Post by Scottyluck on Sept 22, 2006 15:59:03 GMT -5
Well one of my goals this season was to take an animal and not have a long story to go with it.
So much for that...at least this time.
Yesterday was one of the coolest days, temperature-wise, of this late summer with temps in the low 40's and highs in the mid 60's. I was itching to get out so after work I headed out.
As soon as I got into my stand at 4:15pm it seems the stresses of the week just ran right out of my body. I instantly releaxed.
It was short lived.
At 6:30 I had my first deer sighting. A doe was feeding away from me about 45yds to my left. I watched her walk away and thought nothing of it. About 15min later I hear footsteps to my left and behind me. I slowly turn to see a doe meandering around eating and grooming. She was headed straight for a shooting lane about 20yds to my left.
No problem.
As she entered the lane she stopped to feed. I was already at full draw for about a minute wating for her to get there. I was very relaxed and kept talking to myself, 'couple more steps', 'smooth release', follow through', 'pick your spot'.
The weird thing is I never do this! I was just that relaxed.
She stopped in my lane and I released. The shot looked excellent...with one problem.
I got horrible penetration! As she ran I could see the arrow sticking out and I saw her kick it out. It didn't look like I was too far forward to get a shoulder blade or even high enough for that matter. Either way there was no exit hole so I was sure a rough tracking job was in store for us.
So I call my brother, climb down and head over to the area where I hit her and look for blood and my arrow and find neither. At this time it's about dark so I decide to wait for my brother to meet me before I go any further.
I was waiting for John on a trail that I know the doe crossed so I walked up and down it a bit and looked for blood. I found some and saw where she crossed the trail.
John shows up and we start on the trail. It's VERY spotty. Some spots with real good drops and splats, other spots where there's just a pin head size drop. To make matters worse she wandered through a bunch of fern patches.
What a PITA it is trying to track a spase blood trail through that stuff!!!
We're also finding trees splattered with blood about waist high. We take this as a VERY good sign thinking she's blowing out here mouth and that I got both lungs.
After about 80-90yds of tracking this stuff we decide to stop and back out thinking we followed this too long for it to be a dbl lunger.
We head back to my house and wait for about an hour or so. In the mean time I cal Vonotto just to put him and his dog on stand by for the morning if we need him.
By the time we head back out it's been about 2 1/2hrs since I hit her. We take up the trail where we left off and follow it to about 40yds from the road. Now I'm figuring she crossed and we're gonna need the dog when I shine the light down the trail and there she is! She was about 30yds from crossing the raod onto a wildlife sanctuary!!
Here's the kicker:
We walked RIGHT BY HER on the way back to pick up her trail!!!
She was dead on the left side of the trail we walked in on!
Kicker # 2: The dam coyotes had already started chewing her up. She had a big chunk taken out of her backstrap, a puncture in her left ham and her butthole was just starting to get chewed up. We must've scared the dogs away as we walked in.
Here's the costly part. I lost my digital camera!
I have no idea where it went. We took the pics of everything, I put it away and that's the last I saw of it. I've been back to the woods 3 times looking for it. I'm about to tear into my house to see if it's here.
On a side note, I am incredibly upset with the Montecs. After studing the hit there was no contact with any bone other than a rib. I found the fletching half of the arrow this afternoon. It was broke at about the mid point of the Gold Tip logo. I never found the buisness end.
This head was razor sharp as well. I have smooth wrists to prove it.
I have no explanation for the bad penetration.
Anyway, here's a pic from my brother's cam.
She was a yearling doe that dressed at 80lbs.
So much for that...at least this time.
Yesterday was one of the coolest days, temperature-wise, of this late summer with temps in the low 40's and highs in the mid 60's. I was itching to get out so after work I headed out.
As soon as I got into my stand at 4:15pm it seems the stresses of the week just ran right out of my body. I instantly releaxed.
It was short lived.
At 6:30 I had my first deer sighting. A doe was feeding away from me about 45yds to my left. I watched her walk away and thought nothing of it. About 15min later I hear footsteps to my left and behind me. I slowly turn to see a doe meandering around eating and grooming. She was headed straight for a shooting lane about 20yds to my left.
No problem.
As she entered the lane she stopped to feed. I was already at full draw for about a minute wating for her to get there. I was very relaxed and kept talking to myself, 'couple more steps', 'smooth release', follow through', 'pick your spot'.
The weird thing is I never do this! I was just that relaxed.
She stopped in my lane and I released. The shot looked excellent...with one problem.
I got horrible penetration! As she ran I could see the arrow sticking out and I saw her kick it out. It didn't look like I was too far forward to get a shoulder blade or even high enough for that matter. Either way there was no exit hole so I was sure a rough tracking job was in store for us.
So I call my brother, climb down and head over to the area where I hit her and look for blood and my arrow and find neither. At this time it's about dark so I decide to wait for my brother to meet me before I go any further.
I was waiting for John on a trail that I know the doe crossed so I walked up and down it a bit and looked for blood. I found some and saw where she crossed the trail.
John shows up and we start on the trail. It's VERY spotty. Some spots with real good drops and splats, other spots where there's just a pin head size drop. To make matters worse she wandered through a bunch of fern patches.
What a PITA it is trying to track a spase blood trail through that stuff!!!
We're also finding trees splattered with blood about waist high. We take this as a VERY good sign thinking she's blowing out here mouth and that I got both lungs.
After about 80-90yds of tracking this stuff we decide to stop and back out thinking we followed this too long for it to be a dbl lunger.
We head back to my house and wait for about an hour or so. In the mean time I cal Vonotto just to put him and his dog on stand by for the morning if we need him.
By the time we head back out it's been about 2 1/2hrs since I hit her. We take up the trail where we left off and follow it to about 40yds from the road. Now I'm figuring she crossed and we're gonna need the dog when I shine the light down the trail and there she is! She was about 30yds from crossing the raod onto a wildlife sanctuary!!
Here's the kicker:
We walked RIGHT BY HER on the way back to pick up her trail!!!
She was dead on the left side of the trail we walked in on!
Kicker # 2: The dam coyotes had already started chewing her up. She had a big chunk taken out of her backstrap, a puncture in her left ham and her butthole was just starting to get chewed up. We must've scared the dogs away as we walked in.
Here's the costly part. I lost my digital camera!
I have no idea where it went. We took the pics of everything, I put it away and that's the last I saw of it. I've been back to the woods 3 times looking for it. I'm about to tear into my house to see if it's here.
On a side note, I am incredibly upset with the Montecs. After studing the hit there was no contact with any bone other than a rib. I found the fletching half of the arrow this afternoon. It was broke at about the mid point of the Gold Tip logo. I never found the buisness end.
This head was razor sharp as well. I have smooth wrists to prove it.
I have no explanation for the bad penetration.
Anyway, here's a pic from my brother's cam.
She was a yearling doe that dressed at 80lbs.
I thought the Ottomiester was going to go into action 
;D
;D ;D