Post by tedicast on Sept 30, 2006 20:23:09 GMT -5
Today started off awesome. I woke up at 3:45 to 37 degrees...GOTTA LOVE IT!!! 
I got out of my truck, for the long hike into Paugussett S.F. at 4:45, and was settled in my stand at 5:30, exactly as I planned. How often does that happen? I was positive I would see deer today. It was cold, with barely any breeze at all. By 10 am I was disappointed. I hadn't seen a deer, but the squirrels were in overdrive today! I decided I was gonna sit in the stand all day.
At 10:50 I hear something behind me. I'm positive it's one of the squirrels, but I look anyway. DEER!!! ...and it's heading right for one of my lanes.I grab my bow from the EZ hanger and start to draw, when I see it is a 7", or 8" spike. I let down, and put the bow in my lap, and watch the deer for a few minutes. Now he is right under me, and behind me. As I'm twisted around watching him, I see him snap his head back the way he came. I know from his body language that there is another deer. Hoping it is a bigger buck, I slowly turn to look. sure enough, it's a deer. It's a doe, and she is headed right for another lane. I hook on my release, and come to full draw. I have about a 3' opening. She hits the opening and stops. I release.
THWACKKKK!!!!...SHOULDER...CRAP!!!! I hit her forward of where I had my pin. At impact, she lets out a roar, that I have never heard from a deer, Sounded like a bear roaring. I knew I hit her hard, and looked to have good penetration. About 20 yards or so from the hit, I hear my arrow break off. I sit back down, and run through everything again. It was a 16 yard shot. How did I hit so far forward!!!
I was in an awkward position when I drew my bow, and I really struggled coming to full draw. It felt like the bow was 4 inched too long for me. Sitting here now, the position I was in had my right shoulder was way forward. I was afraid to move because the buck was right under me. Looking back I should have let down, and not taken the shot. That was my first mistake of the day. You know what they say about hindsight.
I call Scott, and tell him I hit a doe. That I hit her hard, but it is gonna be a rough tracking job. He gets to my stand at 12:15, and I climb down. We gave her almost an hour and a half. We are thinking his is plenty of time. I go to where she was standing, and there is no blood or anything. About 15 yards into the track, we find first blood. A few small drops, and what appears to be lung matter. A few more feet, and there is my arrow with about 8 inches broken off, and another 4 inches of penetration on the broken shaft. A little ways from there, there is real good blood. I'm pumped, and celebrating a dead deer. That was my second mistake of the day.
We follow the pretty sparse blood trail for about 100 yards or so, and we lose it. We start walking circles looking for blood. I don't see blood well, so this is mainly on Scott. I'm at the last blood, on my hands and knees, searching for blood. Scott finds blood again about 45 minutes laster, and we follow it for about 40 yards, and it ends. Again, I'm crawling looking for blood, and Scott is walking deer trails looking. About an hour, or an hour and 15 minutes later, Scott calls me on the cell, that he found good blood again. He is at least 1/4 mile away fro me. I get to him, and there is real good bright red blood again. We follow it for about 300, or 400 yards, and it just ends. We look for close to an hour again, and never find anything. We start back trailing the blood trail, and find a short parallel blood trail. She doubled back. Now, we don't know which trail is coming, and which is going. We follow the blood trail back to where Scott picked it up, and start following it backwards, only to lose it in a Mountain Laurel Thicket.
This area we are in, is a rugged river valley. Lot of Laurel, and dead falls, Hemlocks that are dying, and a big area of hardwoods the was selective cut about 8 years ago, and is incredibly thick. At this point, it starts to rain a little. It is closing in on 6 o'clock. We have been looking for 5 1/2 hours, and we are at a dead end. We go back to get my arrow, and my scent bag with the clothes I wore in this morning. I'm about ready to sit and cry. Losing a deer does not sit well with me. From the spot I hit this deer. to the farthest blood, had to be close to 3/4 of a mile. We did all we could for one day.
With 10 1/2" of penetration. even through the shoulder, I'm positive I should have gotten both lungs. Obviously I didn't. All I can think is that she was quartering away more then I realized, and I got the right side lung, and missed forward of the left side lung.
I have to give special thanks to Scott. He absolutely amazed me with his blood trailing tonight. I'm seriously thinking he is part bloodhound!! I appreciate what you did for me today more then you know Bro. I would have been screwed after the first time the blood ended.
