Well guys thanks to finding the TOO website 2012 I decided to put some real effort into bow hunting. I got my 1st deer in 2012 with a bow with a nice doe. I hunted over 250 hrs. in 2012 but couldn't connect on a buck.
Fast forward to 2013 I put in a 3.0 ac. food plot beside my woods. I got permission to hunt the neighbors 3 ac. hay field that butts up against my food plot so I built a new hunting tower. Out of that tower I took a nice doe with a smokeless ML and gave the processed meat to the neighbor.
I hunted for the 1st time yesterday in my woods. Placed a new 2 man 17 ft. ladder stand about 20 yds. off the main N-S trail. Yesterday a small forkhorn buck with only one horn came through on the trail. I hunted till 11:00AM until the 15-20 MPH wind was gusting. Last night the wind was gusting 25-35 MPH so I didn't hunt.
This morning it was calm and wet with dew when I got in the same stand at 7:10AM. At 9:20AM a small 6 point with 5" horns came from the North down the train and he never knew I was there at 20 yds. I picked up my bow with the Re-Play cam recorder on it to video him and when I turned it on the damn thing just shut off. So no video. I tested it afterwards and it just shuts off so I guess the battery charge didn't take.
At 10:50AM a small 10 point came from the South down the trail at a rather fast pace. He wasn't running but he wasn't sticking around either. I looked about 50 yds. behind him and here comes a shooter.
The shooter stops on the trail at 20 yds. But he's behind a tree limb with leaves. He stands there with his head up in the air sniffing. He looked jumpy. He takes couple steps forward and again up his head goes smelling the air currents. Then he continued but he left the trail and heads straight towards me. Now this I don't like. At 14 yds. he's still walking and turns sideways but still angling towards me. I left him have it behind the left shoulder.
I hit him a little high due to how close he was. He turned around and ran down the trail from the direction he came. I could see the arrow sticking out of his left side about 6 in. I watched him for about 75 yds. until he left my shooting lane and entered the brush on the trail.
I was a little upset that I didn't get a complete pass through. But I knew it was a good hit.
I didn't have time to get excited before the shot. Then I started to realize I just probably got my 1st buck with a bow. And I might add a rather nice one to. At that point I really had no idea how many points he had. It was maybe 20 seconds from 1st seeing him till the shot.
Ok time to wait. I knew where he went. Within 10 minutes a flock of 5-6 crows started raising all kind of cain in the direction he went. And then I seen a single turkey buzzard circle overhead there to.
I poured out a cup of hot coffee and took out a 1/2 of a sandwich and relaxed. I waited 30 minutes and lowered all my gear to the ground. I took off my heavy clothes and grapped my bow and went to were I made the shot. There is no blood. I took the trail for the 75 yds. on the trail until the brush goes into the brush and not a single drop of blood. This is not good but I keeping thinking of him running away with that arrow sticking 6 in. out his back right behind his left shoulder.
Where the trail enters the brush it starts down the hill towards my neighbor's property. Now I see a drop of blood every 5-10 ft. Nothing big or large amounts. At about 100 yds. I find my complete arrow. There is blood on the fletching so there's a complete pass through. I only find a drop every so often. I decided to pull out due to the lack of blood but I am about 15 yds. from the power line clear cut and that's were the crows was raising cain. So I walked up the hill into the clearing and looked around. There he laid about 50 yds. away 15 ft. from the power tower. he ran right at 200 yds.
Now I'm a happy camper. I get a chance to look at him and he's a perfect 8 point. Damn now I need help getting him back the 150 yds. back to my woods so I can get him out with the tractor. I call my son and he's not answering his phone. I called my oldest grandson Garrett and said sure I'm on my way.
I field dressed the buck waiting for my grandson. During field dressing I find I missed both lungs and took out his liver. His liver just turned to liquid. The liver hit is the reason there was no blood trail. In the 200 yds. I tracked him I found less than 40 drops of blood. I keep forgetting to take pictures during field dressing for future reference. I have to work on that.
On the way down the grandson sees 3 does standing in front of my new hunting tower. He said they just stood there and looked at him. He gets there and we drag it back to my woods and tie it behind the golf cart to drag down to the creek. I take the golf cart up to the house to get the tractor and the front tire is flat. I got back with the golf cart and we drug it up to the house.
He helped me take the pictures for the contest.
As I write this I'm a little sad in a way as for the most part my deer hunting season is over. I do have another doe tag left and I think I will wait till gun season and late ML season and hunt over my new food plot out of my new tower.
Hey and the wife thinks I'm a little strange to enjoy all these early morning hunts.
