Post by: RadSav on July 10, 2015, 02:39:35 PM
Quote
"If I remember correctly, I paid $99 for my bear bow package, which cam with everything I needed except the broadheads. Anyway, after having about 3 months of occasional practice under my belt, likely a poorly tuned bow, no idea there was such a thing as broadhead tuning, and no distance judging skills, I took a shot at a doe I estimated to be at 20 yards. The arrow hit the ground between her legs and we both looked down where it hit the ground, then our eyes met again. I'm pretty sure she smiled and winked before walking off in disgust. :chuckle:"
After "Band" posted this story in a previous thread it got me thinking about all my first shots as I entered the sport of bowhunting. Thought it would be interesting to hear about everyone's first experiences of letting an arrow go at an animal.
My first bow was in '79 I think. Ben Pearson recurve, Bear Metric arrows tipped with Bear razorheads. I had scouted a lot and found a good deer trail directly above Whale Cove south of Depoe Bay, OR. Opening day first year bowhunting and after I finished cleaning the boat for the day I jumped on my bike and headed for "The Spot". About two hours before dark I hear them coming. Doe, doe, doe, buck! Large racked for a 2X2 - OMG shake, shiver and heart pounding through my mouth!
The buck came up from a draw and stood broadside in the middle of a dirt road about 100 yards from the clearcut. He was probably 25 yards from my hiding spot. I drew back, aimed at the whole deer, released and watched the arrow hit dead center...In the Hoof!! :yike: He ran straight down the road to the clearcut. Once there he joined up with the does and started to feed. By the time they moved off to a point where I could make a stalk it was too late and shooting hours ended my day.
When I got home I grabbed a baseball bat and took my frustrations out on some shrubs. Beat the living tarnation out of them!! Dad came out and asked what I was doing. I told him I missed a deer and was angry with myself. He didn't say a word more - just turned on the porch light and went back inside. I think he understood :chuckle:
Post by: Band on July 10, 2015, 02:46:03 PM
Post by: WapitiTalk1 on July 10, 2015, 02:53:45 PM
Post by: TommyH on July 10, 2015, 02:54:16 PM
Post by: RadSav on July 10, 2015, 03:08:03 PM
I had much better luck with the second animal I shot at than that first one! :chuckle:
I followed that up with enough missed opportunities that I didn't get too mad when I missed that Big 6X6 bull at 30 yards :yike: Looking right at me, arrow went between all four legs. He never moved! So I nocked another and sent a second arrow about 1" from the first. The bull decided that was enough of that and just walked off. I had killed a deer by then, but I had a long conversation with myself on the way home. Wasn't too sure if this archery stuff was really my thing :bash:
If it hadn't been for the fact I killed five quail with four shots earlier that day I'd probably have hung it up. But, those birds gave me hope! And a little hope combined with bull headed stubbornness seemed enough to keep pushing forward.
Post by: Jonathan_S on July 10, 2015, 03:14:23 PM
Second buck I shot at jumped the string and made me feel like a dumb turd :'(
Post by: DOUBLELUNG on July 10, 2015, 03:53:10 PM
Post by: 724wd on July 10, 2015, 04:07:08 PM
But I DID kill the second deer I shot at! :tup:
Post by: IBspoiled on July 10, 2015, 04:20:20 PM
Post by: Jonathan_S on July 10, 2015, 04:24:51 PM
this brings back some old memories of being A teenager. My stepdad had an old home made aluminum compound with steel cable for strings that sat in the basement for years. I couldn't wait for rifle season to start so i asked to use it and was given permission. this bow made an awful sound when drawn like yyyyuuurrrreeeeekkkk so being stealthy was out of the question. I had never shot a bow in my life so i new i needed a couple practice shots before i go hunting. I put out a 4x8 sheet of plywood at 20 yards for a target and hit it two out of three times so I was confident I could hit a deer. Evening was fast approaching so I headed out the to the backwoods with three arrows,two were bent from pulling them out of the plywood and the one i missed with was still straight. I was sneaking along when a really big two point stepped out of the brush ten yards away and stood there. so the moment was here when my practice shots were fixed in my brain on how to aim. I drew back and the bow went YYYuuurrreeeekkkk and the deer picked his head up and looked at me so I held steady and released. the arrow went thwack when it hit the tree next to the deers head :bash: how could i miss from that close. the deer looked at the arrow for a second then trotted off. I new my archery skills needed a little fine tuning but I wasn't giving up. Besides I still have two bent arrows and this buck cant be far away.I circled around and there was the buck again this time standing 60 yards downhill. I let one fly and watched the arrow bounce off three alder trees before hitting the buck in the spine. so with the buck down but not out, I ran up to ten feet only to have him charge me back. I drew back with my last bent arrow YYYYUUURRREEEKKK and missed again. Now this buck is hell bent on charging me and wont let me recover my arrow from the dirt to try another shot. I dont even have a knife. the only thing i could do is let him charge me so that i can grab the antlers and the arrow from the dirt and then I will figure out something from there. so in mid charge I grab antlers and jump on the buck, then reach back and grab the arrow from the dirt. I couldn't let go for fear of getting horned and now I have a weapon, so I stabbed the arrow into the buck a few times and he finally calmed down enough to let me off his back. I stood back for a moment to take it all in and then sprinted all the way home. Mom and stepdad were watching me run across the cow field so they knew some thing was up. when I reached them I was so out of breath that I couldn't speak. Mom say's you got one didn't you? I nodded yes. Stepdad say's I cant believe you got one. Thats my first day archery hunting and one of the most memorable. :archery_smiley: .
