Well, deer season opened for Tennessee yesterday morning. I missed out on the morning hunt, because I was busy packing for the afternoon!
The hunt club I'm a member of, has our land about 2¾ hours drive from my house. So, I packed for an overnighter.
I arrived at the site at 2pm, set up my campsite & got into my hunting gear. I threw my stand on my back, a book & a few bottles of water in my pocket, (It's still in the 80's & the humidity is HIGH) grabbed my beautiful Morrison Cheyenne & headed out for the trees.
I had a pretty good idea of where I needed to be after having an afternoon in a nearby tree last year & seeing good sign. I had a small hill to my right, a gravel road 20 yards to my left & beyond that a small backwater. The wind was coming nicely down the hill & hooking around to blow in my face (according to the Thermacell smoke)
After an hour or so, I began to figure out that I was probably in the stand a bit early (I live in the Central timezone, the club is Eastern :rolleyes: ) so I dug into the Den of the Old Bowhunter for some inspiration from Chester Stevenson.
.
.
.
Time passes.
.
.
.
More time passes.
.
.
.
Sitting there in a slight downpour I started to hear movement up the hill. Sqirrels.
Finally the rain gave it up & the woods began to spring to life. I catch sight of movement. A flash, nothing more. I started to twist & gyrate, trying to see through the trees in the failing light. I catch a glimpse of a leg & my attention focuses instantly on that spot. I'm so intent on seeing te rest of the deer in tat tiny gap, 40 yards away, that I completely fail to see the doe walking calmly towards me. Finally my brain kicks in & I see the deer. I'm already on full alert now, bow in hand, vibrating like I'm on a caffeine high. Ever so slowly I bring my right hand to the string & locate the nock & begin to rotate towards my quarry. She stops. Facing me. Drops her head & starts to pick up the few White Oak acorns she can find. She turns away & I put tension to the 63# carbon & foam, diamond back-backed limbs. A step to her left. Feeding. Another step left & she's quartering away by a couple of degrees, my bow is up, heavily canted to avoid the bar around my climber, the arrow is suddenly not there & the deer is running away. Did I miss? I know I bent at the waist. I think I hit my anchor. I don't think I 'peeked' Can I see my arrow in the dirt? No. Hmm. Where'd it go then? I must've hit it. I hit it.
I.
.
Hit.
.
That.
.
Deer.
I HIT THE DEER!! IHITTHEDEERIHITTHEDEERIHITTHEDEEEEER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, now the shakes kick in, big time. I struggle to remember how to sit down & try & compose myself. I try & remember where she was when I shot & where she ran to. OK, think I've got it now. Slowly, slowly down the tree I go (Terrified & shaking ever step of the way) to take up the trail. I can't see any blood in this light & my headlight is in the truck, dammit. No problem, I'll go to the last place I saw her & flag the spot before I go get it. I pace off 12 yards from my tree to where she stood. 12 yards, cool! 22 more yards to where I remember seeing her run. Oooh, there's my arrow. It's got all red on the end & the bleeder's missing from the big Magnus four blade head. Cool!
Ok, she went thattaway, over a small rise. Go on Rob, take a peek. There she lay. At rest, at the base of a small tree & very, very dead.
A quick peek at the wound tells me that I passed high through her right lung, through the middle of her left & smashed holy hell out of her left shoulder, leaving a small exit wound & lots of splintered bone.
Now the frantic texting & phone calls to everyone I've ever met or heard of to let 'em all know that I've just got my first deer with a bow!
Quick Robbie, grab the camera......****, ****, ****ing ****, it's at home, 2¾ hours away.
So, I don't have any 'Before' photos & no 'hero' shots. But I do have these.......
Hope this isn't too rambling for ya! :D
Topic: TN opener success! (Read 1311 times)
