I decided to hunt about eight of a mile down the ridge from where I killed a doe opening morning. I'd seen two does and some yrlings in the area yesterday morning.
7:15am two deer came up from behind and saw me as I turned around to look. One was a big bodied deer and couldn't tell about the other one. Couldn't see either's head. They ran off and blew all down in the bottom.
Bummed out about all the blowing I just decided to sit it out for a few more hrs. 8:15am I caught movement down below, towards the creek bottom. I thought it was a yling. was in the same area I saw the deer yesterday morning.
I got stood up and turned around, but couldn't see the deer again. Figured it dropped off down the steep ridge. Then I caught more movement and saw antlers. Looked like a small yrling. He was about 50yds feeding on some red oaks. He then started moving up my way and I saw he was a little better than I first thought.
He kept coming up my way and I got positioned and ready for a shot. He was coming up from behind me and I had turned as far around to my right as I could go and still have bottom limb clearance with my climber. He went behind a big red oak and I drew. When he came out he was a little farther than I expected and I had to squat down a little to get the arrow below some limbs. I knew if I didn't shoot then I'd probably spook him trying to turn all the way around on the stand and hope to get a good shot from the other side of the tree. He was angling towards me and would have probably been right on top of me and would have seen me making the move. So I squatted down a little, locked in, double checked my aim behind his knee and let her fly.
He whirled around and took off back down the ridge where he came from and I saw the arrow and it looked high, right under the spine and not good penatration. But I thought I saw him stumble as he crossed a drainage and then could barely make him out as he stopped about 60yds and it looked like he was faltering.
No matter I wasn't happy with what I'd seen and decided to give him an hr and ease in quiet, follow from where hit to the last sighting and go from there.
He was standing 18 steps from my tree and at about 25 steps I see my arrow on the ground. Broke off close to where broadhead should be, with blood about about 12 to 14" up the shaft. Don't look good as I see a couple real little specks of blood on the leaves. I follow the way he went and see a couple more specks and get to where I thought I saw him flounder and don't see anything..then take a couple more steps turn to my right and there he was.
Pretty decent 8pt., little nicer than I thought when I was watching him....I always think they are smaller racks than they turn out to be. I just don't concentrate on the horns when I see a buck.
I was way back in some rough, up and down country and it flat, almost killed me packing him out.I would try to make 50 steps before having to get the weight off my back and lay down to catch my breath and wait on chest pain to stop (health problems got to go to hospital this tues...had the procedure put off a wk to get to deer hunt first) Took me about 2-1/2hrs to go bout 3/4 mile.
To my surprise I hit him about 2-1/2" up from where the white behind his front leg stops. Found the Simmons Interceptor right inside the hide on far side. 64" 48lbs. Quinn Stallion.
Pictures not good. Started to take first picture and camera says dead battery. Took a couple out of my gps and they weren't the best either.