Almost...Part 2....
Fellows.....YOU AREN't GOING TO BELIEVE THIS..(sorry for shoutin'.)
Yesterday morning, 17th, Sat., the wind was still wrong and I decided to hunt the same area where I missed the doe the morning before. The wind is in my favor there. I payed close attention to the details: non-scent soap, clean hunting clothes, spraying down with Scent-A-Way, everything. Just as day was beginning to break I picked up my kit, bow and walking cane and eased out the door to my stand with a refreshed attitude and positive thoughts.
I sat in the same general area for 45 minutes until my legs began to hurt, sitting on the wet ground, and I just had to do some stalking.
Walking silently down the acces road to the now overgrown back field, I spotted a large doe track heading toward the pine thicket on the high plateau that used to be my pasture. This is usually a good place because the deer browse the briers and vines underneath the pines in relative safety. It isn't overwhelmingly thick in brush or brambles, sparse in places and thicker in others...and I can see maybe 60 yards distant, maximum. You've probably hunted such a place before and know such a place.
I followed the doe tracks to the main trail...and to a point where the trail forks---and chose the left fork which heads to the old field's edge and the hardwoods; and a sharp decline into a hollow...where the white oak trees grow. I eased along at a snail's pace, looking very closely for a patch of white, movement, some eyes or the summertime reddish color of deer hair among the low pine limbs and background. About to move on I glanced to my left and spotted what appeared to be a fire ant hill. I stood motionless and watched this spot (35 yards away) until this 'ant hill' moved. lol Yep, it was the reddish back of a deer. It had it's head down browsing briers and didn't even know I was in the world. I had stalked her to her feeding ground....and it was 7:45.
I drew back my Mission Buckmaster and placed the 30 yard pin on her chest....but she stepped forward to get to more browse....her head still down browsing. This placed her in a real thick area and I had no shot...so I let down the bow and waited...with an adrenaline rush...remembering not to become too impatient and shoot too early. She finally moved 2 steps to a fair alley and I drew back again. I could see the deer's chest, shoulder and neck but not her legs...due to the thick stuff on the ground.
I had to shoot in an alley between 2 pine trees, really close to her; one left and one right---the right one closer to me than the left one. If I waited any longer the doe would be into a thicket just 6 steps away and I would lose my opportunity for a shot. Her kill zone was very visible. I put the pin just behind her shoulder and released the arrow...tap !...POP...POP ! All heck broke loose...
I could see this arrow sailing to it's mark...the does chest. It seemed like I was watching in slow motion as the green and yellow vanes sped along in a flat trajectory ! lol The deer jumped the string...and got, it appeared, only 6 inches high from the ground...lol ...and my arrow hit a leg-sized pine just behind her. And that was the POP I heard. My heart was pumping !
I've never seen a cat take off any faster---nor flatter to the ground ! She was gone in a flash....except that 'she" was a lone, young buck with maybe ? 7-8 points. I finally saw the deer's head as it swapped ends and left. Nothing wide or special...just a young, 140 lb. buck. (notice I never said I saw the deer's head, as it was down in the browse ?...yep, it shocked me too when I saw the little tines sticking up !)
I found my precious arrow this time ! lol Thank the Lord ! It hit the tree and bounced back, struck a limb and fell in the pine straw without any damage and a little pine bark between the inserts. I looked for blood or hair just to make sure but he was as healthy as before I released the arrow.
Ouch...miss number 2 in 2 days, for mission....
I'm able to stalk deer...heck, track'em to their feeding area without being seen or heard. It's the dang trees and saplings that have my number and block my arrows ! LOL
Man that was a fun hunt/stalk...and I'll be out again today and the next day ! My 'shooting' luck has to change sooner or later, and I'll be ready when it does ! I'v
I've learned much in these 3 days.
Hope I'm not boring y'all to tears with my posts ?...and thanks much for listening if they are or aren't ! (grin)
(btw, tree stands are impossible for me...wish I could but I can't physically climb them safely with my disability...so I have to either sit in my Easton ground blind or stalk. But the deer are beginning to browse a little in the winter wheat plot I planted. And my ground blind will come in handy there a little later in the season, hopefully.)
Cheers and good hunting to all !
mission
