This year is my first year going trad. I've owned a $5.00 garage sale Shakespeare recurve for some time but never really shot it a whole bunch. My groups were more of a cluster, my arrows way overspined, and my body not able to get used to a good shot sequence having shot the bow only once a week or so. This year, after having a fair amount of meat in the freezer from last season compound and gun hunting I decided I'd try to take a deer with the recurve. I got a late start in regular practice starting shooting daily in early September, but with properly tuned arrows and my mind in the right place I felt good limiting my shots to around 10 yards by the second week of October.
The second week of October I had a shot at a 6 point at the Edmore SGA and whiffed. The buck approached head on, loosely following a ridge above a creek. I thought he was going to go to my left which would have been great for a right handed shooter like myself, but he faked me out and went right. I turned my body around as much as I could while limiting my motion. I drew and waited for him to clear a tree at 10 yards and let the arrow loose. I watched the arrow sail right over the bucks back and the buck trotted off a short distance after not knowing what had happened. Lesson learned... I failed to pick a spot and focus, and naturally I aimed big and missed big. None the less I was hooked on this trad thing.
Shortly ofter my close encounter of the traditional kind, and a new found love for bowhunting I found myself looking at some recurves at Black Dog Outfitters and after receiving a kitchen pass from my wife I went home with a new 50th anniversary 50# Kodiak Mag. To me she just screamed sexy. Grayling green limbs, Bubinga riser accented with white glass, and layered white glass tips... What's not to like?
The week before gun season I was sitting on a small patch of private property about 10 feet off the ground in a tree stand overlooking a swamp edge. As the evening approached I cought some movement in the swamp and before long I had a line of does slowly working towards me. As the first doe approached to my left I drew and shot. I don't know what exactly happened other then I again failed to focus and pick a spot, but somehow or another I missed a chip shot at 7 yards. My arrow burried into the soft muck and the does scattered and pinned me in my tree untill well after dark, stomping their feet and blowing at me. I began to get a bit frustrated with myself and my inability to keep my nerves about me when opportunity arose at such a short distance. After the deer left the area I go out of my stand, grabbed my arrow and headed for home.
Fast forward to last night. I hadn't hunted an evening in the stand that I missed the doe on since that evening so I decided to give it another shot with a favorable south west wind. Again right at dark I heard some deer splashing through the swamp and spotted a deer coming right to me. A doe exited the swamp right to my left and I bleated to get her to stop. She did but stopped with a tree trunk covering her vitals. She moved off a few seconds later but I didn't have a shot opportunity as she passed diagonaly behind me into the woods. I heard another deer coming in not far behind her and heard grunting. I double checked my setup and readied myself again. A small buck exited the swamp right where to doe did and I again bleeted at full draw. The buck stopped broadside at 11 yards. I picked a spot just behind his shoulder and talked myself through the shot, focusing on back tension, halding my bow arm after the shot and a smooth sweeping release. Before I knew it the arrow had left my string and headed towards the buck. I though I saw the arrow hit just behind where I had aimed but the deer didn't act as though it had been hit. He trotted off with his tail down and out of sight along the thick swamp edge. I kicked myself wondering if I had missed again, after all that has been my MO so far this season. Another doe exited the swamp and I again bleeted at her to stop. She took off like a bat out of hell... perhaps she'd played that game before.
I waited a few minutes till shooting light dwindled and the first doe finally left the area. I went to check my arrow and found it sticking in the mud coated in nice light colored blood. Things were looking good but not being 100% sure about the shot from the deers reaction I decided to pack out for awhile and pick up a light source better than my ball cap light. A trip to Walmart was in order, more to force myself to give it some time than anything else, but also to pick up a roll of TP to mark the blood trail if things got iffy.
I returned about 1 1/2 hours after the shot, flashlight in hand and ready to do business. I found blood right at the point of impact but that was it. I followed the edge of the swamp where I had seen the buck trot off and still no blood. Finally, about 40 yards away from my stand I found the deer. The only 2 spots that had blood were at the shot and in the spot the deer had fallen.
After field dressing I inspected the entrance and exit wounds from the inside. The arrow had entered a little farther back than I wanted but still pretty good. The Magnus had entered between the ribs and exited between the ribs without any bone contact which may be why the deer didn't take off on a dead sprint. He must have felt more spooked than shock. I had a simalar experience shooting a doe with a 2 blade broadhead years earlier where the deer jumped at the shot but then just stood there and fell over seconds later. Quick and painless without knowing what was going on. It doesn't get any better than that.
Unfortunately I don't have any field pics but here's a couple in the bed of my pickup.
Dan
Topic: First Trad Critter. (Read 772 times)
