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1.) Jon - 10/03/2016
Last week, we had heavy rain for most of the week. At my house, we has 3.75" one day and another 4" the next. There was heavy winds and the tides were very high. When that happens around here, the deer have nowhere to go and have to bed down until the rains pass. There's no sense hunting in that mess BUT after the storms pass, the hunting is usually very good.
On Friday, the weather man told me the rain would all but stop around 2pm and wind was coming out of the NE which is good for one of my stands that sits overlooking the corner of a hot field. I decided to go sit and see what was moving.
As I was getting dressed in the truck, there were already 6 does feeding in the field, only 60yds from me. I knew it was going to be a good day.
As I'm walking across the field to my stand, I see a few deer in the field a few hundred yards from the stand. I really have no good way to get there without them seeing me so I press on. As I get closer to the stand, the deer see me but aren't spooked, they keep an eye on me but keep feeding. By the time I am climbing the ladder, there are 5 deer coming into the field.
The deer pile into the field and continue feeding, all in all, there are 12 deer and several of them are bucks. As I'm watching these deer, the woods behind me are also holding deer. Several does with fawns are walking around, some directly under my stand.
Just before 6pm, the group is heading across the field toward me. I'm glassing them, hoping they might come within range before it gets dark. With the binoculars to my eyes, something catches my peripheral vision and I lower the binoculars to see a buck standing broadside only 10 yards in front of me. I have no idea which way he came from and really don't care at this point. He's looking out into the field which gives me a chance to take my xbow off the hook hanging next to me.
All in about 5 seconds from seeing him to getting the xbow up, I put the crosshairs on his vitals and squeeze off the shot.
I watch the bolt enter the 10 ring and stick in the ground behind, the sound tells me it's a perfect shot. Watching the deer run off with blood pouring out the side makes me start to shake! I rarely get the shakes prior to shooting, it usually hits me after I take the shot and this one was no different.
After waiting about 15 minutes, I get down and grab the bolt. There was great blood covering the entire length and splashes of blood all around it. It took me several scans back and forth to find exactly where he ran but once I did, the amount of blood on the ground told me he didn't go far. Expecting to see him piled up in the field, I was surprised to keep trailing blood for about 150 yards. he took a left turn out of the field and headed towards some heavy CRP. I lost blood just before the CRP so I started to look for possible entry trails when I jumped him. By quick glance, he jumped slowly and didn't run, more of a slow walk out of the CRP and I decided to back out and let him bleed out.
I only live about 25 minutes from the farm so I packed up and headed home to have some dinner and get my wife to come help track. After about 2 hours, I figured we'd go back and he'd be dead within a few feet of where I jumped him. My main concern was rain would wash away the trail and/or the foxes would eat him by morning. Most deer we let lie overnight are destroyed by foxes.
We immediately get on the blood trail and easily follow it, he's dripping blood consistently. There were very few times that I couldn't find blood with my flashlight within a foot or two of the last blood. There were no pools of blood, just consistent drops. The trail went on and on, we now were on the track for 2 hours and had covered 500 yards. At this point the tracking had come to a major trail intersection. We found blood for about 10 yards and then it shut off, he had an option of circling back or going directly into the marsh. I wasn't going into the marsh at night and figured it was a good time to back out and come back in the morning.
As luck had it, a good friend and fellow club member has a Lab who has found deer in the past. he offered to meet me in the morning and I quickly took him up on the offer.
Once the dog got his nose on the blood trail, he started zig zagging back and forth on the trail and within 5 minutes, he found the deer only 80-90 yards up the trail. There wasn't a spot of blood in that last bit but he found it immediately. The deer was out of blood.
The shot looked perfect, it would have been if I was on the ground shooting him. The fact that he was so close and that I was 20' up made a very steep angle and caught the near lung, some stomach and nothing else. I'm sure if I left him where I first jumped him that he probably would have bled out right there but we'll never know.
Small 8pt, 16.5" outside spread, probably a 2.5yr old young buck.
