"One of Those Days" can be a good thing or a bad thing. Yesterday, October 11th, 2013, was a good one for me!
I went to my lease not really expecting much, as I have not seen any good bucks at my place this year. On this morning, I decided to hunt an elevated enclosed blind we call the Taj Mahal. It is big and roomy and is only elevated about 6 feet so you can shoot over a fence about 10yds in front of the blind.
I got to the blind at about 5:45am, threw out a little hand throw corn, and climbed up in the blind. I got my bow all situated and began the hour and 20 minute wait till daylight. The moon was about 1/3 full and straight up above me.
I had not been sitting there 10 minutes when I look out the window and see a pig eating on my hand throw corn. I began too cuss the pig under my breath. How dare him come and eat up the corn I put out there for any possible deer that might wander through this morning?
Then I realize something.......I can see this pig really well. The moonlight was enough that I could see him plainly. I decided to try a shot. He finally moved in what I thought was a good position and I drew back and let the arrow fly. I could hear it hit and my string tracker line began peeling out as he ran off! The string tracker line kept on going and I was worried that maybe I had messed up on the shot. It finally stopped and all was quiet again. It was 6:03am and I had already shot a critter!
With still an hour to go till daylight, and not 100% sure on the hit on the pig, I decided to wait it out and see what else would happen.
At just after 7:00am, as it was getting light, I could see movement out in front of the blind. I was sure it was a deer, but could not tell anything about it. It was just a few more minutes though, as it got a bit lighter, I realized it was a buck, and a decent one too! I grabbed my bow, cut the string tracker line going to the pig, and rigged up another arrow.
It was now good light and I could see that this buck was a nice, heavy horned, 8 point. After studying him a bit, I decided that I would shoot him if given the chance.
I watched this deer for severral minutes when I caught some movement about 30yds out. Two more bucks were coming in. They did not look all that great so I kept my attention the 8. He just would not get in the right position for me to take a shot. The other two bucks eased in, and as they got closer, the buck I had been watching eased off into the brush!
Well, now my focus was on the new guests! As they neared I began to notice a bunch of points on one of them. He got up close and my heart started pounding as I realized he was an 11 point! Now I had a new focus! After just a few minutes, he picked his head up and swung it away from me. I drew back my Sarrels Blueridge longbow and let another arrow fly on this fine morning! The shot was right at 15yds.
WHACK! The arrow hit the deer hard and he took off with the string tracker peeling off line. At about 75yds out I felt something odd and knew the string had broke. I could still see the buck, but only for a few more yards as he disappeared into the brush.
Remember that I said that the pig from earlier had taken a lot of line out of the string tracker? Well, the odd feeling I had was the end of the line all stuck to the label of the string roll. The shot was a bit back from where I was looking, but still looked like a good hit!
I thanked the Lord for such a great morning, got out of the stand, and walked back to camp to give it a few minutes.I ate breakfast at camp, butonly made it about 30 minutes. I was eager to get my hands on this buck.
I decided to track the pig first. I found my arrow about 10yds from the shot with the string still attached. Nothing about the arrow made me think "Greta Shot", and I still had not seen any blood. But I did have the string to follow. I followed the string for about 75yds. I never saw a drop of blood the whole way, but my pig lay dead 75yds from where I had shot her. The reason so much string peeled out was because I got a pass through and the string went from my bow, to the pig, through the pig, and back to my arrow. She only went 75yds but ther had been 150yds of line !
This is my 122# sow. She was gracious and died about two yards from the road! Notice the tracker line; the white one is going in and the red one is coming out!
With the pig recovered, it was not time to turn my attention to finding the deer! I had blood on the ground within a few yards of the shot. It was not much, but easy to follow. I kept following it and it began to dwindle a bit. There was very little on the ground after about 40yds, but still a lot on the grass and brush. I kept following it and, after 100yds, began to get a bit worried! It was still there, though, and relatively easy to follow, so I kept at it. After 200yds, I was thinking about quitting and seeing if my friend in town could bring out his tracking dog.
Remember I said the hit was a little back, but still looked OK? Well, after 200yds of tracking I was beginning to doubt my shot, A LOT! I decided to keep going a little bit more. There was still hardly any blood on the ground, but it was easy to follow on the grass and brush. He cut through some brush and I was at the first place where I was having a hard time seeing the next blood. Just about then I spotted a good pool of blood about 8-10yds in front of me. As I neared that spot.......there he lay, dead, with my arrow still in him. Upon inspection, the hit was a "bit" farther back than I had thought. When I shot, I thought he was nearly broadside. He had raised his head and turned just his head and neck (his feet never moved) hard away from me. Either that changed the angle a bit or he jumped a little at the shot. The arrow ended up getting paunch going in, going through the liver and the offside lung, and lodging in the offside shoulder.
Here are a few pics of my 11 point buck!
October 11th, 2013 surely was "One of Those Days"!
Bisch
Topic: October 11th, 2013 - "One of Those Days" (Read 2770 times)
