Yesterday morning was the last sit of a three day hunt in Ravenden, AR. My first stand didn't pan out so I moved to my back-up spot - a logging road running a north-south ridgeline with an active scrape line. I was set up 30 yards up the road from one scrape and I was 10 yards from the road. I had sat there the afternoon before and had seen nothing, so I didn't have any real hope for the morning. At 7:00 am I spotted a spike crossing the ridge 50 yards away. Then at 7:30 am I heard a deer coming towards me walking the road. I was already on my feet, so I got my bow off the hanger, clipped my release, hugged the bow to my chest and became part of the tree. It turned out to be a fork-horn. He sniffed the scrape and antagonized the licking branch for a moment and then moved on down the road right by me. I was watching him and he kept looking back the way he'd came. Sure enough, I heard another deer coming so I resumed my best imitation of tree bark and watched. This deer did the exact same thing - sniffed the scrape and batted the licking branch with his antlers and walked right by me. He was bigger, and I could see what I thought was a G4 on one side. Just as he passed me he went behind two tree trunks and I came unglued from the tree - one quiet step forward and then to full draw. I got my pin on him and then gave a soft, short whistle to stop him. Here's where it all went wrong. He stopped with a tiny branch in the way. I adjusted and was sure I would miss it. I didn't. I watched in horror as my arrow nicked the branch and went high. The Slick Trick tipped arrow thudded to a halt with over three quarters of the arrow sticking out on my side of the deer and WAY too high. I knew as soon as he didn't run that he'd been spine shot. Here's the strange part - he flinched and then just stood there for a full one and a half seconds and then he didn't really drop - he just kind of rolled over towards me. I was cursing myself and thanking my lucky stars at the same time. I knew that I hadn't gotten enough penetration to hit any vitals so I hurriedly grabbed the one arrow in my quiver that was tipped with a Grim Reaper to finish him off. I took careful aim - the shot was a difficult one since he was lying on the ground with his back to me. Just as I touched the release he managed to use his front legs to raise up a bit and my second arrow did a repeat performance of what my first arrow did - right in the spine. Now I felt like a jerk. The buck was pawing the ground and by the time I nocked a third arrow, he had worked himself around to where I had a clear shot at his vitals. The third shot ended it quickly. What I thought was a G4 wasn't since he didn't have a brow tine on that side. This is the second buck in as many years in Ravenden that was so small bodied that it made his antlers look a lot bigger than what they really were. Ah well, I just know that I just got my second buck with a bow and I'm happy.
Thanks for sharing! I don't know of a single person who has not had an "oopsie" of some sort, myself included. I am glad it ended OK.
Thanks, but it was killed in Arkansas - WEST of the Mississippi River. What few points it generated go to the "bad guys".
3 arrows isn't bad, The first one I spined 43 years ago, I dumped my quiver on, If I had been using a gun there would not have been one good cut of meat left on him. LOL!
Congrats!! That is a good buck. One time I spined a doe and then went for a follow up shot and put it right through her guts..sucked!! Enjoyed your story, congrats again on a nice buck and nice work putting up some points for Team 1.
Congratulations on your buck! Any deer with a bow is a trophy in my book. I spine shot a big doe a few years ago. She went down behind a bush and I didn't have a follow-up shot. I climbed down and ran over to cut her throat. Kind of barbaric, but it got the job done and I didn't mess up another arrow.
The story echoed my one and thankfully only spine shot. I used all four arrows that I had though. Congrats!
