This weekend is going to be one of the best of the season. Shots will be taken, and giants will die. Legends are made on Halloween weekend every year. Listen to me... If you shoot a deer, and you're not 100% sure of the shot - just pack up your gear and go home. Don't look for blood. Don't try to cheat fate and peek around the ridge. Just cowboy up, pack up your stuff, and come back the next day. Septicemia (aka septic shock) results when an arrow is placed through the gut cavity, cutting through the stomach and/or intestinal walls, releasing bacteria and toxins into the bloodstream. It's nearly 100% fatal. Plain and simple. Fact is, it can take 6-12 hours for septicemia to run its course. 6-12 hours. Remember that. Go home. Don't be a hero. Rushing the track job won't speed up the natural processes that need to happen. Play your cards right, and you'll get your deer. Push him, and odds are, you'll learn the hard way... Case and point, here's a breakdown of the shot that I made last week: One look at the arrow, paired with the big white tuft of hair on the ground, I knew there was no way I was tracking that buck until the next day. I was confident in the shot, but equally confident that I needed to give him plenty of time. He went about 400 yards without bedding, got himself in the water, and that's where it ended. I recovered this guy 20 hours later. Look, there isn't a guy on this site who makes perfect shots everytime. That's just a fact of life. If you've hunted long enough, you've got at least one sad story. We wear those moments like scarlet letters. They define who we are, and they factor into the way we handle future situations. Everybody makes a bad shot, sooner or later. It's how you handle what happens AFTER the shot - that's where we separate the wheat from the chaffe. Be smart out there guys.
Well said! Absolutely kills me I will be inside with packets of Biochemistry as you guys are taking to the woods for a Halloween buck! Best of luck!
Great post, Fran ... take the wife out to dinner and then home to bed ... get out there at first light and get your deer ...
I think I shed a tear... But honestly great advice everyone should follow. Was the meat still good on that bad boy?
Great words. Your quite the writer. The big bucks are safe from me this this weekend as well. Working a seven day week
Well said. We all have those moments when when leave the woods knowing that even in death that ole boy has out smarted us. However, you have to pick yourself back up and strive to make good shots every chance you get.
Or you can not take poor shot angles and reduce the odds of a questionable hit. If it was anyone but the the King making this post, I wouldn't be the first one pointing this out. All hail the king of archery!
[Everybody makes a bad shot, sooner or later. It's how you handle what happens AFTER the shot - that's where we separate the wheat from the chaffe. Words to Live by!!! Excellent Post!
two things: #1.) For what its worth...this is one of the best posts i've read on here =) #2.) That picture of your deer in the water is amazing. It's almost mystifying to me...i love it!
