I no sooner got ready to shoot and the buck turned broadside and immediately started walking up the hill away from me. This was the same exact location I shot a buck from this stand with my self bow five years ago, and he was now behind the same little pine tree I shot threw to get that buck. As he stood there for a second I drew down and shot. This time the arrow found a branch, and either went under the deer or over but when I retrieved the arrow latter, it was laying on top of the ground only two yrds past where the buck had been standing. Usually that means the arrow bounced off the deers belly, but at any rate, the buck jumped ahead a few yrds and was now standing broadside again with his head behind a tree. I reached back quickly and grabbed the second arrow I had resting across two limbs. I got positioned for the second shot, just as the buck walked forward in front of my stand. I paused for a second wanting him to stop. The clear spot in front of the stand is blocked partially by a small tree and he would be behind it in two more steps- I had to get on him quick or not at all. With the deer now blocking his shoulder area behind the tree, I pulled back and stared at the area four inches behind his front leg. In a flash the arrow was in flight as I watched it bury to the end of the fletch. The shot looked good, yet doubt entered my mind. The buck ran straight ahead along the side of the hill and out of sight.Hearing no crash or thrash, I waited half an hour and then slipped down the tree and quietly inspected the area 18 yrds in front of the stand. No blood or arrow at the shot sight, so I walked over and picked up my other arrow and headed home down the hill.
I gave it an hour before returning to hopefully find the young buck. I took a drag rope and flashlight. The bow would do me no good if the buck where alive. I was however fairly confident I would find him motionless. I picked up the blood trail ten yrds past the shot sight, and found the four shaft of my arrow just past that. I found a little lung matter on the shaft, but mostly dark red blood. The blood on the ground was dark with no indication of a lung hit, yet the yellowish splotch on the arrow was telling me I at least hit a part of one lung. The blood trail never got heavy, but the coagulated red blood said liver the further I went. This deer was dead- I was confident of a good hit. Know all I had to do was find the deer!
I trailed the deer for another forty yrds and found him dead indeed. He hadn't gone more than 70 or 80 yrds before expiring. I knelled down and thanked the buck for his life and the good lord for bringing him to me. It was Fall in all it's glory. A special tree, a special land, a special time, a worthy quarry, and very special feeling.
Topic: Good luck NY bowhunters (Read 32575 times)
