Snuck out of work a little early today and got into a stand on our property overlooking a couple of oaks that are really dropping right now a little after 4. Bumped a deer walking in but decided to go ahead and sit anyways. The wind was totally wrong for any other stand on the property, including one that I've been playing hide and seek with a big 8 point out of for the last week.
About 5, 4 deer wander in and start hoovering up acorns. 2 grown fawns from this year and 2 mature does. One of the does turns broadside at about 12 yards or so. I don't remember drawing but I saw the arrow hit, right where I was looking, but I heard a loud CRACK and as the doe runs I can see most all of the arrow flopping around behind her shoulder. Not good!
I follow her run and shortly after I hear a loud crash. Now I'm thinking, OK, the arrow made it through to the goodies and hit something causing it to bounce back out. I've had that happen on big hogs before but not on deer.
I get down and start sneaking in the direction I watched her run. I almost immediately start finding blood. LOTS of blood! Blood on the ground, blood on the palmettos, shoulder high. I follow the trail for about 200 feet to the bank of a small creek and the blood just stops. I start circling and I'm not finding anything. I'm losing light and decide to run to the house and get Domino,our border collie mix that has found critters for me before.
I lead Domino to the last blood and he is off. Drug me through the creek and under the neighbors fence. I had already been over there and not found anything so I was not convinced. I should have been. In 50 feet I start seeing blood again and another 50 feet we find the doe piled up in a thick clump of palmettos.
Now this is the really crazy thing. The entrance wound looked like somebody threw an axe through this deer. The arrow deflected off a rib apparently.Traveled under the shoulder blade. Never entered the chest cavity and cut an artery in the does neck but never broke the skin in the neck!
The deer was broadside at the shot and if she spun, I sure didn't see it!
I'd rather be lucky than good any day! Unreal!
Just above my fingertips you can see where the broadhead cut into the artery
And the star of the show. Domino with a deer he found a couple of years ago. Might have been his first. Not sure
JK traditions Kanati
43@28
640 grain carbon with a 135 gr tigershark on the pointy end