First Archery Deer Experience

[GreenHunter]

First off, thanks to all the people who posted information here.  I had no first hand exposure to bowhunting prior to this season.  I did have modern firearm experience though but that was in West Texas on whitetails.  There is a big difference between that and hunting western washington blacktails.

I had gone out the first two saturdays of the month and hadn't seen a deer.  Although I did see 2 cows and a bull elk.  Both times I was hunting along the carbon river.  This past weekend I drove down to the Vail area off of 508.  I walked out at 5:30 in the morning along a timber road and did a loop back to the car.  In all about 4 miles and about 3 hours.  The forest was old and visibility was probably 50 yards at best.  I didn't see a thing.  Now I was getting discouraged because I knew the night was very dark so they must be moving around to feed.

I drove over to another spot and hiked in about 2 miles to a clear cut that was probably 10 years old with 15 foot pines.  I found a few timber piles on points that allowed me to spot the clear cut.  Nothing.  Now I was really discouraged and decided to hike back to car and come back closer to sundown since it was 11 and getting hot.

I had given up and was really just hiking a pace to see how far in I was.  As I walked along the timber road there was an less used turnout that had some grass on it.  A woodpecker caught my eye and then it registered that there was a doe standing in the middle of the clearing.  I froze.  I had the wind so the doe walked towards me from 30 yards to 20 yards.  I moved very slowly and checked with my rangefinder and then nocked and drew.  I grunted several times to get the deer to turn broadside.  She didn't move so I took the shot straight on.  The arrow hit her chest and I saw a flash of red.  She spun 90 degrees and ran.  As she did it I thought I saw my arrow sticking out of her chest.  It turns out that that was actually a squirt of blood that looked just like an arrow.  I heard her crash through the bushes and then stop.  So thinking that I had place a good shot but didn't get a pass through I waited 30 minutes watching back up the road to make sure she didn't cross the road.  Longest 30 minutes ever.

Finally I walked over to were I had hit her.  There was blood everywhere.  I followed the blood along the direction I had heard her run.  There she was about 40 yards away just were I had heard her stop.  I tagged her ear and then I noticed the shot had passed through.  I walked back to the place I had hit her and found my arrow about 10 feet farther back.  It was covered in green stink.  I knew I had made a gut shot.

This is an area that I didn't learn on the forums.  I had learned that you always want a double lung broadside or at least a quarter turn but I didn't know that it was because you are trying to not hit the gut.  It makes perfect sense know but I guess I learned it the hard way.

I field dressed her and drug her out onto the road.  Let me tell you that the smell of the stomach contents was amazing.  It sticks in your nose.  I was smelling it for almost a day even when the deer wasn't around.  I tried my best to wash and wipe out the green but I would have needed a garden hose.

Now came the other part I had not learned on the forums.  How do you carry a 75 lb deer out of the field?  I tried tying her up and throwing her over my shoulders.  That worked for about 30 yards.  Finally I hog-tied her legs together and threw her legs over my shoulder.  I could get about 50 yards at a time before I would have to rest.  I usually rested until the flies caught up to me.  An hour and half later I got to the car and use fresh water to clean out the chest as much as possible.

I shoved the chest full of ice bags, wrapped her in a tarp and put her in the trunk.  The drive back to Seattle took me 4 hours.  Me and a friend cleaned out the chest some more with a garden hose.  We skinned it and cut off the head and hooves.  By this time no butcher was open so we cut it in half and put the halves in two coolers with ice.

Sunday morning I took it to B&E Meats in Des Moines (thanks for the recommendation but really it came down to their are the only butcher open on Sunday).  The butcher was overly helpful and I hope to get some good meat out of it.

I forgot to mention that I had removed the tenderloins.  So I washed them in the sink and actually washed them with some scotch to clean and marinate them a bit.  I grilled one of them up and ate a few pieces before I realized the smell was overpoweringly bad.  It smelled like the stomach contents.  So know I am worried that the rest of the meat might be bad at least the part that touched the stomach contents.  It may have been the length of time it took me to get it to the car and on ice but I am hopeful that it was just confined to the gut.

I guess that is a hard lesson to learn but I now know to aim for the vitals but avoid the gut.  I hope to get some decent meat and I spent yesterday preparing the hide. 

