This might seem a bit "all over the map", and I guarantee it will be a long story, so thanks in advance for bearing with me. I am writing this more for my own therapy than anything because I have been having a VERY crappy season. I took my first recurve deer, a doe, 4 years ago. 2 years ago I dedicated myself to strictly hunting with a recurve for bow season in search of my second recurve deer hoping for a buck, and have been riding the roller coaster ever since. My season so far has been a series of challenges and struggles. My freezer is empty, and not even plugged in.
I got an opportunity to hunt some private land out in southeast Ohio with free accommodations, so I took my vacation starting this past Saturday. I hunted Saturday morning at a farm (we will call it "Jason's" from here on out) in Howard county (MD). I've been hunting this place for years. Sat until about 11:00AM. Probably could have shot a doe or two, but with the rut kicking in hard here and me leaving for Ohio early Monday AM, I let them walk.
Packed on Sunday and loaded the truck. At 4:45AM on Monday was on the road to Ohio. Drove out to pick up an old friend who lives 2 hours away, which is on the way, and we loaded up in his truck up for the additional 4 1/2 hour trip to Morgan county Ohio.
Here is where I will not bore you with details. Bottom line is, we walked about every inch of the 70+ acres we had available and saw ZERO sign. ZERO! 2 old dried up fawn tracks and that was it. SQUAT! No droppings, NO rubs, NO scrapes, NOTHING! At 3:00PM Monday afternoon, I opened an adult beverage and we decided to roll back home on Tuesday morning since the Maryland rut was beginning to be on fire. What a complete disappointment.
Tuesday we were on the road, and after I get home I get ready to hunt Jason's Wednesday and for the rest of my vacation.
Wednesday, in my stand at Jason's. Action right off the bat. My Black Widow TFB at the ready. Deer everywhere. Watch a small six come in, work on a scrape, work his way over to the other side of a tree about 6 yards in front of me and start to make a scrape there. Branches in the way. I am twisted hard to my right, but I see a window I can squeeze one through (you guys know..."that window"...the window of "I can make that"...). I draw, note the branches, and watched the penetration of that Bear razorhead as it buried itself right into the ground after flying right over his back. Clean miss. I just shake my head. No more shot opportunities the rest of the day. Plenty of deer and they wanted to use the corner I was in, but the wind was wrong and kept them distanced.
Today (Thursday), I get up, ready to hit that stand again but it was supposed to rain. Normally I would not hunt in the rain, but during the rut, all bets are off. No rain when I get up, and forecast says "may rain later today" and the Widow launches itself into my hand and says "Lets go!".
Real foggy out, calm and peaceful. It would slowly lift as the morning progressed. Just a few minutes after dawn, I hear grunting in the fog in front of me. Again...again....more....more...closer. I have never been more ready. We have several nice bucks on camera, and more frequently lately. I am watching 4 active scrapes, 2 of them in my shot windows. Barely making out a shape in the fog, I see the source of the grunts. Can't tell which one he is, but I am guessing he is going to work his way downwind of his handy work to check them out. The one directly in front of me that I left my "mark" in yesterday, has been freshened up overnight. He comes across a well worn trail, turns away from me, and goes out of sight. I reach around for my grunt call, hit it a few times, and put it away.
Nothing.
After a few minutes, I figure he is gone, and settle back in to relax. What a peaceful morning. A few minutes after that, I hear another grunt. Look to my left, and here he comes. Out of the fog, I can clearly see that this a the skinny tall racked 8 point that I have seen, and is by no means camera shy. He comes in to my left, just out of range. He stops, checks the wind for what seems forever, stares me down and I figure I'm busted. Dang! I didn't move a muscle. Then he eases up, and walks into the woodline behind me. He has a little tiny spiker following him around, and that little sucker gives me a clear shot for about 5 minutes. No way I'm dropping the string on that doinker while the 8 is around. I laughed.
I ease my head around and locate the 8 by of all things, his eye patches. Good, he is still there. Guessing he might come in to his scrape right underneath me. That would be perfect, because if he did that and checked his scrape, it'd be "money". The little spiker starts to move back out and now I figure that little sucker has winded me. Then I see that it is the 8 coming back out and pushing him. He gets to the field edge, and low and behold, turns to walk right into my shooting window. Blessed be! I am finally gonna' pull this off after years of trying to get a nice one here with my recurve. He stops broadside at 20 yards! I already have the Widow drawn and anchored. Just as I release, he spins and the arrow hits him with a loud "CRACK"....RIGHT IN THE AR$E!
Well...let me tell you...I made up some new profanity right then and there. I almost threw my bow against the tall cedar in front of me (its a Widow, it probably would have taken it). I stared in disbelief as it looked like this buck would be sporting a nicely decorated footed cedar around in his bum for the holidays.
I watched him go to the top of the hill and into the fog. I could still see the little deer around, and I was trying to make out what I thought was the figure of the 8 pointer. It almost looked like he was standing there and was hunching, or was it my mind playing tricks on me in the fog?
I sat there. Completely dejected. Wondering why I even do this. I literally looked up to the sky and prayed that I hit the femoral artery in this train wreck of slow motion events.
I text Rich (Droptine59) what is happening, and we send a few back and forth. He gives good advice as usual, and I wasn't planning on going anywhere. I just decide to sit in stand and enjoy the rest of the morning. Not sure if maybe I caught an artery or not, or got penetration into the guts, who knows?
About an hour later, I see the spiker coming up the hill, headed to the last spot I saw this buck. Hmmmmm...wonder if he bedded down? The fog is still lifting and not totally cleared and the spike spent a good 10 minutes there, and now I am beginning to wonder if maybe I did hit an artery and he laid down and died there?
Another buck comes in in front of me, and the spiker goes over to check him out. As the spike walks over, I see my 8 point get up out of the middle of the field, and start making his way down into the woods and enter it about 100 yards to my left. He is moving slow, and hobbling REALLY bad. Definitely looks like I may have broken that right rear leg. He was not using it on his exit when I hit him, so this may confirm. I settle back in and sit.
A few minutes after he enters the wood line and I lose sight of him, I hear a hawk screaming, coming from the direction he went. I watch as the hawk flies over, high and to the west. I lose it behind the tree canopy in front of me, and never see it again. I hoped maybe that hawk carried his spirit away.
I wait another 40 minutes. I get down to move out, and want to find first blood. I go to where I believe I hit him (everything looks different from the ground in a field of grass with no distinguishable landmarks). I piddle around, and I actually find my arrow. Dang? I thought he took it with him. An experience all too familiar with me. About 5 or 6 inches of penetration, a bent razorhead, and some spatter on the shaft and fletchings. I can make out a pretty good trail and start to follow. I want to see where he bedded down. I find it, and it is covered with blood, as is the last 10 yards leading up to it. I start to look for blood from when he got up and I find a couple spots. May have clotted up already, I don't know. I think I see him bedded down inside the woods, so I back out.
I'll go back later with some binoculars, and hope it doesn't rain.
I'll keep you posted.
Topic: Perseverence and a gift from above (Read 454 times)
