i started hunting (bow only) mid season last year, and was able to connect with my first deer today, a doe which the guy i met at parking and helped me drag out said could be a year and a half, i was guessing yearling? she was 64 lbs dressed, so a smaller doe, but a trophy to me. so here's how the day went:
season started yesterday and i was itching to get out. I woke up early, and headed to a WSSC property a member on here recommended to me last year (thank you again!)- parked at the spot I’m familiar with (southeast corner) and headed in to a location I’d scouted a few weeks ago. Unfortunately I walked past the logging road accidentally and got a bit turned around for a while in the dark, so didn’t make it back to my spot util first light. Found good sign again, got up the tree with no issues, plenty of acorns and squirrels, but no deer. I had family obligations tonight so was supposed to be home by 3, decided to pack up and head out at 12:30 with the harebrained idea I’d see if I could spot and stalk on the way out (though as I thought of this I was simultaneously saying to myself that it’d be a disaster). I also didn’t have great service so my cell phone had completely died, used my compass to navigate out, but I didn’t see a thing the whole way out, until I got basically to the perimeter path, and then spotted a deer basically on the path (very close to the barrel feeder on private if you know this area). At this point I was all the way in the safety zone, and obviously wasn’t going to fire an arrow at this guy’s house, so I gathered some sticks and rocks while hiding behind some trees, and threw them behind/ over the deer to spook her back into the huntable area. It worked, but she met up with a spike buck right at the safety zone border, so now I had 2 sets of deer eyes looking for me. I bumped them I think 4 times after that, but they never ran more than 100 yards so I just kept and followed them around a circuitous route for 6-700 yards, until finally I was able to get up to about 30 yards, she was uphill from me (didn’t range, used the E-V!) and drew as I sidestepped out from behind the tree, lined her up, released, and THWOCK right through her and buried in the hill behind her. Finding the arrow was easy with the lighted nock and hill-stop, but there wasn’t much blood (spoiler: I hit her forward and a bit high, top of lung) other than a few drops here and there. I was able to track her for about 150-200 yards, but then lost blood, however at this point I was headed back downhill towards a stream and remembered the “deer go to water to die” thing, so followed the trajectory of last blood towards the stream and found her about 15 yards downstream. At this point I was so pumped, but my phone was dead, I had no idea what time it was and I thought for sure I was about to be in the doghouse, so I hightailed it back to my car to charge for a few minutes, call home and head back with the cart. It ended up being about 2:30 so I’d estimate I was bumping/stalking this deer from 1:15-2 or so. Met a super nice guy at parking who talked me through my first gut job and took a picture for me (yes I walked all the way back with my bow and saddle for vanity/contest entry) and then helped pull my cart back (it had lost a pin so kept folding up, I ended up using my tether to drag the deer all the way back, got her in the trunk, loaded with ice a few miles down the road, and quartered and on ice in a cooler by 6:30. The gent I met ( I don’t think he’s on here since he was using a stand but I didn’t ask?) kept saying on the way in that I should remember how much work is ahead of me when people ask for meat/jerky… and he is right! This was a small doe but going up those steep hills after miles and miles of walking was tough in a worth it and satisfying kind of way).
Anyhow, I guess I’m officially a bowhunter now! Couldn’t be more exited, now to finish processing tomorrow and find some room in the freezer. I kept the heart and plan to make it for lunch tomorrow.
oh no! LOL Just now realizing that in my haste, I squatted down and the saddle i'm wearing isn't visible in the photos dangit! T do have one that shows using the tether to drag, perhaps i'll have to lay my newbie problems at the feet of the judges for that one.
season started yesterday and i was itching to get out. I woke up early, and headed to a WSSC property a member on here recommended to me last year (thank you again!)- parked at the spot I’m familiar with (southeast corner) and headed in to a location I’d scouted a few weeks ago. Unfortunately I walked past the logging road accidentally and got a bit turned around for a while in the dark, so didn’t make it back to my spot util first light. Found good sign again, got up the tree with no issues, plenty of acorns and squirrels, but no deer. I had family obligations tonight so was supposed to be home by 3, decided to pack up and head out at 12:30 with the harebrained idea I’d see if I could spot and stalk on the way out (though as I thought of this I was simultaneously saying to myself that it’d be a disaster). I also didn’t have great service so my cell phone had completely died, used my compass to navigate out, but I didn’t see a thing the whole way out, until I got basically to the perimeter path, and then spotted a deer basically on the path (very close to the barrel feeder on private if you know this area). At this point I was all the way in the safety zone, and obviously wasn’t going to fire an arrow at this guy’s house, so I gathered some sticks and rocks while hiding behind some trees, and threw them behind/ over the deer to spook her back into the huntable area. It worked, but she met up with a spike buck right at the safety zone border, so now I had 2 sets of deer eyes looking for me. I bumped them I think 4 times after that, but they never ran more than 100 yards so I just kept and followed them around a circuitous route for 6-700 yards, until finally I was able to get up to about 30 yards, she was uphill from me (didn’t range, used the E-V!) and drew as I sidestepped out from behind the tree, lined her up, released, and THWOCK right through her and buried in the hill behind her. Finding the arrow was easy with the lighted nock and hill-stop, but there wasn’t much blood (spoiler: I hit her forward and a bit high, top of lung) other than a few drops here and there. I was able to track her for about 150-200 yards, but then lost blood, however at this point I was headed back downhill towards a stream and remembered the “deer go to water to die” thing, so followed the trajectory of last blood towards the stream and found her about 15 yards downstream. At this point I was so pumped, but my phone was dead, I had no idea what time it was and I thought for sure I was about to be in the doghouse, so I hightailed it back to my car to charge for a few minutes, call home and head back with the cart. It ended up being about 2:30 so I’d estimate I was bumping/stalking this deer from 1:15-2 or so. Met a super nice guy at parking who talked me through my first gut job and took a picture for me (yes I walked all the way back with my bow and saddle for vanity/contest entry) and then helped pull my cart back (it had lost a pin so kept folding up, I ended up using my tether to drag the deer all the way back, got her in the trunk, loaded with ice a few miles down the road, and quartered and on ice in a cooler by 6:30. The gent I met ( I don’t think he’s on here since he was using a stand but I didn’t ask?) kept saying on the way in that I should remember how much work is ahead of me when people ask for meat/jerky… and he is right! This was a small doe but going up those steep hills after miles and miles of walking was tough in a worth it and satisfying kind of way).
Anyhow, I guess I’m officially a bowhunter now! Couldn’t be more exited, now to finish processing tomorrow and find some room in the freezer. I kept the heart and plan to make it for lunch tomorrow.
oh no! LOL Just now realizing that in my haste, I squatted down and the saddle i'm wearing isn't visible in the photos dangit! T do have one that shows using the tether to drag, perhaps i'll have to lay my newbie problems at the feet of the judges for that one.
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