Had a situation yesterday that i always thought might happen, it hasn't, till yesterday. Got to my tree and got to my desired height and as i was setting up (screwing in my bow holder) a deer runs in front of my stand, as i looked over my shoulder it was a nice buck (8 pt) and he was about 20yds away... well i had a slight problem.. my bow was still on the ground. What do you do? I always thought this would happen when i was going up or coming down. I should have had some plans for it.
get there a little earlier?????????:p or stay til dark dark!!!!!! Sorry about your LUCK, it has hapened to me on a Doe a few years Back, i tryied pulling up my bow slowly but she didnt want to stick around for that!!!!!!!!!
Ninja star.... :D I guess it would depend on how close they were. If I thought I could pull it up without them noticing, I would, but most likely, I'd wait for them to pass, pull it up and try and call 'em back.
throw a knife at it..hopefully you will connect.... Every time i climb a tree...it takes a minute to get stuff together up there...screwing in my bow holder and stuff..harness strapped on.. I always feel like i need to hurry up and pull my bow up since thats the last thing i pull up...but never had a deer walk out on me...
Leave an arrow nocked, just in case. The arrow shouldnt effect the raising or lowering of your bow. That just leaves getting the bow to you and drawing back without them seeing you! Good Luck
I had the exact same deal happen on Saturday, except it was only a 4 pt. I wasn't in the stand 5 minutes and he showed up. He was only like 10 yds away and I think he smelled my trail coming in and circled down wind of me and winded my bow and trotted out of there. Needless to say, I drew that bow right up the tree and nocked the arrow up and got ready to see nothing! Ryan
Dive...with knife in teeth, grab his neck and battle it out. Seriously, You assess the situation see if there is a chance of getting the bow up slowly while watching the buck..if so pull it up and shoot, if not you he's in the area let him move along and hope he comes back.
A lot of thoughts run through your head in that situation... As i tried to pull my bow up he kind of sensed something was up... he looked up from eating and trotted about 5 yds from where he was... i thought if i could get my bow up he may come back in or i can get a shot off.... well needless to say... he trotted another 40 or so yds and blew a few times... he never came, back and that was the only deer i saw. If i had a knife handy i probably would have tried it.. lol
i always take my time getting my bow up and getting situated up in the tree. i figure if a buck comes in and my bow is on the ground it wasn't meant to be. i look at it the same as if a deer comes and and never gives a good shooting opportunity, the end outcome is the same...not getting the deer. hope your more fortunate next time, good luck
Happened to me a few years ago. I was still climbing when a HUGE 10 pt walked up the creek bottom I was hunting. I didn't even have my cammo on yet. I stopped climbing, pulled my bow up slow and was able to get ready. The buck stopped two steps short of a shooting lane, stood there for five minutes, then turned around and walked off. No shot and I never saw him again. I guess I picked the wrong tree that day. I still think about that deer. He would have gone 160" easy.
How do you "plan" for this ??? Just a thang, bro, just a thang. I had the same thing happen to me. I was chasing(like literally following) a really nice buck all over my farm. So, I had my climber, and all of the tree were new, as I was very mobile. I climb up one afternoon, and, after a short time in the tree I realized that there seemed to be a tree that would offer more height and more cover about 10yards away. I lowered my bow, took one climb down and I look up only to be gazing at, what was for me at the time, a shooter buck- nice wide 8pt. I start to pull my bow up, slowly, and he catches something moving. I stop, start, stop, start...until I have my bow..Never got a shot off, but, I was cautious and able to get the bow up. I dont see how on earth I could have had a plan for this, aside from ahving some kind of foliding bow in my pocket ?
Buy a bow holder that clamps to your climber and climb up with an arrow nocked. I've shot a few deer like that. I was only 6 feet off the ground just starting a climb once and caught a buck moving 50-60 yards away heading toward me. Shot him at 12 yards.
There are only two ways I think you could actually "plan" for this. Leave your bow in the tree, which imo is a horrible idea. Or you could wear a pack which has a bow harness. Now you only have to worry about getting the bow off your pack, not off the ground. I do neither. I'm the George Clooney of the deer world. If I don't have my bow handy, I just stare at them for awhile and they fall over dead:0)