??? ??? RT is that you?
Post by: 724wd on July 10, 2015, 04:27:21 PM
this brings back some old memories of being A teenager. My stepdad had an old home made aluminum compound with steel cable for strings that sat in the basement for years. I couldn't wait for rifle season to start so i asked to use it and was given permission. this bow made an awful sound when drawn like yyyyuuurrrreeeeekkkk so being stealthy was out of the question. I had never shot a bow in my life so i new i needed a couple practice shots before i go hunting. I put out a 4x8 sheet of plywood at 20 yards for a target and hit it two out of three times so I was confident I could hit a deer. Evening was fast approaching so I headed out the to the backwoods with three arrows,two were bent from pulling them out of the plywood and the one i missed with was still straight. I was sneaking along when a really big two point stepped out of the brush ten yards away and stood there. so the moment was here when my practice shots were fixed in my brain on how to aim. I drew back and the bow went YYYuuurrreeeekkkk and the deer picked his head up and looked at me so I held steady and released. the arrow went thwack when it hit the tree next to the deers head :bash: how could i miss from that close. the deer looked at the arrow for a second then trotted off. I new my archery skills needed a little fine tuning but I wasn't giving up. Besides I still have two bent arrows and this buck cant be far away.I circled around and there was the buck again this time standing 60 yards downhill. I let one fly and watched the arrow bounce off three alder trees before hitting the buck in the spine. so with the buck down but not out, I ran up to ten feet only to have him charge me back. I drew back with my last bent arrow YYYYUUURRREEEKKK and missed again. Now this buck is hell bent on charging me and wont let me recover my arrow from the dirt to try another shot. I dont even have a knife. the only thing i could do is let him charge me so that i can grab the antlers and the arrow from the dirt and then I will figure out something from there. so in mid charge I grab antlers and jump on the buck, then reach back and grab the arrow from the dirt. I couldn't let go for fear of getting horned and now I have a weapon, so I stabbed the arrow into the buck a few times and he finally calmed down enough to let me off his back. I stood back for a moment to take it all in and then sprinted all the way home. Mom and stepdad were watching me run across the cow field so they knew some thing was up. when I reached them I was so out of breath that I couldn't speak. Mom say's you got one didn't you? I nodded yes. Stepdad say's I cant believe you got one. Thats my first day archery hunting and one of the most memorable. :archery_smiley: .
??? ??? RT is that you?
:lol4: :lol4:
Post by: RadSav on July 10, 2015, 05:32:25 PM
I had never shot at a bear before. Rifle or bow. That first bear was from a tree stand I built with some crab line and 3/4" plywood. Thing was unstable, squeaky and small, but it worked and amazingly I never died getting in or out of it. I had all new equipment this year - Golden Eagle Talon Mk IV set at 84#, Pegasus two piece quiver, Bateman tab, HuntMaster 2000 rest, FineLine crosshair sight with Check-It extension bar and for the first time a peep - Fine-Line Zero. Pulling the bow up into the stand it got hung up on a bunch of branches I had cut to clear shooting lanes. When the bow finally made it up to the stand it had half a dozen branches attached to it. I pulled them loose and threw them as far as I could. I knew I had just scared every bear in the country out of there, but I figured I would stick it out and do some practicing.
