Cross your fingers......took my first shot at a deer with my bow tonight!

[wannafish2]

Ok, so this is my 2nd year of archery. This year I put up two stands and have been out twice. Tried to go out Sunday but I couldn't stand the wind blowing my tree around so I don't count that day, was only out an hour.

So tonight I went to my ladder stand on my uncles "farm" my uncle is 92 so he hasn't farmed for quite a while, but there are some relatives that take the hay so....anyway they had seen a few deer and I literally mean 3, so I put up a ladder on the West side of the trail leading from one hay field to another figuring the deer would come from the North. I hadn't seen anything but a couple red squirrels and a pileated woodpecker and it was near 5pm so I figured I better put my book down and pay attention as it was nearing the "witchin" hour. Don't know why, but for giggles I gave a few grunts on the grunt tube, then sat back to await darkness. About 5:10, I see a movement to the North and focus on it....pretty soon I see the rump of a deer. Immediately I start getting the fever, feet are jumpin up and down, heart starts flyin outta my chest...man, what is it about this fever I can't get under control?

I'm tellin myself, "girl, it could be a fawn, you ain't shootin no fawn!" and "you better get control, you got alot of waitin for it to get quartering away from you....(remember I'm on the West and it's travelin North to South)...

Nope...still shakin and beatin and breathin hard.

10 minutes later, the deer is 40 yards away and I see its a good size, so I decide to shoot the doe.

5 more minutes.....its not a doe, its a buck, and now its 30 yards away. A nice 4pointer...the main beams are at least 12 inches long...a nice 4 ptr.

Could buck fever get any worse? OMG, he has to see my heart pounding...he's only 10 yards away....coming towards me....now he's 5 yards directly in front of my stand....OH DID I SAY THE WIND TODAY IS OUT OF THE WEST? He takes 2 more steps...10 yards away, quartering away...perfect.

I start to draw.....

He sticks his nose up in the air.....full alert and turns so now I'm looking at his butt and no shot...1/2 way to full draw....he stomps and takes 2 bounds in a half circle back North...and on the other side of a cedar tree...I come to full draw figuring he will come out on the other side of the tree at 25 yards and stop..........

After what seems like 5 minutes at full draw (probably only 1 or so tho) he doesn't come out and I have to let down.

Then....My cell phone starts to ring in my pocket! Good thing its on vibrate!

I'm staring at this cedar tree trying to see the deer, is he still there? or did he go straight west away from me?

5 minutes, 10 minutes...finally he twitches his tail... I figure he's about to step out so I come to full draw again.

He steps out almost broadside but all I can see is his head and his front shoulder....he's looking right at me.

And I release...he whirls and takes off straight west, tail down.....

I didn't see the hit, maybe I pulled it and missed? I get down and look for my arrow....no arrow.

So, I'm waiting until tomorrow to look for him. Cross your fingers that either I missed clean or that I made a good hit.

But, I have never had a buck that close to me before! ever! in 35 years of hunting deer I have only taken 3 bucks and the biggest was a 6 ptr with a small basket rack smaller than this deer's 4pts.

I will update tomorrow! Stay tuned!

[Scoot]

Very cool- sounds like a very intense interaction!

Just curious, if all you could see was his head and shoulder, where did you aim? Could you see enough of his side to hit a spot behind his shoulder bone? Not trying to arm-chair quarterback you with this question- just curious about how it happened and where the hit might likely be (I pumped an arrow into a tree once in a similar scenerio- double lunged the tree, but the deer was unharmed!).

Regardless of the details, I wish you good luck in the morning. Good job backing out if you're unsure. Oh, good luck getting any sleep tonight! I've had a few sleepless nights, so I know where you're at. My sleepless nights waiting on a hit deer have turned out well and I hope your experience turns out the same! Please let us know how it goes.

[Archerysniper]

My fingers are crossed for and I will keep checking for the update. You did the right thing by backing out and it's going to be a nice cool night so nothing to worry about. Try and get a good nights sleep even though it won't happen, good luck in the morning.

[mabr]

Neat story we felt like we were there with you. And we all know that feeling, isnt it great. Better have pictures for us tomorrow.

[Bear55]

Tail down sounds like a hit, good luck tomorrow.

