You are much braver then I am. You know Fran will unload the quiver at you. Little, cute, harmless forest critters have been known to attack him. He will shoot first and ask questions later !!! He also believes in the 3 S's... shoot, shovel and shutup. Tim
Should have stayed in my warm dry bed....didn't see a thing. Oh well it's great to be back at it ! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You're faster than I am. I started actual construction of my deck in the third week of July, and finished most of it in three weeks. Still have to put the roof on, and I'm in the same boat as you with all this rain (no pun intended). Good luck fellas.
Hey guys.....just shot a doe. I think I hit her a little back so gonna give her plenty of time. Still in my tree, haven't checked my arrow yet. I'll keep ya posted. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I recently had a stand stolen and was sent your guys way for answers! Ya'll wouldnt know anything about this would ya?
Good luck on the trackjob, Rob. From my experience - that's a dead deer. Just be cautious on the track. If at any time, you believe for 1/2 of a second, just back off and come back later tonight.
Just got back from a unsuccessful two hour search in a steady rain. Followed sparse blood for about three hundred yards to a dry creek bed at the bottom of a hill. Followed a trail back up the other side of the hill to a small hidden pond. Part ways there I caught a strong whiff of "dead deer" but didn't see anything. Went back to the bottom and took another trail. This trail took me right to within nine steps of a fawn bedded down behind a tree. Snapped a few (bad) pics before it realized I was there. Ran about ten yards and turned around to see what I was. Then trotted off. The doe I shot did have a fawn with her (reminds me of another thread ) don't know if it was the same one? It was about 15 yards just inside the woods off a large field that has a larger pond. Also checked that. I did get blown at from the woods as I walked in the field. Sorry for rambling but lots of thoughts running through my head. A good shot would have made all this unnecessary . I'll be back out in the morning. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Rough one there Rob. I feel for ya bud. Chin up dude we have all been there. Warm down in Ky im sure too.i have had deer live 20 hours after a gut shot and it was bedded down with in 150 yards of the shot.
It's happened to every one of us, Rob. And if there is a guy here who hasn't been through it, just give it time, and it will happen. That's hunting. It's a numbers game, and shooting deer with a bow doesn't carry a 100% guarantee. Give it another look when you can, just to give yourself the peace of mind. If you smelled it, and you saw her fawn, I'd reckon she's laid up somewhere nearby. Trust your nose. It usually won't lie to you. I usually grid out the thicker areas with the wind in my favor, because my nose usually finds them before my eyes do. You may have pushed her off of her bed, too. If she's gutshot, her fresh bed will have a lingering stench of guts (but so will the carcass, if she's already expired). If she's alive and sick, she shouldn't travel too far. From my experience, most gut hits will bed within 150 yards, give or take (unless they have to cross a big field or something). Also, bigger does tend to have a little bit more in the tank. They're tough, hardy animals bro. They've evolved to be the toughest of the tough, with supreme athleticism and unbelievable awareness of their surroundings. When they get hurt bad, they're programmed to do what it takes to survive, and sometimes, they succeed. When I've been there in the past, it's always done me a bit of good to just sit my bow down for a minute, kneel down, have a moment of silence, pray for the best, thank god for the opportunity and promise to never give anything but your best effort. Hunters have done more to conserve wildlife than any other group would ever dream of. One bad shot isn't the end of the world. Never forget that. Keep your head up. You know that you gave it everything you had. Being a great hunter requires you to have a memory like a steel trap, but sometimes, it's just as important to be able to enjoy a little self-induced amnesia, and put things in the rear-view mirror. Get back on the horse, Chief. Sleep tight and good luck tomorrow!
Thanks guys ! It's upsetting to execute a plan only to make a bad shot and maybe not find her. I'd been seeing this group of deer for the last three days between two and three o'clock feed down the powerline from my house. Had the right wind today and the perfect tree. Everything went just like planned....except the shot. I'll look again in the morning. Yes, I said a prayer in my stand right after the shot knowing it was back. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I am happy with the way my arrows are flying / impacting after I added weight to them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
For years he tried.. and finally he made it happen. The 'Fuzzy Wuzzy Bunnies'... glad to see there is still some humor in the world Fran. Good luck yo's.. you'll need it!
opening morning tomorrow, make final preps now. onna be in a tree when the sun comes up with my 14 year old on his first deer archery hunt, good feeling!
Very slow morning at my sons stand this morning. We are splitiing up tonight. I just wanted to sit with him once so I knew he was straping himself in right, and I really thought we would see his buck this morning. Everyone of my friends texted me this morning with their buck tags earned,so they were moving.
Oh yeah, Mike. This year, the Bunnies couldn't be denied! Good luck to everyone who's hunting. Rob - earn that buck tag, bro! I went out yesterday for a big day of trailcam checking and the fall recirculation of the camera fleet. We pulled everything out of the mineral holes and now we're dialing in on the likely travel routes and scrape sites. Mixed feelings about how things are going, frankly. We're not seeing any true giants. We've got a few big boys who were routinely hitting our cameras, but as of about 9/1-9/6 (around the time of the velvet shed), they've gone AWOL. That's to be expected though. They're done with minerals at this point. A few of the bigger bucks have a longstanding track record of going off the grid around 9/1, then showing up again the following spring. [video=youtube_share;Z7Fp171Zi8c]http://youtu.be/Z7Fp171Zi8c[/video] This guy looks pretty good. The big sour note from yesterday was the discovery of this guy: He scores just about 140" on the nose. I know this because he was killed in an auto collision, and we found him piled up along the field edge, maybe 200 yards from the camera. Both back legs were broken, and his stomach cavity was ruptured. Ugly scene, fellas. He was a giant buck, too. One of those bucks that were bigger in real life than they are in the pictures. Deer season throws you a lot of curveballs, but this was a first for me. His velvet was cleaned off, and it looked like he'd been dead for maybe 3 days, max. It's one thing to have a buck picked off by a hunter, but it's another thing to see a monarch buck like that go down to a freak accident. Here are a couple more pieces of eye candy. Here's a buck that's been off the grid for a while. 2011 Here he is in 2010 I thought he was dead. Good to see the old fella still alive and kicking.
