AMPUT8 (The Big Toe) Team #8

Going to get a couple of morning hunts in start with right now. Starting to to see mix on cameras, seeing bucks on cameras that was quite and not seeing them in cameras that was hot. Let’s see what happens. Good luck everyone!!

 

Saw 5 doe last night nothing close. im back out this morning.

Same spot as last night.

it’s cold and and the wind a lot calmer

36
6 WSW winds.
I got a good feeling about today,

 

Wrong stand!!

 

Damnnnnnnn , make a move and kill em!

 

At @axtell343 urging,

TLDR: I shot a deer. Almost hurled. Found it. Almost cried

Recurve Buck Story

It starts with last year.
I dedicated the season to using straight recurve bow hunting. I had deer, mostly does, all around me. I hunted from the saddle, the lock on stand, and the ground. A few times I got busted mid draw. Once I had two bucks at 7 yards from me, sitting on the ground, and managed to get my bow from between my knees all the way around my body and pointed at them but got caught in the last One inch of my draw cycle. I missed shots at 11 deer last year.

I’m a good hunter, I swear.

So just before deer season comes in this year (mid Sept) I cut a tendon in my hand and had to have surgery. Once it was healed enough, still against Dr orders, I bought a crossbow and filled a tag with a spike buck. It was the most important deer I’ve ever shot.
Few days from my discharge date to go back to full time hand use I tried to pull my compound and couldn’t hold it up. But I could pull my recurve just fine.

The mistake I made last year, was when I had a shot opportunity I would forget to crawl down the string for distance. And kept over shooting the deer.

Nov 1. Went out and saw a doe right after before last light. I remembered to walk down the string, she was at 10 yards and I was elevated. Took the shot at her and yet again, missed just barely shooting over her. I couldn’t believe it.

Nov 2. THE DAY!!!
I get out early My wife had church so I knew we weren’t doing birthday stuff til later. Get into my saddle standing on my lockon stand. And about an hour after first light, about 0730 or so, I see antlers coming in and he only looked at me once then completely ignored me. Remembering last year, I crawled down the string. Remembering yesterday I gapped down a bit. I let the arrow fly knowing for sure I had made my shot.

And then I almost threw up.

I watched in slow motion as my arrow hit about 2 inches left of where I aimed. It hits shoulder blade. The back half of the wooden shaft snaps and lands at his feet.
The front half slides out of the wound and falls to the ground next to the back half. The Grizzly 155 grain, two blade, single bevel that I had freshly sharpened last night broke off and stayed inside him. And he never made a noise.

I sat I’m the tree for two hours. I’m a terrible hunter. a terrible person. I should quit. I should break this bow and sell my gear. I…
I even called a buddy and told him there is a 100% chance I just wounded a deer that will survive as long as he doesn’t get infected.
I went inside around 0930. Got a cup of coffee. And talked to my wife. She went to church and I decided that I have too much respect for these animals to not at least see which way he went. I have to try.
So I walked outside and got to gettin. Found a great print next to a drop of blood.



He ran through the fresh cut grass field between my in-laws place and mine. I ended up on my hand and knees looking at speckles of blood drops on blades of grass. 90 yards of crawling and I found the path he took into the neighbor’s growing paych of woods that was logged 4 years ago.
That’s when he started bleeding. I found wads of blood. On the ground, on stumps, on tree leaves. 30 yards later I laid eyes on him.

I almost cried.

I went from thinking I was the worst P.O.S to ever injure an animal to putting my hands on my first Trad-Bow kill.

Turns out that freshly sharpened single bevel made it through the scapula, and cut an artery. Every step he took shredded it. It took pliers to pull out of the bone.

The bow, the arrow, and the broadhead did their jobs perfectly.
I could have shot a little more to the right.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thats an awesome story! thank you for sharing the highs and lows, and way to keep after it. I'm glad your hunt ended in success!
I'm hoping one day to get my first trad kill. This is encouraging to keep after it.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the story, thank you for sharing. Just to let you know your not alone. I’ve been there before questioning whether to continue this sport.

congrats on your first trad kill. Awesome

 

Oh yes I did my civic duty today, I voted