No matter how you cut it, 5 years is a long time between whitetails and I mean any deer. It hasn't been for the lack of trying but for those of us who hunt NH where deer density is low, the woods are big, and there's an almost total lack of agricultural crops it takes a step of faith to go to the woods."Hope springs eternal in the hearts of men" as the saying goes so...
A red oak flat near my home revealed some deer activity around a couple of producing trees so I put up my pop-up blind on the down wind edge, cleared a path in the second growth and leaves to allow quiet access, and settled in to wait on a still, tomb quiet September evening...
At sundown a large doe stepped out of the thick stuff and paused broadside 20 yards away. It was too far a shot for me out of a blind so I watched her meander and feed til she was out of sight. She appeared to feed down an old skidder trail which intersected my approach path to the blind. Familiar disappointment was settling in but with the wind direction favorable and a path cleared through the duff I thought to try a stalk. Nothing ventured, nothing won...
Out of the blind, I eased down the path, arrow on the string trying to see my quarry before she saw me - fat chance! She saw me and blew and lept a couple of times into the timber where she stood and stomped. We've all been there, right? I was in the shadows, kneeling and gave a couple light bleats. She took a couple steps toward me not quite sure what she had seen. Fortunately, the wind hadn't betrayed me. She took a couple more steps toward me. Hmmmm....
With light failing, I moved toward her and knelt again and bleated. And again. She seemed to be relaxing more but kept staring. After one move toward her, I picked up an acorn and loudly crunched it in my teeth. That move seemed to be the convincer. She wagged her tail and sniffed around for her own acorn which allowed me one more move in her direction which put me at 18 yards from the skidder trail. The doe moved broadside in her search for nuts and paused to look my way. I was already drawn and released the arrow which, in the fading day, appeared to take her low in the heart and lungs but I heard a disturbing metallic "chink" sound. She bounded away, tail up out of sight and hearing. Had what I heard been the sound of my arrow passing low and into the granite laden NH soil? Unsure, with questions in mind, I backed out to search in the morning...
Of course, it rained steadily all night long.
The next day, my wife Deb came out to help in the grid search I was sure would be necessary. Where the deer had stood I found the broken back end of my arrow with about 3" missing and about 10" of blood sign on the shaft. I hadn't hit low after all. Our extensive search proved fruitless until we looked back along the doe's approach path from the evening before. She had returned to the area she had previously determined to be "safe". Never have I felt so elated and thankful to find the object of the search. Ironically, her 100 yard run ended under an oak containing my tree stand...
The night's rain would prove to be a moot point as the high double lung hit would have allowed little blood to reach the ground. My broadhead fractionally missed the near scapula on entry, split the near rib as well as the off-side rib, and remember the metallic "chink" I heard? The off side scapula was completely penetrated too...
I shot my Big Jim Thunderchild LB on the hunt pushing a GT Trad carbon shaft and a SB No Mercy broadhead, 585 grains in weight which yields a footnote...
Like many, I've followed with interest the Ashby studies on heavy bone penetration and arrow/broadhead combinations. Not stir up debate because I'm totally on board with those who say a scalpel sharp broadhead in the right place (accuracy) is paramount but WHAT IF the archer is off in the shot, the animal moves, or that unseen twig deflects to make a hit less than perfect...
With that in mind, I think I'll move up in total arrow weight and FOC because WHAT IF I'ld hit the near shoulder blade too!
Thanks for letting me share. My friend Bill Carlsen is helping me out with this, my first ever post, by posting a couple photos as I'm definitely e-challenged.
Topic: 5 Year Wait (Read 798 times)
