Photos from the stand - and #11 for nine years here on the island

[lokidog]

So, tonight was my fourth night archery hunting this season.  I finally pulled the bow out last week so have not even been putting out apples in my usual spots.  Hunting w/o baiting?  OK, I'll give it a try.

First night, sat for a while with some smashed apple scent in front of me, nothing but a doe I snuck up on at 15 yards.  Photo #1 Saw lots of deer here when mowing earlier in the summer, but the food is all dried up.

Second evening I went for a walk, checked out three or four spots and ended up next door.  On the way out, a few minutes before shooting light was done, I had a nice buck at 30 yards but he spotted me as I hooked my release on the bow.  After a ten minute stand-off, and him running off huffing, I got to walk home.

The third night, Sunday, I went to the area where I saw the most deer, also where I shot my buck last year and found a hidey hole under some scrubby apple trees to set up.  As I approached, a doe and fawn moved past.  I tossed an apple on the trail, in some tall grass, where they had just passed, and sat down about 12 yards away.  After a while, I turned and saw a deer (buck) looking at me through a hole in the brush from about forty yards, directly down wind, grrrr.   He took off huffing.  About fifteen minutes later, I see a deer coming down the apple trail, the wrong way.  Oh well, just a doe.   She eats the apple, and then wanders around and ends up less than ten feet away from where I am sitting on my stool.  Yikes, she's been eating way too many apples and has some major diarrhea action going.  She moves off and then blows out when she gets to about the same area that the buck scented me.  As I headed home, I saw two shooter forks and a really nice spike down the way by some other apple trees, too late and not enough cover to sneak in.

So, this afternoon, I pulled my treestand from where it has sat for the last two years and set it up in the orchard.  There was a doe under one of the neighbor's trees.  She moved off as I walked through to where I could hunt.  I set one ladder section up and pulled my lower stand up into one of the trees.  As I sat there calculating how/where to hang it, she wanders back through looking around wondering wher the heck I went, I guess.  Fifteen yards, photo #2.

About five, I climb up into the stand after shaking an apple tree about fifteen yards away.  I also cut some leafy branches off when clearing my shooting area.  At about six, a doe comes out twenty yards away and moves past, photo #3.  A while later, I hear another deer on the same trail, as I reach back for the bow, a doe pops out at twenty yards and pins me with her steely gaze, crap, hold still in awkward position, another deer moves behind her, fawn, she stares.  Still holding still, arm hurts.  Luckily, another deer pushes out from behind her, the big spike.  He comes out, eats an apple at fifteen yards, she calms down now with him there and her and her fawn start feeding around.  The three deer hung out a while within fifteen yards of me, then the nieghbor's horse and sheep come blowing through and chase the deer off, grrr, I was using them as confidence decoys for the bigger forks.  After hissing at the horses, they move off.  Eventually the spike and doe/fawn come back and hang out.  The spike then wanders over and starts to eat some of my branch clippings right under me, photo #4.  Then the horses come back, this time they don't spook the deer and at ne point the three deer are all under me like I'm looking into a fish bowl, photo #5.

I also took a video, sideways with my phone though. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LYuTj5nW5s&feature=youtu.be

You guys that get deer from the ground with your bows are amazing!

[weathergirl]

Did you fall asleep while posting this?    Because I'm pretty sure the story isn't finished... 

[irishevox]

i am with weathergirl on this one ....

[lokidog]

OK, ok....

So one of the horses came back and I figured that's it for the evening.  This time, though, the deer didn't seem to care and continued feeding but moved away.

At about 7:15 I heard another deer in the brush heading for the trail where the others came out.  One of the big forks came out but did not look like it was going to stop since the horses and sheep ate the apples and branches and the other deer had moved away.  So, I did what all good TV hunters do, I drew back and made a mewing noise... it worked, he stopped mostly broadside, at 11 yards.

Line up the site ring in the peep, top pin on shoulder, squeeze.  The arrow flew straight, it hit a bit high and then all heck broke loose.  The horse under my tree freaked out and took off.  Unfortunately, the horse followed the deer which I think caused the deer to run even faster.  I thought I could see the arrow in the ground, so I texted home that I just got a deer.  I thought I heard the deer go down, but it was hard to tell with the sound of the horse crashing off.  I texted home, waited a few minutes and climbed down to find my arrow thinking this was going to be an easy recovery.

No arrow and no blood, what the heck?  I followed the path of the running deer and found a couple of small blood drops about 60 yards away.  Went home and collected Weathergirl, my son, and a couple of flashlights.  When we got back, we started tracking.  Quarter inch blood drops were the big ones.  I figured the arrow must not have passed through since there was so little blood.  We stuck with it, lost the track a few times, picked it up again.  My son did a great job and found a few drops when we had lost them.  This deer was heading uphill and toward my house.  Major frustration and worry at not finding more blood was bubbling through me.

We finally found a bit more blood than the drop every 7 to 15 feet that we had been following when he dove into the thick stuff.  On hands and knees my son and I followed the blood trail.  Finally, there he was.  Relief!

So, the forensics... high entry hole, through right lung then passed under the left lung leaving two tiny cuts on the lower side of it and passing out low left just clipping the front edge of the stomach.  He had lots of fat inside his gut cavity which I think contributed to blocking the exit hole.  All in all he went almost 200 yards and left less than a tablespoon of blood on the ground.  I went back this morning to look for my arrow and found it where it should have been, however, my angle down wasn't what I was thinking it would be so the arrow was about five yards past where the buck had been standing and I did not look there in the dark.

I think this was the buck that I had at thirty yards two nights previously.

I can't wait to get my son out during modern rifle so he can work on tracking his own deer, hopefully it will be a short track.

[irishevox]

nice four point

[Boss .300 winmag]

Great tracking job Zolten! . Is this the buck you were talking about last week?

Nice one looking. 

[Ripper]

Nice job Loki, way to stick with it and find him. Sound like your boy is going to be a great tracker someday.

[elkoholic1]

 

[hrd2fnd]

Way to get r done. You mentioned he was heading to the house, how close did he come to it?

[Becky]

Woohoo

[MLBowhunting]

Great buck.   

[lokidog]

Way to get r done. You mentioned he was heading to the house, how close did he come to it?

He was closer to my house than the treestand.  Luckily my neighbor doesn't mind if dying deer run onto her place, she does like venison.   

[quadrafire]

Cushman the original Quad. 

[rover758]

  Congrats!!!

[carpsniperg2]

Congrats