Here's Timmy after he found the buck
[URL=http://s93.photobucket.com/user/jonnybow/media/20161001_080524.jpg.html]
[/URL]
Here's the entrance hole
[URL=http://s93.photobucket.com/user/jonnybow/media/20161001_083032.jpg.html]
[/URL]
Exit hole
[URL=http://s93.photobucket.com/user/jonnybow/media/20161001_083100.jpg.html]
[/URL]
spread
[URL=http://s93.photobucket.com/user/jonnybow/media/20161001_085152.jpg.html]
[/URL]
On Friday, the weather man told me the rain would all but stop around 2pm and wind was coming out of the NE which is good for one of my stands that sits overlooking the corner of a hot field. I decided to go sit and see what was moving.
As I was getting dressed in the truck, there were already 6 does feeding in the field, only 60yds from me. I knew it was going to be a good day.
As I'm walking across the field to my stand, I see a few deer in the field a few hundred yards from the stand. I really have no good way to get there without them seeing me so I press on. As I get closer to the stand, the deer see me but aren't spooked, they keep an eye on me but keep feeding. By the time I am climbing the ladder, there are 5 deer coming into the field.
The deer pile into the field and continue feeding, all in all, there are 12 deer and several of them are bucks. As I'm watching these deer, the woods behind me are also holding deer. Several does with fawns are walking around, some directly under my stand.
Just before 6pm, the group is heading across the field toward me. I'm glassing them, hoping they might come within range before it gets dark. With the binoculars to my eyes, something catches my peripheral vision and I lower the binoculars to see a buck standing broadside only 10 yards in front of me. I have no idea which way he came from and really don't care at this point. He's looking out into the field which gives me a chance to take my xbow off the hook hanging next to me.
All in about 5 seconds from seeing him to getting the xbow up, I put the crosshairs on his vitals and squeeze off the shot.
I watch the bolt enter the 10 ring and stick in the ground behind, the sound tells me it's a perfect shot. Watching the deer run off with blood pouring out the side makes me start to shake! I rarely get the shakes prior to shooting, it usually hits me after I take the shot and this one was no different.
After waiting about 15 minutes, I get down and grab the bolt. There was great blood covering the entire length and splashes of blood all around it. It took me several scans back and forth to find exactly where he ran but once I did, the amount of blood on the ground told me he didn't go far. Expecting to see him piled up in the field, I was surprised to keep trailing blood for about 150 yards. he took a left turn out of the field and headed towards some heavy CRP. I lost blood just before the CRP so I started to look for possible entry trails when I jumped him. By quick glance, he jumped slowly and didn't run, more of a slow walk out of the CRP and I decided to back out and let him bleed out.
I only live about 25 minutes from the farm so I packed up and headed home to have some dinner and get my wife to come help track. After about 2 hours, I figured we'd go back and he'd be dead within a few feet of where I jumped him. My main concern was rain would wash away the trail and/or the foxes would eat him by morning. Most deer we let lie overnight are destroyed by foxes.
We immediately get on the blood trail and easily follow it, he's dripping blood consistently. There were very few times that I couldn't find blood with my flashlight within a foot or two of the last blood. There were no pools of blood, just consistent drops. The trail went on and on, we now were on the track for 2 hours and had covered 500 yards. At this point the tracking had come to a major trail intersection. We found blood for about 10 yards and then it shut off, he had an option of circling back or going directly into the marsh. I wasn't going into the marsh at night and figured it was a good time to back out and come back in the morning.
As luck had it, a good friend and fellow club member has a Lab who has found deer in the past. he offered to meet me in the morning and I quickly took him up on the offer.
Once the dog got his nose on the blood trail, he started zig zagging back and forth on the trail and within 5 minutes, he found the deer only 80-90 yards up the trail. There wasn't a spot of blood in that last bit but he found it immediately. The deer was out of blood.
