming to about 50 by mid afternoon, sunny with little wind.  Beautiful weather to be in the woods. The deer were moving but did not have a shooter come into bow range.  Due to holiday family commitments and the Ohio gun season next week, it's not very likely I will have a chance to hunt with Faith again....so I will be sending her onto Mike Bolin a couple days early.  Good luck Mike!  Thanks to Horne Archery, Warren Archery and everone else connected with this great TradGang event.

[Mike Bolin]

Dick, I contacted Terry a few weeks ago about sending Faith on to whoever is next on the list. I am working in Oklahoma and I'm not really able to hunt with the hours I am working. I could shoot her at the range in the evenings, but Faith should hunted with. I will pm and email you too, so that you get the info in plenty of time. Thanks, Mike

[Walt Francis]

Hope arrived in Montana this morning.  I went through a dozen different sets of arrows and found two sets that fly great in the garage.  I will give the two sets some longer distance tests after a Saturday morning hunt, then if all goes well, use her for the evening hunt.  Currently an old set of Bear arrows with Razorheads (picked up at a garage sale for a dollar each) fly the best, hitting half an inch high at ten yards.  The other arrows that fly well are Paradox Archery Chundo shafts, footed with purpleheart, and tipped with Damascus trade points made by Doug Campbell.  These are hitting an inch high at ten yards.  Better hit the sack, 4 a.m. will come early and I wouldn't want the whitetails to beat me to my stand.

Walt Francis

[Guru]

Good Luck Walt!!!  Looking forward to pix and stories  

[Walt Francis]

First, would like to thank Chad for sending Hope a week early.  I had been saving my last late season doe tag for the first two weeks of December, when I was scheduled to have Hope.  The buck season ends on Sunday for most of Montana, and with Hope's early arrival I am able to hunt bucks for two days.  Well I got in one day anyway, as of three this afternoon I have used my last tag for the extended season area.  Luckily I still have two tags for does in a different unit that are good until Sunday evening.  Hope and I will be taking a walk tomorrow afternoon and if my luck continues those tags will also be filled.  
Today’s hunt started with a morning sit on a stand located in the bottleneck along a creek.  Not being fully comfortable with Hope at longer distances I took my selfbow Pigger (63# @ 29") with the intention of taking a deer if the opportunity arose.  About 7:45 a 4x2 buck came into view with his nose to the ground.  The direction he was headed would lead him by my stand, but out of shooting range.  A couple of soft grunts stopped him and then he cautiously circled around my stand looking for the mysterious buck.  Unfortunately, he stayed at least twenty five yards from my stand, well out of Piggers range (at least it is when I am shooting Pigger), before moving further up the creek.  Ten minutes later I catch movement on my right, which eventually materializes in to a little button buck.  The bucks’ path will take him by me at ten yards.  When he gets fully broadside an arrow suddenly appears in flight half way to the deer.  It is one of the few times I don't remember drawing or releasing the arrow.  The arrow hit the shoulder about three or four inches forward of the spot I had picked.  Penetration of the Grizzly tipped, hex pine shaft appeared to be about twelve inches, which had me worried for a second or two.  The buck took off on a dead run and started to stumble after forty yards, at sixty yards he laid down and never got up.  The broadhead had severed the aorta and both lungs.  The morning hunt was finished, now the work began.  
I will post the afternoon hunt in the morning.

Walt Francis

[Walt Francis]

The Afternoon hunt.
After taking care of the button buck it was time to shoot Hope at longer distances.  One of the best places I have found for testing broadheads is a plowed field; the dirt clods make great targets with a soft background.  The Bears arrows weigh around 500 grains, about 200 grains lighter then the ones I shoot out of Pigger.  Even though Hope is ten pounds lighter then Pigger these arrows hit considerably higher at thirty yards.  After practicing for a few minutes I was confident with where the Bear arrows were hitting out to thirty yards and started the half mile trip to the stand, shooting along the way.  The afternoon route to this evenings stand followed the edge of a plowed field and being early in the afternoon I did not expect to encounter any game.  However, nearing the end of the field, I spotted a movement in the tall grass about one hundred yards away.  Looking through my binoculars the tips of antlers appeared in the tall grass.  After studying them for a couple of minutes I determined the buck was definitely worth taking, if a stalk could be made.

[Walt Francis]

The wind was strong and in the right direction, ground on the plowed field was soft but open, and the moving through the grass had dried leaves covered with an inch or two of snow.  Slowly moving through the edge of the field and the high grass I kept several trees between myself and the buck.  At forty yards an old deadfall provided the needed cover to close the final distance to twelve yards.  At fifteen yards the buck became aware that something wasn’t right and stood up.  An arrow was knocked earlier in the stalk and at twenty yards I positioned the bow ready for a shot if the opportunity came.  As the buck stood I drew the bow, he started to run, I finished my draw and released, leading him a little.  The buck was running slower then I thought and the arrow caught him in the neck, passing completely through.  After the shot I realized the buck was running on three legs, the left rear leg flopping side to side as he ran.  After he disappeared in the brush I sat down on the old dead fall, let the adrenaline rush subside and replayed the last few minutes in my mind.

[Ted Fry]

And , And!

[Walt Francis]

First thing after making a shot on an animal, unless the animal is seen going down, I access where the arrow actually hit, being brutally honest with myself, then determine my next move based upon that.  I was sure the arrow hit the neck about eight to twelve inches below the head, but a little closer to the front side then is needed to cut the jugular.  After checking the arrow a wait of an hour seemed prudent so I planted my butt on the tree and waited.  After thirty minutes the butt was getting sore my brain extremely restless so I decided to backtrack the buck and see where he had come from and determine how the leg had been injured, if possible.  The buck had bedded down in four other places in seventy yards and his tracks led to the neighbors’ fence line, where I stopped trailing.  Having bedded four times within the last four hours and blood in each beds, but none along the tracks, I concluded he had been hit hard in the rear leg, most likely with a shotgun slug and whoever shot it had lost the trail.  Five beds within seventy yards and as slow as he had been running (even three legged) told me he had been hit hard and probably wasn’t going far.  Still there was a lingering doubt, so the butt was planted back on the deadfall tree to wait the remainder of the full hour.
Following the trail through the brush, across a small opening, and back into the brush was extremely easy, blood was on both sides of the trail.  After following the trail for a hundred yards I saw a couple of dozen miner birds darting through the bushes and was confident where he was and he was dead.  However, I continued following the blood trail that led to the birds and found the buck laying in the trail.  After determining he was dead I drug him out to the edge of the field for pictures, but the camera was in my truck.  After hiking back to the truck and driving back, pictures were taken; he was dressed, skinned, and quartered in the field using what I call the gutless method.  The buck had been hit in the left rear leg with buckshot which was like hamburger.  My arrow had hit a little higher and back of where I figured, nicking the jugular.  The miner birds didn’t waste any time, pecking at the hole in the throat, ruining the cape.

[Walt Francis]

To be honest, I didn’t get the real sense of satisfaction normally felt when taking an animal.  The process of taking pictures and cleaning was slow, on purpose, with the mixed hope the shotgun hunter was following the trail and would claim the deer.  I managed to make it last until almost dark without him showing up.  It may be hard for some to understand, but my feelings are mixed: I put the killing arrow into him, but in reality just finished the job somebody else started.  It really goes to the heart of why I choose to hunt with a selfbow most of the time; the journey most often is more important then the results.  Here are a couple of pictures of the buck with Hope.  

   

 

   

I have two doe tags left that are good through this afternoon then mountain lion season starts on the first, I think Hope and myself need to go for some long walks over the next couple of weeks.
I will keep everybody updated.

Walt Francis