[leech~~]

Great hunt. Do you have anyone to help track and pull him out? If not give a shout out once you find him there's 52801 members on this forum someone has to be near by you! Good tracking.

[Rippinlip]

I have my fingers crossed!

Good job on backing out and wished I was closer to help you out.

I felt like I was in the stand with you, my heart was just beating pretty hard now.

Isn't Archery hunting the absolute BEST!

Mark

[96trigger]

Great job, I hope you find it. So far you have done what you should have. Hopefully this morning when the sun comes up, you are hanging a deer. If not, I'm sure that you learned a lot just from the experience. Good luck, keep us posted.

[paceman]

Great story! Looking forward to a happy ending and pictures!

[sticknstring]

Subscribed for a happy ending!

[Chuby Minnow]

I 2nd Bear's comments. Tail down in most cases if you did hit the deer should be a great sign.

Good luck and keep us posted on your findings today.

[bigbucks]

Wasn't sure from the story, but in my experience the harder they blast away when they go the better. Good luck, looking forward to a happy ending.

[Jim Uran]

Great story and I've got my fingers crossed for you!!

[lovebigbluegills]

Good luck!!! I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures in a few hours. Great story too!

[wannafish2]

Ok, out first thing this morning, got in the stand, mentally marked the spot again, went down, found what must have been where he whirled and took off, no arrow, no blood, no hair...got down on hands and knees and got a stick and checked for a buried arrow ( you know like they get lost in the lawn sometimes), no arrow found. Got back up in the stand again and marked where I last saw him go over the deadfall with his tail down and checked from shot to that spot...no blood, no arrow, no hair, no broken arrow pieces.....

checked the next 1/2 mile, back again, left and right, circles, hands and knees...nothing.

went back again and checked again my shot angle, my shot path...hands and knees again trying to find the arrow...nothing.

My Diamond Razor is set at about 44 lbs and the shot was 25 yards. I am not sure if I would get a pass through, but if the Rage was still in him and moving around, I am thinking he woulda laid down and bled out inside? Wouldn't there be some blood even if the arrow went in but didn't come out? Hair at least? I am hoping it was a clean miss and the arrow is buried under the soft pine needles and I just can't find it?

I am just sick and second guessing. I really think I was so nervous that I missed clean and he just took off. but why the tail down then?

What should I do? guys? HELP!

Suggestions? If it was a miss, I want to hunt the area again and don't want to tramp all over it if I can help it. I mean, years ago my dad took a rifle shot at a buck and gave up his search after not finding blood and looking for an hour. I continued and finally found one drop of blood. We ended up finding that deer and finishing him off so I am not one to give up if there is ANY sign...but I didn't find anything. Not high, not low, but after standing where the deer was, there were quite alot of little branches between me and him, I coulda hit a branch and that would explain why I can't find the arrow....his reaction was not like any deer I have ever seen that was hit, he just plain whirled and took off, no kick out, no stumble, no lurch, nothing. Am I putting too much stock in the tail down? With how fast my heart was beating maybe he did flag and I just don't remember.

What do you think? with no sign of a hit am I ok chalking it up to a miss? How long do you guys normally continue without finding any sign of a hit?

Oh, and to Leech, no, I don't have any help for tracking or dragging him out. Unfortunately, I am a lone female hunter with no ATV. I try to bring some line with me to help hold the legs apart during the gutting then just me to drag...takes some time usually. But if there are any members near Bemidji who would help a girl if needed that would be great to know.

[Bear55]

Too bad wannafish, the tail down is just a sign but not a sure thing. Too bad you couldn't find that arrow because that would sure tell you what you want to know. Maybe go back with a rake and see if you can rake it up in the pine needles, cover a large are from the deer on back just in case it was a deflecttion. Maybe check one more time for blood, sounds like it could have been a clean miss but it would be nice to have some proof.

[96trigger]

Ok, Relax a little bit. Obviously you are a little worked up and that is to be expected. Upon reading your story last night, I was actually thinking you probably hit it too far forward as you said when you released the arrow that you could only see head and front shoulder. No arrow means that you probably hit him. What did it sound like? When you released did you hear the arrow smack something, if you hit a deer, you can often really hear it. I am surprised you did not at least find your arrow on his trail somewhere. If you were in a treestand and had a complete miss, your arrow should probably be sticking up out of the ground somewhere, hard to bury an arrow if you are shooting down, (but it can happen)

Honestly it happens and has happened to probably all of us. I lost one last year, and I hadn't lost one in a very long time. I would go back out and try and find what path he took. Look for kicked up pine needles, try and get on his path and walk on just off to the side of it looking at every little speck possible. Take someone else with you if you have a chance. I think you hit it, but am not sure how badly it is injured. Sometimes it takes awhile for them to start to bleed, and then its like the flood gates open.