I go to look through the peep and I can not see my black pins! That's when it dawned on me that black pins, dark timber, black bear...probably a mistake! I took two shots trying to figure out how to shoot with my left eye while aiming with my right eye. I could see the ground through the peep with my right eye, but could only see the pin with my left eye. I knocked a third arrow and was planning the next shot in my head when I heard something. I look down at the bait pile and there is a bear with a whole chicken in his mouth. Where in Heck did he come from :yike: I drew back, planned the shot in my head, decided I better not try another guess on this one. So I ignored the sight, raised my anchor to the corner of my mouth and instinctively let 'er fly!
For about 10 seconds all hell broke loose! Teeth snapping, loud snorting, bear spinning, a couple gurgles and then the most complete silence I have ever experienced in the woods. I was ok until the silence hit. Then the tree started to shake! OMG he's coming up to get me, I thought. In a panic I draw the bow and aim straight down. Turning, creaking, almost losing my balance while I tried to find the bear. But I could not see anything! I even looked above me incase the bear that pooped in my stand the night before was above me! Nothing...must be an earthquake :o I sat back down and tried to get my gaffs on, but couldn't get the buckles to work. So I climbed out on a limb and jumped. By the time my feet hit the ground I was at full speed running up the hill toward the truck!
With a loaded shotgun in my lap and locked inside the truck I finally started to breath my first few relaxed breaths since I took the shot. That was also about the same time I realized it was my own bodies uncontrollable shaking that was rattling the tree :chuckle: Once I felt I could see straight enough to drive I headed off to where my buddy Randy was hunting to pick him up. A quick drive home and we were loaded with two Navy signal lights, six guns, at least 100 rounds of ammo, an attack dog and a plan on how to kill the bear if and when he attacks the other! :rolleyes:
I keep the dog on a leash until we get to the bait. Chico immediately goes to the arrow sticking out of the ground. "Wholly Cow, you did hit it!", says Randy. I release Chico with a "Go Get 'Em" command. He runs about ten yards and stops, looks back and starts wagging his tail. "Go Get 'Em", I command again. He doesn't move and barks twice. Not sure which one of us said it but the words, "Get ready he's coming!" were yelled. We both dropped to our knees and safeties came off. We probably stayed in that position for ten minutes waiting for the rushing bear while Chico ran between us and the spot where he barked.
Finally Randy and I man up and form a new plan. Randy is going to carry both lights and I'll carry the shotgun up front as we move forward to where the dog keeps stopping. We get up there and there is my bear. Dead as dead can be! Made it only ten yards with a Zwickey slice through the center of his heart. I must have had a severe case of fear blindness once the snarling started because I could easily see where he died from my stand. I had no idea!
I field dressed the bear while Randy kept guard for other bear. Every stick break, every scuffle, every gust of wind I could hear the safety on the Winchester 1200 click off and then 30 seconds later click back on. Neither one of us relaxed for a moment until the bear was in the back of the Mazda pick-em-up truck. After we had gotten about a mile between us and the bait site we started to laugh at ourselves. It was official - we were dorks. Happy dorks, but dorks none-the-less!!
Post by: IBspoiled on July 17, 2015, 03:30:43 AM
Post by: RadSav on July 17, 2015, 03:56:56 AM
Some great replies , but i am sad that this thread has died :'(
Maybe you set the bar too high :chuckle:
Post by: Duffer on July 17, 2015, 04:23:04 AM
Some great replies , but i am sad that this thread has died :'(
Maybe you set the bar too high :chuckle:
Here, let me lower that bar for ya...
Missed the 1st deer
missed the 2nd deer. Twice.
lost the 3rd deer to coyotes (or wolves)
missed the 4th deer
Tracked but lost the 5th deer
somewhere in there had 3 elk in 2 years laugh at me. Loudly.
Not all 1st year but none the less.... :tung:
Hung the bow up and went back to bullets
Post by: RadSav on July 17, 2015, 04:34:03 AM
Post by: huntingaddiction on July 17, 2015, 06:30:34 AM
Wow dude! That sounds about like my first year!Some great replies , but i am sad that this thread has died :'(
Maybe you set the bar too high :chuckle:
Here, let me lower that bar for ya...
Missed the 1st deer
missed the 2nd deer. Twice.
lost the 3rd deer to coyotes (or wolves)
missed the 4th deer
Tracked but lost the 5th deer
somewhere in there had 3 elk in 2 years laugh at me. Loudly.
