First Bowhunting shots

[swashington2128]

I just started hunting a few years ago after 20+ years in the military. Living out my childhood dreams of being Davy Crocket in the woods. Because of my travel/work schedule I take up archery because I would be out of country for all of rifle season. I buy the equipment, and shoot non- stop for 3 months and decide. Yep, getting pretty good at this. Set my limit to around 40 yards and set up for all of September on the east side to get a whitetail.

First two weeks are hotter than blazes and I see nothing but does and fawns. Finally, the weather cools and out I go, stalking through the woods and I find a nice young 4x4. He is up wind of me and has no idea I am there. A quick shot of my range finder and it confirms 43 yards. Easy shot, right. I am kneeling down (never practiced that before), draw the bow and put my 40yd pin right behind his shoulder. Perfect shot, his head is down and he is broadside to me. I take a breath, tell myself to relax and aim one more time. I release the arrow, and it is running hot, straight, and normal. Suddenly POW! My arrow explodes as it hits a 2 inch diameter branch that magically appears out of nowhere. That branch jumped in front of that deer like a secret service agent protecting the president (well past presidents at least, I think the secret service moves a little slower now a days). Meanwhile, that young buck is now looking at me while I kneel, motionless, trying to figure out what to do next. He answers the question by walking away.

Two days later, I am on top of a hill at a farm and I look down the hill and in a small field in front of a pole barn is a nice young 4x4 feeding with 6 does. The pole barn is where I parked my truck. So I get through 2 fields, across a barbed wire fence, lose the boots to cross a stream, through the mud and trees to an opening and there he is. Broadside again at 40 yards about 15 yards to the left of my truck and the pole barn. I think, no problem, my truck is way out of the line of fire. I draw, release and again a branch hits the arrow. This time it doesn't explode, it careens to the right and I nearly put an arrow in the front passenger tire. Meanwhile another lucky buck and the does just happily trot off not knowing what had happened.

If it were up to me every branch in Washington state would be chopped and burned. Heading to Utah this year for Mule Deer. A lot less branches over there.

[scotsman]

Good stories... I'm glad I'm not the only one..... Here's my story..... Probably in the early 1990's.

At that time I had been hunting with a recurve with reasonable  results for 20 years or thereabouts. But everybody was going to those newfangled compound contraptions so I got on the bandwagon. Bought me a fancy Oneida Eagle with glow in the dark sights and 50% let off. And to top it off all the guys were using a trigger thingabob instead of a leather finger glove so I hadda get one of those too. I could shoot the eyes out of a knat with that setup. Man, I was ready.

So late season rolls around and a bunch of us went to the swakane. We chained up and drove along when a fat doe jumped out to the side of the two track.  Came the chorus from,the truck, "hey Dave, you can shoot the eyes out of a knat, why don't you shoot that doe for dinner?". "Ok, sez I."

So I step out of the truck and figure the doe is about 28.24 yards away. Set the sight pin, draw back and instinct kicks in. The instinct, however, was to open my fingers ala recurve not pull the trigger. Damn near hit the deer with the release which left the bow at about 200 FPS. I can still hear the truck fulla guys laughing.