Busted

[muskieswen]

I have hunted deer for a long time but this is my first year bow hunting. My wife and I had the chance to go out on Saturday (her first year hunting any big game) I set my wife up in a nice trail intersection and I set up on a good used trail. So we have the two rookie bow hunters set up and ready to go. Being a old gun hunter, we never worried to much on scent but with the bow we know what got to get close so we did the whole shower thing and sprayed down with scent killer before we entered the woods. We do not have stands so we have to hunt on the ground. My wife did not see anything although she said she is pretty sure she heard one go behind her. I got busted by a young buck. He wheezed and took off with no shot opportunity. Long story short deer scores one wife and I zero. Wife can't wait to go again. I don't think I will ever hunt deer with a rifle again. Awesome sport is what I say.

[MUSKY18]

Welcome to the addiction!!!

[Andrew Erickson]

i got busted by a spike my first evening ever bowhunting, at 6 yards! thought the deer was gonna hear my heart it was goin so fast. encounters like that make me wonder why people go do drugs, just go bowhunting!

[OutdoorGirl22]

I would rather bow hunt any day over gun!! Good luck this year!

[Bear55]

Yep it's fun stuff. I had an old mature doe at 6 yards this weekend, she just caught the tail end of my draw and locked in on me so we had a little stare down and I could count her eye lashes. I just needed 1 second to get my pins settled but she bolted.

[Jarrid Houston]

Highly recommend investing in a stand. You will like being in the air when they come in.......

[sticknstring]

I agree, not only can you see 10x better but your scent will swirl less and you won't get picked off as often. Staying out of their nostrils and knowing when to draw are the two biggies. Once you go bow, you never go back!

[Rippinlip]

Bow hunting rules!

Wife started 3 years ago and has had many close calls and has even left an arrow or 2 fly, but no connection and last week she had a doe under 10 yards and she was at full draw and needed the doe to take 1 more step to release and the doe never scented her, doe stopped turned and walked away, no shot opportunity, but we believe in scent control and playing the wind. We hunt from stands and she is severely addicted. Now my daughter and son-in-law are amoung the newly bitten.

Good luck and have fun!

[paceman]

Pretty tough to whack a deer on the ground. They are so alert to everything. Sounds, smells, movements... It can be done but it is tough. Pick up a double ladder and sit together. That would be a good way to learn together and share the experiences. Man just wait until one of you shoot one!

[muskieswen]

Stands are definitely in the future. We are a little short on cash at the moment. A neighbor has offered me a couple of stands to borrow and I think we are going to take him up on that offer until I can afford to buy some for ourselves. It is great to have your wife of 27 years trying something new like archery and then digging it. We are hunting public land but from what I have seen, I think we are in the right area. Even if we do not get a shot it is way more fun (and warmer) than gun hunting. A lot less hunters in the woods also. It is like you have the whole world to yourself. We really enjoy it.

[vister]

i got busted by a spike my first evening ever bowhunting, at 6 yards! thought the deer was gonna hear my heart it was goin so fast. encounters like that make me wonder why people go do drugs, just go bowhunting!

Id like to reply to a few of what some of you guys said, but this one sums it up!! exactly!!

[Musky Buck]

Be careful not to distance oneself from gun hunters, there's many reasons we don't bow hunt, I've coached over a thousand football players in my day and had to choose between helping young boys and girls from mid-august to nov. 1st and beyond on good years which at the varsity level is nearly a 7 day a week job with scouting and reviewing tape etc. I hunt geese as I want my children to be able to participate and not worry about being quiet or moving to much etc. plus that leads into pheasants/grouse/etc. home protection etc. It was a tough decision on my conscience, bow hunt for my selfish love it reasons or hang with a community and give to it's youth. That bow I got 25 years ago has a lot of dust on it. I think time is the biggest factor in whether you bow or not. So getting busted by a deer is a learning experience that you learn from just like a football player learns from his or her mistakes. Best of luck and enjoy the fall and I hope you bust the deer before they bust you !