***Heart Shot Heroes - Team #3 Thread!!****

Tough it out, Joe. As my husband keeps telling me - wont see any deer on the couch

Or stay home and get better before it gets worse!

 

LOL!!!! Ya I think I'm gonna stay home! it's a sunny 74 degrees with a weird SSW wind.
Time to start my Illinois packing list!!!!!!!!!

 

When do you leave for IL?

We're thinking about going back next year. Our deer are lacking so much here in PA!

 

Saturday morning I got up at 5am and started getting ready. My wife is starting her 3rd trimester so she doesn't get much sleep as it is, she was awake. So I asked her which stand I should go to, she said "Ken's stand." So that's where I headed! Thankfully!

I got into the stand a little before 6 and around 7:30 I saw movement off to my right. Deer! I was shaking as soon as that registered in my mind. The joy and excitement of the site of a deer at 40 yards was soon overcome by a disheartening feeling...it as a 4 point...dag. I, until this time, pass up all bucks unless he's going on my wall. If I wanted meat, I always shot does. But over the past 3 bow seasons i've had an awful time trying to get all the dots to line up to get my first deer with a bow. So I made a quick decision, MEAT > ANTLERS. The wife and I were out of meat... so that was simple enough! If he crosses my shooting lane, i'll shoot 'em!

As he kept walking he was headed right toward me...no time to stand up....no time to draw back...no shot... So my heart started to sink as I thought SOMEHOW this would be another instance that this deer would slip away without a chance to shoot.

As quickly as I was bummed out, I was reminded...HEY at least he's headed TOWARD me! Haha. He came across my trail that I walked in on and started sniffing around. GREAT, he's going to smell me. But NOPE! He did pay anymind and kept on walking...closer...closer...CLOSER. Now he's at the bottom of my stand. I could have threw my knife at this deer. BUT still couldn't draw back, he was way to close and looking in my direction. He started walking toward the creek which was behind me (this was my chance to stand up, turn around and draw.)

As soon as started to ease off the seat to get into position, I rack my finger release across my chest....CLICK....it goes off! Instantly the buck is on HIGH alert, staring right at me! Not only that but i'm in a half seated position without my butt on the seat and all my weight on my legs... I was shaking like a leaf... He stared at me for a solid 2 minutes. I close my eyes to concentrate on not moving a muscle.

FINALLY...he puts his head back down..phew...I sat back down. He was still alert but at least he was looking the other way.

For some reason, my release clicking off, made him a little spooky and instead of headed in the direction he was going (toward the creek), he turned around and headed back in front of me to some white oaks. He crossed one of my shooting lanes at 20 yards, he was facing HARD away from me. So I stood up, drew back, settled my pin on his stomach to angle it up in his chest cavity, and released! IT HIT HIM, IT HIT HIM! That's all I could think HAHA I was so pumped I actually hit a deer!! It didn't go over his back, it didn't go under him, it literally hit him!

I started fist pumpin in the stand (like I just killed a P&Y). YEA I was excited!

The arrow didn't exit him, it was wedge up in his chest cavity, I could see a couple inches of the arrow sticking out as he ran off all hunkered over. So I knew I had to have hit is guts and HOPING I took out his lungs, since he was literally almost facing away from me. I went to the other side of the farm and started cutting more shooting lanes on a rut stand, so I gave him a good hour and half.

Once I started tracking him, I didn't find any blood for the first 30 yards, which wasn't surprising since the arrow didn't exit. But once I found blood, it was an easy track job right to him. He ran about 200 yards to the nearest creek and died. He was stiff as a board when I got to him. So he had been dead for a while. As I gutted him, I definitely could tell I blew through his stomach, but to my surprise on my inspection of his lung and heart, 1 lung was completely destroyed and his heart was split in two. So I guess it was not that bad of a shot after all.




After 4 hours of processing the deer.

 

Meat is meat...glad you were able to seal the deal! Definitely sounds like an exciting hunt! I shake like a leaf every time I see a deer, too! Congratulations on your first (bow) kill! Thankfully you listened to your wife. We usually do know best!

Don't forget two pictures with you, deer, and bow when posting in the score card!

 

Thanks Kristen! You're right, meat is meat! And my wife and I LOVE deer meat!

I'll submit the buck now. I've got the 2 pictures with me, bow and deer!

 

It's submitted boys and girls!

 

I'm leaving October 31st at midnight! I'll be getting to my hunting partners house in NY around 5am, switch my stuff over to his truck and we should arrive in Augusta around 8pm November 1st! I've gotten so spoiled hunting the rut in the Midwest, there's just no comparison! My plan is for next year to bring my wife with me so she can experience it too!

 

Congrats again Chris! Awesome hunt, buck and write up!!

 

Here's a couple picture of the puppy drum we caught yesterday. We had a great day fishing, didn't see anyone else catching any... Guess the puppy's only followed us around yesterday! :D

 

It does get a little crazy come November.

 

Looks like a nice fishing trip, too.

I hunted IL in 2013. It was amazing to watch mature whitetails run on a doe trail. Or just driving and seeing bucks in the fields. The country there is gorgeous. Flat, but beautiful.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

Finally got out tonight despite the warm weather. Saw a lot of does but no one wanted to come close. gonna hang another set in the am where I watched 4 exit the field to head to the standing corn. then hopefully get after em hard next week when the weather turns a lil more favorable.

 

awesome job Chris!!!! Congrats on the buck! Nothing wrong with that! I'd take that buck too.
Been really slow... hunted Sat am and Sunday AM / PM and Monday PM... not a deer seen..
NY and CT have been a bust this year... MA starts Monday 10/19. I didn't have much going on, but I checked a cam over the weekend in a new spot and it was on fire. Mostly all nocturnal, but they are there... 3 big bucks and several small ones. My IR on my cam Is messed up so I swapped the cam out yesterday to get some better pics, but here they are..

 

Those are some nice bucks you have on camera. Maybe they'll start moving during early or late shooting hour.

We have a huge cold snap hitting right now - it was near 80 yesterday but supposed to be in the 40-50's the remainder of the week. I think this may work to our advantage. Otherwise, PA has been a bust, too. If the wind died down some, I'd hunt this evening - but not looking like it.

 

Congrats Chris. Way to seal the deal.!

 

hunt that front!!!! any low lying areas on the property you could hunt? river bottoms anything like that?

 

I could hunt the ravine bottom where I sat this weekend. Still quite windy in that area. I won't go out tonight, raining...but I found out our problem....I think. Some idiot that rents the house on the property is spotting the whole front portion on four wheeler at night. I think that could affect deer in those couple stands.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

I haven't really been seeing the bucks I knowa re out there. Still haven't really figured this property out yet I guess. Did get pretty excited about this guy tho popping up hoping when the rut fires up he starts showing up regularly he may be in trouble.

 

Nice and tall!!