Friday night showed me why I bowhunt

[BLACKJACK]

Been busy the last two weeks with camping and duck opener so Friday night was my first time out. NE wind so I picked a stand where the deer would come out of a 1 acre corn food plot and work their way down a trail that I drive on thru the oaks to check my trail camera. Was in my stand ready to go by 5:45, didn’t take long and I saw the back end of deer moving up the trail. Grabbed my bow off the hook, it was a doe, watched her at about 40 yards, busy eating grass along the trail, only problem was she took the wrong fork in the trail and went the other way. Pretty soon she was followed by a fawn and another doe, but they also took the wrong turn and fed out of sight.  Was on the high alert and sure enough, they came feeding back down the trail, I could hear them eating, was counting their ribs, was looking them over to make sure they were mature does and not fawns, had them broadside at 25 yards, but instead of taking the shot, waited for the slam dunk shot of 15 yards under my stand – and then they reversed course and fed back out of sight, not to be seen again that night!!!  Had a pretty decent shot opportunity but passed, oh well.

So I hang up my bow, replaying the tape in my mind, sat there for about 20 minutes debating whether I should have taken the shot, and then off to my left see a few deer approaching thru the brush at about 35 yards!! It was a big doe and two fawns. I reached across my body and grabbed my bow off the hanger, but that was a mistake, she either saw me or heard me because all of a sudden she’s on high alert, looking up. So we did a standoff for the next ten minutes, me standing like a statue, not moving, she looking and stomping, fawns not sure what the commotion is about. Then she started moving off around me, she actually stood out in front of me at about 20 yards, one ear pointed forward and one backwards, but she was on such high alert that even when she moved broadside, I knew I’d never get my bow drawn back, so I waited. She moved into some brush in front of my stand, in hindsight, should have pulled my bow back because then she passed thru another shooting lane, but I didn’t want to take a marginal shot. I could have shot either one of her fawns, they were clueless, but this big, long nosed doe wasn’t ready to die that night. Eventually they walked out of my life, right down the trail I’d walked in on.

It was a great night even though I didn’t shoot an arrow!!! If I’d have been gun hunting and wanted a doe, it would have been just raise gun, bang, dead deer, but instead I got to enjoy the challenge of drawing a bow and trying to shoot a deer with my bow!!! I lost this round but I’ll be back!!!

[sticknstring]

Sounds like a fun night - that's why we bowhunt!

[reinhard1]

yes, it's not always getting the deer, it's the whole hunting experience. glad you had those moments. good luck.

[Rippinlip]

Sounds like a great night.

Great lesson too, even if you deem the deer a non-shooter, still go through the complete process of taking the deer, move the bow and draw on it. They will let you know what you can get by with. Helps alot for future hunts.

Wife and daughter are starting to do that and it amazes them to see how the deer reacts.

[BLACKJACK]

I WAS in a shooting mode, just didn't get it done properly. But thats part of the challenge of bowhunting, and why crossbows are more like guns than bows. As I put in my original post, if I'd have been gun hunting, it would have been raise the gun, boom, dead deer. Wouldn't a crossbow be just the same, only with less range?

Also, I'm a little leery to start drawing down on every deer I see. Isn't the cardinal rule of gun safty 'never point a loaded gun at something you don't intend to shoot?' Wouldn't pointing a drawn back, broadhead tipped arrow be the same thing?

[bigbucks]

It kind of is the same thing. I occasionally draw on one I don't want to shoot, but never unless I'm 100% for sure, because I don't trust myself not to shoot it. Personally the way I'm wired when debating on whether to shoot or not shoot the pendulum is more likely to swing to shoot. Not talking about if there's a safety concern, that's different.

[deerhunter]

I have done this before drew my bow back on a small buck just to see if I could next thing I Know there went the arrow right threw it I was gutting it out 30 yards away. I guess I get trigger happy so I don't do that anymore. Hahaha

[hockeybc69]

Done the practice draw many times over the years...... and how many times did I kick myself in the rear for not pulling the trigger on that early season deer when I am sitting late season with tags in the pocket. LOL!!!!!

[sticknstring]

I don't practice draw on deer anymore. Why risk giving them a free education? I hunt small parcels and I need to keep my stands fresh as possible. Soon as I climb up, I'll nock an arrow and will draw in different shooting lanes. I'll observe deer but I won't draw on an animal unless I plan to release an arrow.