You might never find your arrow, I shot a buck once, I saw the arrow go in as it was quartering away, I thought the arrow stayed in the deer and I would find it when I was gutting him out, never did find that arrow.

[wannafish2]

I've been thinking about the sound too, going over and over the shot in my head and, besides the sound at my release, I don't remember hearing anything. I also thought that my arrow should be sticking up out of the ground at an angle...but no luck finding it yet.

I should've waited longer for him to clear. Thats the bottom line. I should have waited or passed on the shot being as he was partly out of my line of sight. I just should have waited. Rookie mistake. Hard to remember that arrows aren't like bullets and your shot has to be clear when your heart is pounding like that. I should have waited. Now I may never know if there is a wounded or dead buck out there at my expense, wasted because I couldn't wait another 10 seconds for him to take 1 more step.

I'm gonna go out this afternoon and look again. I'll update after.

[leech~~]

wannafish2, don't get down on yourself. Get back up in the tree and try for another. Anyone that has hunted for a while has missed or lost some Deer. Nothing in nature is wasted. The Wolves and Yots will have him for dinner soon if you don't find him. Not trying to make it sound like it doesn't matter but Bow hunting is different then rifle. Also, tail down can mean two thing. He is either hit or he was not that spooked when you missed him and he just moved on his way. Now get back up that Tree! After some more shooting practic.

[deerminator]

It sounds to me like you could have missed. An arrow can go a long way if it hits a branch and/or gets nocked off course by an obstruction. Conversely, it could have hit him high in the shoulder and he broke it off or yanked it out somewhere a ways off and will live to tangle with another hunter. A distinct sound isn't always a hit, either. It could be that you hit a rock or tree or stump. I think so long as you make your best effort at recovery, then you have nothing more to worry about. I have been in your situation before and it stinks. You learn from it like you appear to have and apply it to your next hunt to become even more successful. Good luck!

[CrewJones]

dont be mad, happens to all of us, I had it happen to me this year with a rage as well, only thing is I found the arrow in the field went in the deer 7 inches and popped out rage tip was literally bent in half like I hit stone. I switched back to a fixed blade broadhead way more penetration. Rages fly great and on a clean pass through there probably is no better head.

My friend shot a tire with a rage and a muzzy 100gram head from 15 yards with 70lbs draw. The muzzy busted through and wend in about 6 inches the rage never even made it through the sidewall.

The good news is your deer will live and you will have another shot at him, but he might be just a bit smarter next time. Keep your spirits up

[wannafish2]

thanks guys! this forum has the best people on it! I'm gonna go shoot some arrows and then go hunt this afternoon. I'll update you on if I see him again out there! Thanks again!

[sticknstring]

With everything you've described, it sounds like a high hit - either in the shoulder blade or above the spine. You'd be amazed how far an alert deer can drop upon release. From an elevated shot and no exit, that deer will leave minimal sign to follow. It happens a lot, to the point where many hunters will intentionally aim low in the heart on whitetails. Where we think we hit them, doesn't always correspond to the actual hit. It happens fast. Once you exhaust all efforts in recovery, all you can do is take what you've learned and apply it on your next shot. Experience comes from hard lessons. Most of us have had many over the years. I've had similar one just a few weeks ago. I have confidence that you're going to make a great shot on the next one!

[Cheetah]

Good chance of a shoulder blade hit from the shot described. With a 44lb bow it may have just stuck in the bone a bit and not gone into the vitals. The deer may have simply dropped the arrow somewhere you just can't see it. I wouldn't expect to see any blood from a hit like that, though you would be able to clearly see if the arrow was still sticking in the deer while it ran off.

[Scoot]

Yep, I totally agree with the take the guys above had given. Bummer. It's no fun hitting a deer and not recovering it. I hit one a couple years ago that I didn't get and it still bothers me.

I will send you a PM- I have some other info for you.