First archery buck with a Rage!

[musky hunter]

The Wisconsin bow season closes today until after the gun season. I take a vacation day to take advantage of what might be the last comfortable weather hunt for the year. The morning hunt again was dismal, so I decide just to go and explore someplace new. I hunt the municipal forrest and ski trails in Superior, WI. Because of my frustrating lack of success I just set out hiking the trails, scouting for a new place after the gun season. It was 4:15 and after mile hike I came across an active scrape site with at least six scrapes. Normally I would select a spot closer to the road. But I have to give this a try. Setting up is difficult because it's very brushy off the small open forrest area where the scrapes are. There is no blind, tree stand, or other artificial vantage point. This must be done the old fashioned way.

I see a nice log off of the clearing. It has great cover but poor shooting angles. Time is short. My last three scent wicks get used and quickly I made three of the skinniest shooting lanes one ever saw. After comfortably perching on my log, it's only minutes and there's movement. A buck with a small rack and a nice body is meandering my way. Normally when it gets twilight I remove my glasses but things happend quickly and I don't get them off. The animal moves on the brushy trail, I draw and hold and it stops 15 yards away broadside, but a popple and other brush obscure the animal. It's looking at me, but he can't make me out anymore than I can make him out. I have to let down.

Then it turns and retreats. When it got 35 yards away, I grabbed the grunt and gave him a few. That's when I saw the other buck I didn't know was there. My deer turned around and came back, the other keeping it's distance. Every now and then I catch a glimpse of the other buck, hoping not to get busted by that one. I'd love to wait for the other deer, but light is deterioriating and the season ending. So I decide to go for the one in hand given the my poor showing for the season. I draw, it stops, have to let down again, finally it moves where I have a clear shot in the skinny lane and let fly. Miss, over the back and whack, it the arrow hits a tree somewhere in the background. Out goes the deer and I'm mad I left those darn bifocals on. More grunts brings the buck back AGAIN for round three in as I clumsily renock a second arrow. I'm still afraid the other animal will bust me. I know it's bigger, but it also isn't moving in and it's getting dark. Now or never.

The deer moved into another skinny shooting lane. I'm holding full draw and need to stop the animal, so a give it a bleat and adjust to line up the deer. It stops, I aim and release and it takes a step. Thump, I land a hit but a horrible hit, it's well back and the deer takes off. Immediatly it's hitting brush and is making a run in a right hand circle, doubling back toward me and I can hear it better than see it. Then, suddenly, it stopped and I think it might have gone down, not 25 yards from my perch on the log. Total length of his run, maybe 35 yards in a full ten seconds. Silence. After a long five minutes, (well maybe three, I am excited) I carefully make my way over. Could this deer possibly have expired from a bad hit or did it sneak out to leave me a long lenghty tracking job? It's brushy and I can't see him until I'm 10' away, right where I thought he went down. He is done. The rack is only a six pointer, but the body is fairly full. The animal may be 2-1/2 years old. Superior has an intensive harvest policy so the objective here is not necessarily to bag a big buck but to control the city herd size. I am delighted.

There is a blood spot on his rear leg. The shot entered just in front of the rear right leg, high, and completely passed through. The Rage apparently hit the femoral arteries, and it expired quickly. While not a great shot, it had a great outcome and I am thankfull that I didn't have any tracking to do.

It's a good hike to my car, and the closest drag point is from a different area. After quickly gutting the deer I hiked back to the car. Another hunter is leaving but asks how I did. He loves the story and graciously offers to help drag the deer out. Luke is a genuine sportsman of a hunter from the Twin Cities area but has roots in Superior. I'd still be tugging on that deer if it wern't for him.

A lot has been written about the Rage broadhead lately. Some swear by them, others swear at them. Thankfully for me it performed as advertised and produced an amazingly swift kill on a very poorly shot animal. Thank you Rage, because sometimes it's better to be lucky than good!

[MUSKY18]

Congratulations on the buck and godo thing the broadheads did their job and put the animal down quickly. Like you said, doesn't matter what the maker of the product is, as long as it does its job effectively.

[96trigger]

Congrats, nices story.

[sticknstring]

Congratulations Musky - that buck was dead on it's feet. Did you check out the bloodtrail? We'd all like to see a picture of your trophy!

[1eyeReD]

Shot, missed, he ran, yo grunted, he came back and offered another shot?! Man, I need to get myself in on some deer like that! And from the ground, too? Dude, that is too awesome. The old fashioned way.. Highly respectable hunt!

[musky hunter]

Hope you all enjoyed the story. I went back Friday morning to recover my arrows. There is no snow but it was drizzling and beginning to thin the trail. I was able to pick up a serious blood trail and a brush trail, the animal broke a few 1-1/2" alders on his last run. I found both arrows and with a little wash up they are as good as new, except for the noc lite, which burned out. Sorry no pics, kind of tough to get a good pic in the dark with a only a cell phone camera.