Hung the bow up and went back to bullets
Post by: Jonathan_S on July 17, 2015, 06:44:48 AM
My dad's first bowhunting shot went like this...
He was hunting with archery back in the 70s which meant recurve and old cedar shafts. Said he had practiced out to 40 ish yards and could put all his arrows into a plate size group at about 30 yards.
I believe he was up in the timber around Bucoda, he said he'd spent a foggy morning trying to find elk in the woods. It was early season and he'd heard the elk bugling the night before in this drainage so he pressed forward. He said he came to the edge of a clearcut and as soon as he got there, he saw a pretty good bull trotting across it about 150 yards out :yike:
This is back in the 70s remember before everybody "knew everything" about calling elk and he had a memory about one of his friends saying to "sound like an elk and the bulls will come in to you :dunno:"
My Dad said he tried to mew like a cow several times and the bull stopped in his tracks :o then the bull charged the tree line and slowed to a trot when he got closer. My Dad says he counted the points as the bull came in and he could hear the thumping of his hooves. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5...6! " of course if he'd have been in Pe Ell, he'd say...1, 2, 3, 4...and doubles" :yike:
The bull was within 20 yards and broadside when he stopped and SCREAMED bloody murder. My Dad steeled himself and drew back like he'd done 1,000 times that summer. This was a chip shot and my Dad was about to put a hurting on this big Roosevelt.
To this day my Dad can see the arrow and yellow fletching stabilizing in the air and arching right to their destiny. The razor sharp Zwickey broadhead sliced through the air between that bulls eyeguards (or fronts for those of you in Pe Ell) It was right where my Dad had been looking.
The bull set a state record...for running across a clearcut and my dad didn't kill another elk for several years. Never a big bull.
Post by: boneaddict on July 17, 2015, 06:53:56 AM
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Post by: Jonathan_S on July 17, 2015, 06:58:02 AM
Post by: Tree Killer on July 17, 2015, 07:57:37 AM
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Post by: pd on July 17, 2015, 08:16:07 AM
??? ??? RT is that you?
Exactly what I thought.
You know, RT never chimed in on this thread....
Post by: tgomez on July 17, 2015, 09:22:45 AM
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on July 17, 2015, 09:33:17 AM
Post by: RadSav on July 17, 2015, 10:15:15 AM
September 17, 1984 I bugled in this 5pt bull in the Strawberry Mountains here in Oregon. First year bowhunting for my brother and I and were pretty clueless about calling elk since there was very little information available on the subject back then. I had a bugle made by Quaker Boy and one of the metal reed Jones bugles. After several close encounters and being timid with the bulls, I decided to get aggressive with one to see what would happen. I pursued and challenged him...BINGO! He came down the hill and turned broadside at 17 yds...my first shot at an animal with a bow, and the only animal I've killed with a compound.
Cool! Almost exactly one month later I killed my first big bull in the northwest corner of that unit. About 100 yards from the creek and the western border meet.
Post by: stromdiddily on July 17, 2015, 12:34:09 PM
Thus far, he's the one and only buck in my short hunting career. Looking forward to chasing many more :tup:
Post by: JJB11B on July 17, 2015, 06:59:15 PM
Post by: Tree Killer on July 17, 2015, 07:04:47 PM
September 17, 1984 I bugled in this 5pt bull in the Strawberry Mountains here in Oregon. First year bowhunting for my brother and I and were pretty clueless about calling elk since there was very little information available on the subject back then. I had a bugle made by Quaker Boy and one of the metal reed Jones bugles. After several close encounters and being timid with the bulls, I decided to get aggressive with one to see what would happen. I pursued and challenged him...BINGO! He came down the hill and turned broadside at 17 yds...my first shot at an animal with a bow, and the only animal I've killed with a compound.
Cool! Almost exactly one month later I killed my first big bull in the northwest corner of that unit. About 100 yards from the creek and the western border meet.
You must have been hunting the Canyon Creek Archery Area when it was still viable?
Post by: RadSav on July 18, 2015, 12:12:45 AM
Earlier in the season it was dang good across the river and up toward the lakes. Were some bruiser bucks in there back then!
Post by: coxral on July 19, 2015, 04:38:30 PM
Post by: swashington2128 on July 20, 2015, 02:40:26 PM
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.
Post by: scotsman on July 20, 2015, 05:59:34 PM
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.