The shot looked perfect, it would have been if I was on the ground shooting him. The fact that he was so close and that I was 20' up made a very steep angle and caught the near lung, some stomach and nothing else. I'm sure if I left him where I first jumped him that he probably would have bled out right there but we'll never know.
Small 8pt, 16.5" outside spread, probably a 2.5yr old young buck.
Here's Timmy after he found the buck
[URL=http://s93.photobucket.com/user/jonnybow/media/20161001_080524.jpg.html]
[/URL]Here's the entrance hole
[URL=http://s93.photobucket.com/user/jonnybow/media/20161001_083032.jpg.html]
[/URL]Exit hole
[URL=http://s93.photobucket.com/user/jonnybow/media/20161001_083100.jpg.html]
[/URL]spread
[URL=http://s93.photobucket.com/user/jonnybow/media/20161001_085152.jpg.html]
[/URL]2.) Swamp Fox - 10/03/2016
Nice, Jon. Enjoyed the story.
Looks like he's been eating well, too. What was in the field that they were feeding on?
Looks like he's been eating well, too. What was in the field that they were feeding on?
3.) Jon - 10/03/2016
The corn was taken down about 3 weeks ago but there's plenty of corn left laying there. His belly was FULL of corn and beans
4.) bluecat - 10/03/2016
Congrats Jon and thanks for the write up.
5.) DParker - 10/03/2016
[QUOTE=Jon;44504]...and get my wife to come help track.[/QUOTE]
These are words I can guarantee you will never ever be uttered by me.
Congrats on the kill [I]and[/I] the recovery. It sounds like you must have caught the lung in a spot that was packed with major blood vessels.
These are words I can guarantee you will never ever be uttered by me.
Congrats on the kill [I]and[/I] the recovery. It sounds like you must have caught the lung in a spot that was packed with major blood vessels.
6.) billy b - 10/03/2016
Good story Jon, sometimes higher tree stands can change what's been drilled in our heads about where to aim, the whole scenario has to be taken into consideration at that height, entrance then exit, I've been there on shots like that before, we former target shooters sometimes forget that we have to worry about other things than just the bulls eye.
7.) Hunter - 10/03/2016
Good job, Jon. Congrats! :beer:
8.) Jon - 10/03/2016
[QUOTE=billy b;44511]Good story Jon, sometimes higher tree stands can change what's been drilled in our heads about where to aim, the whole scenario has to be taken into consideration at that height, entrance then exit, I've been there on shots like that before, we former target shooters sometimes forget that we have to worry about other things than just the bulls eye.[/QUOTE]
That's exactly true Billy and part of why I posted a book length story that might get someone to remember this point. I guess everything happened so fast and I was on autopilot, forgot to aim higher. Thankfully the end result was a recovered deer but I was pretty nervous having to leave him overnight.
Thanks guys
That's exactly true Billy and part of why I posted a book length story that might get someone to remember this point. I guess everything happened so fast and I was on autopilot, forgot to aim higher. Thankfully the end result was a recovered deer but I was pretty nervous having to leave him overnight.
Thanks guys
9.) Triton Rich - 10/03/2016
[B]Boy that sure does look like a perfect spot to hit him, sometimes tough to consider all the angles. It's amazing how far they can go with a single lung. Nice job sticking to it. Pretty cool how quick a dog can sort out a tough trail! Congrats Jon.[/B]
10.) luv2bowhunt - 10/04/2016
Congrats on the kill Jon, that's a nice buck!!
I hate those 1 lung hits. They seem so good when you replay them in your mind but after a couple hundred yards of tracking your heart starts to sink, because you know this deer could go a long way. Nice job sticking with him!
I hate those 1 lung hits. They seem so good when you replay them in your mind but after a couple hundred yards of tracking your heart starts to sink, because you know this deer could go a long way. Nice job sticking with him!
