i just keep tinkering with my arrow set ups The attached is a picture of 3 467gr arrows and 3 507gr arrows at 20 yards with my new fletch configuration. Then getting my son dialed in with his bow still. still needs new strings, a peep, a d loop etc
Hunted last week in North West Missouri. A buddy I hunt with killed a medium and a giant doe. I shot a really good doe at 43 yards. Shot looked good and sounded good but I did not get good body language off the deer when it was hit . Tail went up and she was gone. I found my bolt and not much blood or hair but there was evidence of pass through. I waited three hours to trail her. I found blood about 20 yards from shot and then good blood that led to several bloody beds and then the blood stopped at the edge of a freshly harvested bean field. She was no where to be found no clue where this deer went. My guess is that the shot was high and went above her lungs and under her spine. She lost a ton of blood but might have survived. I hate it but as we all know it happens to the best of us.
After kids go to bed tonight I'm headed out. Its only about 105 miles from my house to the cabin so I'll be getting in later... Luckily it won't be too cold when I get there as the cabin doesn't have heat until you light the fireplace, boy I've had some later season hunts where I get there at bed time and sleep on the lazyboy because its the closest thing to the fireplace because its COLD in there at first. Thursday morning hunt forecast Mid 60's, 50% chance of rain and moderate wind. Ugh, rain. I do have a ground blind and an enclosed elevated blind, but I do not like hunting out of that enclosed elevated blind, I feel blind and deaf in that thing. Thursday even rain chances go down a lot with mild wind in the 70's Friday morning forecasted to be in the 40's Thursday might suck but Friday should be good!
I’m headed out with my boys after I finish work today for the weekend. Forecast by me looks similar to yours as far as rain on Thursday, but Friday evening and Saturday morning look to be cold, calm and dry…I’m thinking that’s the day one of the big ones makes a mistake! I’ll keep you guys updated throughout the weekend when I can…good luck to everyone else headed to the woods this weekend, let’s put some deer down!
Don’t beat yourself up about it, happens to us all. Especially when it’s first shot of the season… doesn’t matter if you’ve been doing target practice every single day of the off-season, when you’re in the stand and draw back on something living for the first time in 9 months its a whole different ball game. I hit that fawn of mine way far back, all liver and no lungs, just got lucky because she was tiny and didn’t have very much blood to begin with so what little blood she lost was enough to put her down out in a hurry. I remember a couple years ago first shot of the season was in the evening. Right before I showered and headed to the stand I had spent 45 minutes target shooting. Was walking around between arrows to practice judging range without a rangefinder and shooting different distances and between-pin shots and I was absolutely nailing every shot. Got to the stand, had a nice doe come into range like an hour after I got up. She came out and gave me a shot just slightly behind a tree that I had lasered at 28 yds which put her at exactly 30yds which is exactly my second pin. I remember thinking, easy shot, dead on second pin as I drew back. Reminded myself to stick to proper form and to don’t forget to follow through, then I sent it. My form was great, let my release surprise me as it should, and remembered to follow through, and my arrow sailed a mile over her back. I immediately realized that for some damn reason I had lined up on my 5th pin - aka my 60yd pin. Literally not 5 seconds after I had been reciting “2nd pin, 2nd pin, 2nd pin” over and over in my head. I considered switching to a 3 pin sight after that because I only shoot out to 40yd when I hunt but decided against it. Thats the only time i’ve ever shot the wrong pin and was the first shot of the season with all the nerves that go with it. Plus since I basically lined up with the bottom pin it wouldn’t be mattered if I had been using a 3-pin because the bottom pin would’ve still been 10 yds too far. The whole reason I use a 5 pin sight is because I like to practice out to 60yd. I find that when I’ve been practicing 60yd shots it makes those 35-40yd shots from a stand seem a whole lot closer and I decided the benefits of practicing long shots outweighed any added risk of picking the wrong pin that comes with the 5-pin sight. 2 days later I got another opportunity on what I’m pretty sure was the same big doe and made a perfect double lung shot. I always feel like once I’ve gotten that first-shot-of-the-season out of the way, even if I messed it up, every shot after that is way easier. For me half the battle is getting drawn back and getting the shot off without getting busted so even if the shot itself is bad it still kind of reminds me that I can do it without getting busted and that calms my nerves a lot and let’s me better focus on making the shot.
Well it’s been a slow start so far. The weather hasn’t cooperated with rain and warm temps, but it’s gonna get much colder for tonight’s hunt and the rest of the weekend looks pretty good too!
I missed a hell of a buck tonight shot clean over his back somehow. Hopefully he comes back around. Here is hitting a scrape right before he headed my way.
I've got some points for us guys. I shot a pretty solid buck. I'll share some pictures and get him on the score card on Tuesday. Sent from my SM-S911U using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
Hell yea dude!!! Don’t forget 2 pics with you and the bow and the deer! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
awesome Blarney! migraine took a giant dump over my hunt but im going back Wednesday night to hunt some more. Ill get points at some point
Man, these last 4 days have been super slow for me. Caught a glimpse of a a few deer, but nothing close and nothing with antlers. I’ll be back at it after work on Wednesday through next Sunday, hopefully they’ll be up and moving a little more then!
goodness..... Friday evening driving the wife's van all the sudden it starts missing, go straight home throw a reader on it, P0302 - misfire cylinder 2 ok, lets see the easy things that could cause it... To do anything at all I have to pull the entire intake off in a 20 degree garage? AH, no, I'll take it in. They tell me, yep 100% cylinder 2 but they think its a lifter and that shop doesn't do that type of repair but will replace entire engine for $9,700. Um..... nope At least they didn't charge me for the "diagnostics" they did. Look some stuff up call a couple people and am told to except $2,000 to $2,500 to replace a lifer and at $20 a lifter just replace all of them while they're in there. Merry Christmas ME! So stressful I do ok, but the Mrs. works PRN, meaning very little so we're not exactly rolling in it over here.
I did a quick measurement tonight, came up with 132 1/8. I will re measure tonight and get it on the score card. I have the mandatory photo's, no worries. Sent from my SM-S911U using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