I think I finally figured out why the buck turned off the trail and walked straight towards me. I had smeared a good amount of Deer Ever Calm on the tree I had my stand attached to. It was about 4 ft. high. He was downwind of me. Sounds good anyway.
Fast forward to 2013 I put in a 3.0 ac. food plot beside my woods. I got permission to hunt the neighbors 3 ac. hay field that butts up against my food plot so I built a new hunting tower. Out of that tower I took a nice doe with a smokeless ML and gave the processed meat to the neighbor.
I hunted for the 1st time yesterday in my woods. Placed a new 2 man 17 ft. ladder stand about 20 yds. off the main N-S trail. Yesterday a small forkhorn buck with only one horn came through on the trail. I hunted till 11:00AM until the 15-20 MPH wind was gusting. Last night the wind was gusting 25-35 MPH so I didn't hunt.
This morning it was calm and wet with dew when I got in the same stand at 7:10AM. At 9:20AM a small 6 point with 5" horns came from the North down the train and he never knew I was there at 20 yds. I picked up my bow with the Re-Play cam recorder on it to video him and when I turned it on the damn thing just shut off. So no video. I tested it afterwards and it just shuts off so I guess the battery charge didn't take.
At 10:50AM a small 10 point came from the South down the trail at a rather fast pace. He wasn't running but he wasn't sticking around either. I looked about 50 yds. behind him and here comes a shooter.
The shooter stops on the trail at 20 yds. But he's behind a tree limb with leaves. He stands there with his head up in the air sniffing. He looked jumpy. He takes couple steps forward and again up his head goes smelling the air currents. Then he continued but he left the trail and heads straight towards me. Now this I don't like. At 14 yds. he's still walking and turns sideways but still angling towards me. I left him have it behind the left shoulder.
I hit him a little high due to how close he was. He turned around and ran down the trail from the direction he came. I could see the arrow sticking out of his left side about 6 in. I watched him for about 75 yds. until he left my shooting lane and entered the brush on the trail.
I was a little upset that I didn't get a complete pass through. But I knew it was a good hit.
I didn't have time to get excited before the shot. Then I started to realize I just probably got my 1st buck with a bow. And I might add a rather nice one to. At that point I really had no idea how many points he had. It was maybe 20 seconds from 1st seeing him till the shot.
Ok time to wait. I knew where he went. Within 10 minutes a flock of 5-6 crows started raising all kind of cain in the direction he went. And then I seen a single turkey buzzard circle overhead there to.
I poured out a cup of hot coffee and took out a 1/2 of a sandwich and relaxed. I waited 30 minutes and lowered all my gear to the ground. I took off my heavy clothes and grapped my bow and went to were I made the shot. There is no blood. I took the trail for the 75 yds. on the trail until the brush goes into the brush and not a single drop of blood. This is not good but I keeping thinking of him running away with that arrow sticking 6 in. out his back right behind his left shoulder.
Where the trail enters the brush it starts down the hill towards my neighbor's property. Now I see a drop of blood every 5-10 ft. Nothing big or large amounts. At about 100 yds. I find my complete arrow. There is blood on the fletching so there's a complete pass through. I only find a drop every so often. I decided to pull out due to the lack of blood but I am about 15 yds. from the power line clear cut and that's were the crows was raising cain. So I walked up the hill into the clearing and looked around. There he laid about 50 yds. away 15 ft. from the power tower. he ran right at 200 yds.
Now I'm a happy camper. I get a chance to look at him and he's a perfect 8 point. Damn now I need help getting him back the 150 yds. back to my woods so I can get him out with the tractor. I call my son and he's not answering his phone. I called my oldest grandson Garrett and said sure I'm on my way.
I field dressed the buck waiting for my grandson. During field dressing I find I missed both lungs and took out his liver. His liver just turned to liquid. The liver hit is the reason there was no blood trail. In the 200 yds. I tracked him I found less than 40 drops of blood. I keep forgetting to take pictures during field dressing for future reference. I have to work on that.
On the way down the grandson sees 3 does standing in front of my new hunting tower. He said they just stood there and looked at him. He gets there and we drag it back to my woods and tie it behind the golf cart to drag down to the creek. I take the golf cart up to the house to get the tractor and the front tire is flat. I got back with the golf cart and we drug it up to the house.
He helped me take the pictures for the contest.
As I write this I'm a little sad in a way as for the most part my deer hunting season is over. I do have another doe tag left and I think I will wait till gun season and late ML season and hunt over my new food plot out of my new tower.
Hey and the wife thinks I'm a little strange to enjoy all these early morning hunts.
I think I finally figured out why the buck turned off the trail and walked straight towards me. I had smeared a good amount of Deer Ever Calm on the tree I had my stand attached to. It was about 4 ft. high. He was downwind of me. Sounds good anyway.
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