***Official LIVE from the Stand Thread, 2019***

Looks like he’s close enough and in good position to shoot when he stands.


Hillview Hunt Club

 

Trying to figure out the odds of climbing into a stamd, cutting a few branches and not being busted by a buck bedded 50 yds away, then have him get up move half the distance closer bed back down and still end up with a shot on him?

Assuming it was the buck he shot at.

Not sure how to take the delay

 

It’s going to be a long drag, these blow downs are rough! Be at least another hour to get to my truck. Details later.


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Not eff funny

 

Alright. So he got up after a while and was moving around. Thought he was tonna jead in opposite direction but ended up circling around to behind me. He stepped into a open spot and stopped, so i drew bow back. He turned his head back and was licking back and as soon as he picked up head I let arrow go. Had it right behind shoulder but when arrow hit and he took off could see arrow still in him. He took off across feild kind of jogging then would walk. Ended up about 200 yards across field to neighbors line. So got down and didn't see any blood where arrow hit and couldn't find any. So I'm back at shed now dropping off some gear and am goin uo to neighbors to see bout goin on them to look. Shouldn't be issue.

Gonna head back and look more in timber where shot him and start trying to trqck across field.

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Good luck

 

Good luck on the track.


Hillview Hunt Club

 

Did the arrow look to be in a good position? Any idea how much penetration?

 

Damn, how much penetration you think you got?

 

Good luck brother!! Bring us with you!!

 

Good luck! Give him time, go back where the shot happened and follow tracks in the snow, see if he dropped the arrow somewhere.

 

Jrk you got this. Snow. Cold. Track him down and get him.

 

Good luck man!

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Good luck JRK! Hope u get him!


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I get out of work, take a shower, now I am on stand...with 70 messages to catch up on.

Epin adventure Jrk...take your time, work slowly, make sure you stay on his trail, and use the snow to your advantage.

Congratulations Early...we needed blood.

 

Dunno. He went all mia even in our team thread.

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Yea sorry bout all the drama, i was having few minin heart attacks too the whole time he was bedded down. I dropped off some stuff in the truck and now I'm sitting in shed letting phone charge a little. Went and talked to neighbor so thats no problem. Gonna wait here another 20 mins or so then head back and start at square one.

As far as arrow, from what i could tell in all the excitement it looked good when it hit. And when he took off looked like at least 1/3 to half was in him. I've got 29.5 draw so should have been good amount. Kinda odd didn't find blood but i was about froze and didn't look real hard.

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Sorry for the ridiculous delay boys. It’s been a busy few days...you can call me, well, mike.

Anyways, I was fortunate enough to be successful on a hang and hunt on a property that I have very little experience with. I probably won’t have this spot next year for situational reasons but that’s okay. I was sitting in a peninsula woods that juts out into a corn field and I was filled with anticipation because deer sign was all over.
At about 4 pm on Saturday night I grunted a few times when the wind died down a little so that the sound would hopefully carry father. Just a few minutes later I looked to my left and there was a buck coming from in the swamp to the cornfield that I was hunting. He just stood there on the edge of the swamp surveying the area...a level of carefulness that seemed pretty uncharacteristic of a dumb (and rutty) young buck. He was directly down wind of me and he definitely knew something wasn’t totally right. He progressed slowly and hesitantly toward the Florida-like strip that I was set up in. He worked his way into the wooded patch on a trail and eventually got within 20 yards, presenting a great shot. Now here’s where it gets interesting for me.

I had a decision to make. This was not a “shooter” for the standard I’ve set myself in years past. In fact, he was probably 50+ inches outside of that range. He wasn’t an “impressive” buck by any stretch in regards to rack, age, or size.
On the flight back home to IL, I told myself that, for the first time since my first year bow hunting 6 or so years ago, I was hunting to kill. I would not let a younger buck pass if it was big enough to get me excited. I wanted meat in the freezer and the monkey off my back. I’m in college and I never really get to hunt anymore.
As he turned broadside, I looked at his rack. I thought about how different this entire situation was. Last year I passed up deer that were much bigger. I passed countless 3 year olds and there I was, shaking from a 2 year old dink.
But this was different. Totally different. My hunts are very limited and my opportunities even more so. All of it was there. The nerves, excitement, and youthful impatience.

So I drew.

I settled my pin on his chest and let it fly. He took 5 steps and peeled over (he thrashed for a minute but then died). I was shaking and ecstatic...over a 2 year old.

That’s when I got a little reflective. It made me really think about why I hunt. I asked myself why I cared/hesitated because of what people might say or think of the deer.
For my situation, I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I couldn’t have cared less about age, management, maturity, inches, score, pounds, or anything else in the world. I was proud to have killed a buck with my bow in an clean and ethical fashion. I felt like I had accomplished what I set out to do and no score can take that away.
Anyway, I know I shouldn’t be sitting here justifying to you all why I shot a dink. And I guess I definitely am doing that. But in a sense, this deer kind of broadened my perspective on the sport a little bit.
Deer hunting is situational. We do it because we love it. We love the animals, the outdoors, and the experience.
All the boxes that we feel we need to check in order to let an arrow fly are personal, situational, and ultimately, superficial. If I had all the time I have had in seasons past, this buck would have undoubtedly lived not just another day, but a couple more years. But that’s just not the way life went.
Last year I went deer-less after coming off of a stretch of shooting, in all honesty, 2 pretty nice bucks every year. This year, I barely get to hunt. This year, I shot a small buck. A small buck that made me just as happy (and honestly just as excited) as my biggest buck. A small buck that died quicker than any other deer I’ve killed with a bow, put meat in my freezer, and put food on the table that night for me to share with my folks and extended family. I asked myself, what more do we hunt for? I’m not sure I can answer that, and it may very well change as I get older. It already has.
I could ramble on but I won’t. I just end up talking in circles. It was a hell of a drag, terrible pictures, and the best weekend I could’ve asked for with my family.

My first buck tag is filled. Now I wait for a big one when I’m back in town.

I’ll now gladly return to my role as a hopeful supporter of you all that are out.

Good luck boys

- Shane


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