11.) Swamp Fox - 10/04/2016
[QUOTE=Jon;44506]The corn was taken down about 3 weeks ago but there's plenty of corn left laying there. His belly was FULL of corn and beans[/QUOTE]
Some day when all my dreams come true, I'm gonna be able to bowhunt a non-vast cornfield with defined entrance and exit trails in 70 degree weather the first week they cut the corn. I know that's asking a lot, but,hey, it's my dream so I get to choose. LOL
Seems like around here, they don't leave very much corn (or soybeans) on the ground after cutting. I should stop being surprised at that. Corn's usually going down in August, too, where I've been creeping around. If you can't get on it the first week it's cut, you're almost completely SOL.
:beer:
Some day when all my dreams come true, I'm gonna be able to bowhunt a non-vast cornfield with defined entrance and exit trails in 70 degree weather the first week they cut the corn. I know that's asking a lot, but,hey, it's my dream so I get to choose. LOL
Seems like around here, they don't leave very much corn (or soybeans) on the ground after cutting. I should stop being surprised at that. Corn's usually going down in August, too, where I've been creeping around. If you can't get on it the first week it's cut, you're almost completely SOL.
:beer:
12.) Jon - 10/04/2016
On my way across the field, I picked up about 10 full ears of corn and conveniently left them in front of my stand! I have no idea how/why the combine left so many. There are corn kernels all over the field as well and I suspect the deer will be feeding on them for a while.
13.) DParker - 10/04/2016
[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;44545]Some day when all my dreams come true, I'm gonna be able to bowhunt a non-vast cornfield with defined entrance and exit trails in 70 degree weather the first week they cut the corn. I know that's asking a lot, but,hey, it's my dream so I get to choose. LOL
Seems like around here, they don't leave very much corn (or soybeans) on the ground after cutting. I should stop being surprised at that. Corn's usually going down in August, too, where I've been creeping around. If you can't get on it the first week it's cut, you're almost completely SOL.
:beer:[/QUOTE]
Kwitcherbichen. The crop of choice around the WMA I hunt is cotton. And even if the deer did eat it I'd be afraid to get near them because they'd all look like they had rabies.
Seems like around here, they don't leave very much corn (or soybeans) on the ground after cutting. I should stop being surprised at that. Corn's usually going down in August, too, where I've been creeping around. If you can't get on it the first week it's cut, you're almost completely SOL.
:beer:[/QUOTE]
Kwitcherbichen. The crop of choice around the WMA I hunt is cotton. And even if the deer did eat it I'd be afraid to get near them because they'd all look like they had rabies.
14.) Swamp Fox - 10/04/2016
LOL...
They'll bed in it in the summer (pesticides help with bugs) or to escape high water. I don't think they're eating any part of it by the time hunting season rolls around, though they do use it prior (a bit). The only worse crop to deer hunt over around here is sorghum as far as I'm concerned.
I have a good story about that. Well, I think it's pretty good...LOL. Well, maybe sad would be a better word, if I could do cross-outs...:shocked::p
They'll bed in it in the summer (pesticides help with bugs) or to escape high water. I don't think they're eating any part of it by the time hunting season rolls around, though they do use it prior (a bit). The only worse crop to deer hunt over around here is sorghum as far as I'm concerned.
I have a good story about that. Well, I think it's pretty good...LOL. Well, maybe sad would be a better word, if I could do cross-outs...:shocked::p
15.) bluecat - 10/04/2016
I worry about you on the cross-outs as they are gateway codes. First it's cross-outs, then maybe a bold or an underline, next thing you know you're trying to score some shading and changing fonts for people you don't even know.
16.) Swamp Fox - 10/04/2016
LOL...I know where all those other things are. I even know how to insert images. :wink
I know there's a button to "insert horizontal line" but I've never played with it. You don't highlight text with it for crossouts, do you?
Or do you? :tap::-)
I know there's a button to "insert horizontal line" but I've never played with it. You don't highlight text with it for crossouts, do you?
Or do you? :tap::-)
17.) Swamp Fox - 10/04/2016
Oops. Thought I was in a different thread. Don't mean to hijack.
No, seriously...
No, seriously...
18.) bluecat - 10/04/2016