I'm gonna go cry in my beer now!
I got out of my truck, for the long hike into Paugussett S.F. at 4:45, and was settled in my stand at 5:30, exactly as I planned. How often does that happen? I was positive I would see deer today. It was cold, with barely any breeze at all. By 10 am I was disappointed. I hadn't seen a deer, but the squirrels were in overdrive today! I decided I was gonna sit in the stand all day. At 10:50 I hear something behind me. I'm positive it's one of the squirrels, but I look anyway. DEER!!! ...and it's heading right for one of my lanes.I grab my bow from the EZ hanger and start to draw, when I see it is a 7", or 8" spike. I let down, and put the bow in my lap, and watch the deer for a few minutes. Now he is right under me, and behind me. As I'm twisted around watching him, I see him snap his head back the way he came. I know from his body language that there is another deer. Hoping it is a bigger buck, I slowly turn to look. sure enough, it's a deer. It's a doe, and she is headed right for another lane. I hook on my release, and come to full draw. I have about a 3' opening. She hits the opening and stops. I release.
THWACKKKK!!!!...SHOULDER...CRAP!!!! I hit her forward of where I had my pin. At impact, she lets out a roar, that I have never heard from a deer, Sounded like a bear roaring. I knew I hit her hard, and looked to have good penetration. About 20 yards or so from the hit, I hear my arrow break off. I sit back down, and run through everything again. It was a 16 yard shot. How did I hit so far forward!!!
I was in an awkward position when I drew my bow, and I really struggled coming to full draw. It felt like the bow was 4 inched too long for me. Sitting here now, the position I was in had my right shoulder was way forward. I was afraid to move because the buck was right under me. Looking back I should have let down, and not taken the shot. That was my first mistake of the day. You know what they say about hindsight.
I call Scott, and tell him I hit a doe. That I hit her hard, but it is gonna be a rough tracking job. He gets to my stand at 12:15, and I climb down. We gave her almost an hour and a half. We are thinking his is plenty of time. I go to where she was standing, and there is no blood or anything. About 15 yards into the track, we find first blood. A few small drops, and what appears to be lung matter. A few more feet, and there is my arrow with about 8 inches broken off, and another 4 inches of penetration on the broken shaft. A little ways from there, there is real good blood. I'm pumped, and celebrating a dead deer. That was my second mistake of the day.
We follow the pretty sparse blood trail for about 100 yards or so, and we lose it. We start walking circles looking for blood. I don't see blood well, so this is mainly on Scott. I'm at the last blood, on my hands and knees, searching for blood. Scott finds blood again about 45 minutes laster, and we follow it for about 40 yards, and it ends. Again, I'm crawling looking for blood, and Scott is walking deer trails looking. About an hour, or an hour and 15 minutes later, Scott calls me on the cell, that he found good blood again. He is at least 1/4 mile away fro me. I get to him, and there is real good bright red blood again. We follow it for about 300, or 400 yards, and it just ends. We look for close to an hour again, and never find anything. We start back trailing the blood trail, and find a short parallel blood trail. She doubled back. Now, we don't know which trail is coming, and which is going. We follow the blood trail back to where Scott picked it up, and start following it backwards, only to lose it in a Mountain Laurel Thicket.
This area we are in, is a rugged river valley. Lot of Laurel, and dead falls, Hemlocks that are dying, and a big area of hardwoods the was selective cut about 8 years ago, and is incredibly thick. At this point, it starts to rain a little. It is closing in on 6 o'clock. We have been looking for 5 1/2 hours, and we are at a dead end. We go back to get my arrow, and my scent bag with the clothes I wore in this morning. I'm about ready to sit and cry. Losing a deer does not sit well with me. From the spot I hit this deer. to the farthest blood, had to be close to 3/4 of a mile. We did all we could for one day.
With 10 1/2" of penetration. even through the shoulder, I'm positive I should have gotten both lungs. Obviously I didn't. All I can think is that she was quartering away more then I realized, and I got the right side lung, and missed forward of the left side lung.
I have to give special thanks to Scott. He absolutely amazed me with his blood trailing tonight. I'm seriously thinking he is part bloodhound!! I appreciate what you did for me today more then you know Bro. I would have been screwed after the first time the blood ended.
I'm gonna go cry in my beer now!
amn I am soory for your loss John, keep lookin I went thru this with you on my buck. I wish you the best. I am off to go out hunting myself right now. 