I have to say that I was amazed at the penetration to get a complete pass-through the long way (it did exit out the abdomen though).  I am pretty sure that I hit a lung, heart, stomach and cut open the abdomen.  Slick tricks on full metal jackets with blazers pulling 60# on a hoyt katera.

Thanks again to every who posted some information on this forum.

Also, let me know if you see anything I can improve on besides waiting for a better shot?

Sorry for the crappy photo but my wife broke the camera and I had to use my cellphone.

[NW-Eric]

GOOD JOB ON THE KILL... BUT TO BAD ABOUT THE GUT SHOT. ALSO A THING TO REMEMBER AS SOON AS YOU GET THE MEAT WET IT BECOMES A BREEDING GROUND FOR BACTERIA AND THAT PLUS THE GUT SHOT CAN DEFINATELY SPOIL MEAT.

[MichaelJ]

Best thing to do with a gutshot deer is to use the gutless method of field dressing them out...  I'll see if I can't find you a link on how to do it...  Congrats!

[MichaelJ]

Here's a link for ya!   
http://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=27

Only thing I do differently is to skin out the rearquarters before I start cutting them off...  keeps the hair and other crap off them and it's a lot cleaner to me.  Basically before you start to cut any meat off the body, make sure you got all the skin/hide pulled off!

Michael

[BC CHASER]

Next time wipe it down with vinegar not water!

[X-Force]

Vinegar huh? never heard of that. ill have to try it if i ever gut shot anything... Congrats on your first blacktail Greenhunter

[hard hunter]

First congrats on the deer and I sincerly hope it turns out ok.  I had heard of the vinegar wipe out but the link to the new way of quartering I found very interesting.

[WAcoueshunter]

Congrats on the first deer.  Any archery animal is a trophy, particularly in your first year!  My take on pretty much all new ventures (hunting, business or otherwise) is you want to learn as much as you can ahead of time, but ultimately you just need to jump in to learn the things you didn't know you needed to know.  Does that make sense?  You'll be a better hunter for your experience. 

BTW, I've never had a full animal butchered by B&E, but that's far and away the best summer sausage I've ever had.  They do a great job. 

[Flak Jacker]

She didn't move so I took the shot straight on. 

Also, let me know if you see anything I can improve on besides waiting for a better shot?

I am going to be dead nut honest and I don't want to hear from any bleeding hearts on this one.  You stated you had hunted modern before in Texas.  That being said you still would not take a shot the way you did even with a modern firearm.  My first elk season I watched a 4x @ 26 yds standing with me at full draw, but realized I had a scrag bush between me and him, I drew down (hunting ethically...keep a clear shot,).  Keeping your wits about you is what makes a distinct bow hunter.  I don't doubt your a nice guy, but in the future do not put a kill before the integrity of the sport and the dispatching of the animal. 

"Do as if you are teaching your child..."

[hunterbuilder]

but in the future do not put a kill before the integrity of the sport and the dispatching of the animal. 

Sounds to me he like he dispatched quickly and humanely and upheld the integrity of the sport on this kill. 

Congrats GreenHunter.

[CP]

Congratulations on your first WA deer.  Very good write up and there is nothing wrong with the way it went down.  Hopefully the rest of the meat will turn out.

I’m a displaced Texan myself; it’s a whole different ball game here isn’t it?
 

[zackmioli]

we always use give the meat a wipe down with some vinegar (can dilute with water) before putting the game bag over the body. seems to help keep the flies away and helps the meat keep better before getting to a butcher.

congrats on the kill.

[Broken Arrow]

nice job, green...live and learn!

[robb92]

Congrats on your first bow kill!!! I agree wash it down with a vingar/water mixture this will help get the hair and bacteria off the meat. I always wash the meat down with it once I have skinned it, I also cut as much fat offat the same time.

[coyotemadness]

Very nice. Well done

[GreenHunter]

I got the meat back last Sunday from B&E Meats and had some of the hot italian sausage last night.  It was amazing.

I called B&E a few days after my post and they told me that they found a little bad meat but just worked around it.

Also, I had heard about the vinegar trick before but had never tried it.  I did try it on this one but I still wasn't sure how much it would help.

Thanks again.

[robb92]

I buy a 1 gallon jug of it before the season starts and it will ast all season, two cups of vinegar to 1 gallon of water will wash down a whole deer inside and out.