Tonight I went out for the last hour and a half of light behind our house in our big woods. Rode my bike down and got settled into my elevated blind and proceeded to watch 4 wheelers racing up and down the township road and through the woods next to us and the slough where the deer bed. Just kind of sighed and thought, not tonight. So then I thought about getting down and got busted by a family of does while trying to climb down the ladder. So back up I went. Sat for the last 45 minutes and right before legal shooting light ended, the does showed up again. The largest was at 15 yards quartered SLIGHTLY to me. I drew, checked I could see clearly through the peep and settled the pin. Heard the dull thunk but I couldn't tell exactly where the arrow hit (need to get some more lighted nocks). The doe did a 180 and bolted, crashing into a tree and doing a summersault backward. Then she got up and off they all went into the next woodlot. I got down 15 minutes later, and quietly shined my light everywhere, no arrow, no blood, no nothing other than a lot of disturbed leaves everywhere. Waited another 15 minutes and quietly walked toward the other woodlot and shined my flashlight around. Lots of crashing through the woods all of a sudden. So I headed back to the house. Ate dinner with the family and then settled in with the family to watch a movie and was thinking about my game plan. For sure I wanted to wait awhile but I was thinking, maybe even overnight. Then I pulled out the tablet and started searching this site for shot reaction and wait times, etc., and made a game plan based on the fact that a fast exit like that likely meant a lethal shot of some kind. And that it probably wasn't a gut shot. So I headed back out an hour ago when the kids were in bed and viola, I found her in about 15 minutes from where I had seen her last. Just inside the other wood lot in fact. Arrow had entered just behind the shoulder and exited in the opposite hind quarter. The crashing I heard was probably other deer fleeing. Anyway, just sharing my story because I think it shows how valuable boards like this can be when everyone is sharing their experiences and knowledge. Happy hunting! My season is over. I've got to get ready for ice fishing!
Good job! Glad you playedit smart and at least backed off to get a game plan together. So many guys just want to bull rush in after them.
Good job playing it smart it's not always easy after a shot on a deer Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks guys. Yes, I definitely had several voices in my head (whoa) last night saying "wait overnight to be safe" and "get out there after 4-6 hours or you'll lose the meat to spoilage or yotes." The spoilage factor is what prompted me to go back after about 5 hours. It dropped into the 30s overnight but if it was a gut shot, I was worried about the meat getting nasty. But also planning to back out if I jumped it. I hunted hard this year and had my shot at a nice buck - and missed. User error. Ahhhh! With work commitments increasing and family time in short supply, I chose the sure thing vs waiting for another buck I would take. And I must be getting more patient because I passed on a lot of bucks this year. Even one or two that I thought, wait, why did I do that afterward? And the good thing is, my kids and family love helping me track the deer and eating venison so the kids were very excited this morning.
