KSHUNTER
PMA Member
Sorry this is a long story.
The morning of November 14th found me sitting in a stand over a pinch point where a creek makes a sharp bend and juts up to the edge of some thick bedding cover. This stand has proven a great spot during the rut with bucks walking the downwind edge of the cover and the creek pushing them to pretty tight corridor.
Shortly after shooting light a couple of does come from behind me. As I turned my head to the sound of a breaking stick the lead doe catches my movement. She blows out and stands at 30 yards stomping and blowing, I decide to try and stick her, but she jumps the string and I miss high. Knowing that I should have held a little lower, I shrug it off because now at least she moves off.
As I’m nocking another arrow I hear grunts and it is coming my way. A doe breaks cover heading straight to the base of my stand, at 10 yards she breaks, and heads a different way. He is not far behind, I have to try and make a quick judgment as he is at 20 yards quartering to me at a fast trot. His body looks bigger and has a blocker build, his horns are carrying good mass, I decide if given a chance I'll take the shot. I’m already at full draw, at 15 yards he turns broadside to take back after the doe, I can’t get him stopped, now he is at 20 yard and quartered away. He stops, I settle my pin, and release. Shot looks perfect for the angle he was at.
He takes a few big jumps and then walks off. As I follow him through my binoculars, reconfirm my shot and am very satisfied. Then at 70 yards he stops, turns, and starts back along the way he came in. I’m nocking another arrow as he comes within 30 yard, at that point he turns and smells the arrow and takes a jump and starts trotting. He is broadside at 15 yards but moving pretty swift, and about to go through my last shooting lane. I can’t get him stopped and make a snap decision to put another arrow in him while I can. Arrow hits a little back but I’m positive it is a liver shot.
He again takes a couple big bounds and walks off; at 50 yards he disappears into thick cover. I strain to hear any crashing noise, but it never comes. He has now already traveled close to 200 yards since the first shot, most of it being at a walk, and never once displaying any sign of injury. I’m worried with the situation because of his actions, but not of my arrow placement. I back as quickly and quietly as I can.
Three hours later finds me and a buddy picking up the blood trail. The blood looks good and easy to follow, after 200 yards I’m again getting worried, and we lose blood. I start working toward some blow downs where it is very thick to see if I can pick him back up, but it was really just a guess. Once crossing the creek and a little farther up a trail I see a few weeds bent over, as I reach them I see a smear of blood. We regroup and take up track again; it has been 4 and half hours now since I shot him. At this point I’m certain he is dead, but have come to the conclusion, that I only caught one lung with the 1st arrow and liver with the 2nd.
We press on, 30 yards later we jump him and my heart sinks. He stops at 40 yards and you can tell he is in bad shape, my buddy now seeing the shot placement can’t believe he is alive.
I run to get my bow that I left at last blood, I position myself on the other side of the deer and my buddy tries to push him slowly by me, he comes by and at 10 yards and I finish what I had started with a perfect shot.
We approach my deer and we start to examine to see why the first shot was not fatal, what I find shocks me. My 1st arrow never entered his chest cavity instead arrow deflected off a rib bone and cut a furrow between his ribs and skin. I shoot a Mathews Outback at 70 pounds and slick trick heads, the quartering away shot was not a severe angle, and I have taken much more severe angles with great results. If I had not stuck him the 2nd time I would have never found this deer, and would have never known why. When the arrow is buried up to the fletching on a quartering away shot, it usually puts a deer down pretty quick.
I went over that shot a hundred times; I still would not do anything different and will just chalk this one up as a freak accident and leave it at that.
He measured out better than I thought, I guessed him at mid 130's, he taped out at 147 and 5/8. The pictures don't do him justice.
Daddy's Little Girl
The morning of November 14th found me sitting in a stand over a pinch point where a creek makes a sharp bend and juts up to the edge of some thick bedding cover. This stand has proven a great spot during the rut with bucks walking the downwind edge of the cover and the creek pushing them to pretty tight corridor.
Shortly after shooting light a couple of does come from behind me. As I turned my head to the sound of a breaking stick the lead doe catches my movement. She blows out and stands at 30 yards stomping and blowing, I decide to try and stick her, but she jumps the string and I miss high. Knowing that I should have held a little lower, I shrug it off because now at least she moves off.
As I’m nocking another arrow I hear grunts and it is coming my way. A doe breaks cover heading straight to the base of my stand, at 10 yards she breaks, and heads a different way. He is not far behind, I have to try and make a quick judgment as he is at 20 yards quartering to me at a fast trot. His body looks bigger and has a blocker build, his horns are carrying good mass, I decide if given a chance I'll take the shot. I’m already at full draw, at 15 yards he turns broadside to take back after the doe, I can’t get him stopped, now he is at 20 yard and quartered away. He stops, I settle my pin, and release. Shot looks perfect for the angle he was at.
He takes a few big jumps and then walks off. As I follow him through my binoculars, reconfirm my shot and am very satisfied. Then at 70 yards he stops, turns, and starts back along the way he came in. I’m nocking another arrow as he comes within 30 yard, at that point he turns and smells the arrow and takes a jump and starts trotting. He is broadside at 15 yards but moving pretty swift, and about to go through my last shooting lane. I can’t get him stopped and make a snap decision to put another arrow in him while I can. Arrow hits a little back but I’m positive it is a liver shot.
He again takes a couple big bounds and walks off; at 50 yards he disappears into thick cover. I strain to hear any crashing noise, but it never comes. He has now already traveled close to 200 yards since the first shot, most of it being at a walk, and never once displaying any sign of injury. I’m worried with the situation because of his actions, but not of my arrow placement. I back as quickly and quietly as I can.
Three hours later finds me and a buddy picking up the blood trail. The blood looks good and easy to follow, after 200 yards I’m again getting worried, and we lose blood. I start working toward some blow downs where it is very thick to see if I can pick him back up, but it was really just a guess. Once crossing the creek and a little farther up a trail I see a few weeds bent over, as I reach them I see a smear of blood. We regroup and take up track again; it has been 4 and half hours now since I shot him. At this point I’m certain he is dead, but have come to the conclusion, that I only caught one lung with the 1st arrow and liver with the 2nd.
We press on, 30 yards later we jump him and my heart sinks. He stops at 40 yards and you can tell he is in bad shape, my buddy now seeing the shot placement can’t believe he is alive.
I run to get my bow that I left at last blood, I position myself on the other side of the deer and my buddy tries to push him slowly by me, he comes by and at 10 yards and I finish what I had started with a perfect shot.
We approach my deer and we start to examine to see why the first shot was not fatal, what I find shocks me. My 1st arrow never entered his chest cavity instead arrow deflected off a rib bone and cut a furrow between his ribs and skin. I shoot a Mathews Outback at 70 pounds and slick trick heads, the quartering away shot was not a severe angle, and I have taken much more severe angles with great results. If I had not stuck him the 2nd time I would have never found this deer, and would have never known why. When the arrow is buried up to the fletching on a quartering away shot, it usually puts a deer down pretty quick.
I went over that shot a hundred times; I still would not do anything different and will just chalk this one up as a freak accident and leave it at that.
He measured out better than I thought, I guessed him at mid 130's, he taped out at 147 and 5/8. The pictures don't do him justice.
Daddy's Little Girl
