Tonight was an awesome night in the stand. I saw around 22 does and 6 different bucks in total. I arrived at my stand kind of late after getting off work. I scared three yearlings away when I was walking in. Not too long after I had gotten ready I heard grunting and deer running around in the strip of timber below me. Soon after a doe, two yearlings, and a real nice 8 point came out into the field about 80 yards away. The buck was following the doe around and chasing a little. Then another smaller buck came from a little piece of timber to the north and was trying to steal the doe away from the bigger buck. The big guy quickly ran him off.
I heard foot steps behind me and this deer was 15 yards away. I couldn't shoot since he was still on the land next to the land I was hunting. He jumped the fence but stayed behind some thick cover as he worked his way away from me.
The bigger buck was still out in the field so I tried grunting at him. He looked my way but didn't show much interest. I decided to snort wheeze at him then followed up with a series of loud and long grunts. He was coming now. I was all ready for him. He got to about 40 yards when the fed ex guy came down the driveway that is 80 yards to the north of my stand. The deer took off into the timber...
It was getting about to the end of shooting light when I heard more running and grunting. A doe ran out from the timber right in front of me. She was followed by a spike and then this buck was back. I bleated at him with my mouth a few times to stop him. He was about 25 yards away. I didn't quite pick a spot like I knew I was supposed to. I was looking at his whole front shoulder. I don't remember drawing or releasing, just the fletchings sticking out as he ran off. The height was right on for a heart shot, but a looked a little too far forward. He was running with his head down as he when over the a hill headed towards the timber.
As I stood there in the stand shaking and wondering about the shot when another decent sized buck ran a doe to 15 yards in front of me. They stopped there and fed on clover for a while before I decided to climb down.
I found my arrow five yards from where I hit him. Four inches of the shaft was broke off and there was 8 inches of blood on the rest of the arrow. I figured I got a foot of penetration so I couldn't have been way too far forward. I followed the trail for a bit and found good blood.
I decided to head back to the house for a while to give him some time. I waited about an hour and a half and headed back out. I picked up the trail again and there was tons of blood. After about 15 yards I shined my light ahead and saw my buck laying at the bottom of the hill. He went about 40 yards from where I hit him.
I noticed he had a big swollen wound on the right side of his jaw. Not sure what happened to him there. Must have been a fighter. I checked his teeth because he looked like an older deer. He his were ground down quite a bit.
I hit him just in front of the shoulder and angled back a bit through the off side shoulder. While field dressing him I saw that I hit right where the arteries connect to the heart.
I was shooting my new dwyer defiant longbow. Pulling 58 pounds at 29 inches. I was using a carbon express heritage 150 shaft, 50 grain brass insert, and a 175 grain simmons tigershark broadhead.
Now I'm going to try to fill my doe tag with a primitive arrow tipped with a obsidian point.
Topic: Got it done tonight! (Read 818 times)
