Hardly_Hangin
Well-Known Member
The last time i killed a deer with my bow was around 2018. Not that i havent been bow hunting since then, im just poor at it and we have a very generous gun season. I have missed 2. Yesterday, i missed one - misjudged yardage. Today, i finally connected - and lost her. She was perfectly broad side at 35 yards, and i hit her too far forward. My arrow got 7-8" of penetration and she carried it off. I was hunting a very small parcel of land, and she ran strait towards my truck. I made a big loop around hoping to avoid bumping her, but she ended up around 20 yards from where i parked and i spooked her.
I waited an hour, then went back and found first blood. It was very sparse, but i tracked all the way to where she was bedded and it was everywhere. None after that - blood had started to clot. I think it was artery blood.
Lesson 1- stay put. If i hadnt have jumped her she might have died right there at my truck.
Lesson 2 (this one keeps biting me) bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush. I was full draw on a yearling at 15 yards and heard another deer walking behind her. I hesitated and elected to see what the second deer was. The yearling caught my ground scent and boogied, leaving me a lesser odds shot on the doe i ended up shooting.
Such is bowhunting i guess.
I waited an hour, then went back and found first blood. It was very sparse, but i tracked all the way to where she was bedded and it was everywhere. None after that - blood had started to clot. I think it was artery blood.
Lesson 1- stay put. If i hadnt have jumped her she might have died right there at my truck.
Lesson 2 (this one keeps biting me) bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush. I was full draw on a yearling at 15 yards and heard another deer walking behind her. I hesitated and elected to see what the second deer was. The yearling caught my ground scent and boogied, leaving me a lesser odds shot on the doe i ended up shooting.
Such is bowhunting i guess.