Annual Veterans Deer Hunt 2017

So here is my update:

Friday:
Got up fairly early and packed the truck, got on the road around 11 or so. Pulled in to Lima around 1 and met up with a buddy at 1:15 to check in to the hotel. Got checked in, and bull shitted in the room for a bit. We went ahead and went to the area just outside the Lima tank plant to qualify and do one last bit of paperwork, waivers basically. I qualified with no issues. Hung around for a bit and then went over to the Local Union Hall and ate dinner, got our area assignments and met up with our guides. I was set up in the same area as usual which I like, the area coordinators are pretty cool, and I was set up with the same guide I always have. Another nice guy. The guy who put this whole thing together likes to have a bunch of pictures taken to show the sponsors what their $ is going to. Happy to oblige, to a point. LOL. Got done with the pictures and headed back to the hotel room. Finally went lights out around 12 or so. Spent the next hour going over scenarios in my head, too much excitement, couldn't hardly sleep. Alarm was set for 4 A.M.

Saturday:
Alarm went off, got the coffee started, brush teeth, take pills and put in a chew. Hoping to take a shit before I head out to the blind. Leave the hotel, meet up with my guide at the union hall and have a donut. Head over to the Tank Plant, get checked in then head to the bathroom. No luck, no movement. Head on out to the blind. Once we get out there, there is a deer on the feeder. Get into the blind and get set up. 10 minutes later there is deer making their way in. A big body makes its way in, stops and heads right back out. Uh oh. 10 minutes later a bigger deer comes in from the right, 30 yards, nose to the ground on a mission. An hour later a very small deer makes its way to the feeder. We are about 10 minutes into legal light. The fawn stays at the feeder for about 20 minutes and walks off. It shows back up about ten minutes later, eats more corn and leaves again. 30 minutes later it comes back, but it brought mom this time. She turns the corner, sees the blind and says "Oh hell no". She blows and they both take off. There are a bunch of deer showing up to my left, but they are skirting around us, taking another trail. Time for lunch. We came out of the blind, went and got some warm chilli and then head back out around 1:15 or so. 25 minutes later a huge 8 shows up. The rack was pretty good but the neck was enormous. He was on the same track as the others that skirted us. We got his attention, but he would commit. 2 hours later he came back from the same direction he went out in, skirting us. By this time Im getting frustrated. We are seeing der, just in the wrong damn spot. We have been keeping an eye on the weather for Sunday. It was telling us rain and thunderstorms from 2 A.M. lasting all day. The guide and I were thinking we probably wouldn't be hunting Sunday. That being said I decided I wasn't leaving this hunt empty handed. Technically it a "Brown its down" hunt. But my guide knows better. He knew what my goal was for the weekend. Im looking to land my 1st buck and that 8 would have been a beauty. Around 5:30 or so and deer is coming of from the left. As soon as I saw it I drew my bow, and my bow lurched forward a bit. It seemed to take forever for it to get into position for me to get a clear shot. By this time my breathing is all over the place and my heart was screaming. Its just beyond a tree that I already knew to be 23 yards. I settled my 20 yard pin just behind the shoulder. Just as Im about to touch my release, my bow lurched again and my bow went off. Thwack, I heard my arrow hit the deer but I didn't see an entry wound at first. I thought "Where the fuck did I hit"? The deer stumbles a bit and makes its way over to a big bush and falls into it. Then gets up and makes its way directly beyond where I shot it, about 20 more yards or so. That's when I realized where I hit the deer and my heart sank. I grabbed my binos to make sure. When I pulled them from my bag they fogged up. WTF!!! I cleared them and took a look. MOTHER FUCKER!! IM AN ASSHOLE!! When my bow went off the arrow ended up going through the deer's eyes. Nearly a complete pass through. Its still sticking out of the left eye. Entered through the right. The guide and I were stunned, we couldn't believe it. I was fuckin mortified. I felt completely ashamed about what I had done. Right away I knew I needed to get a clean kill shot, but we have to OK t with the area coordinators. We gave him a call and got the all clear. During this time the deer is standing about 50 yards out, not moving. Its moving its head around trying to figure out WTF had happened to it. All I could see was the deer's ass and the arrow moving around. As Im making my way out of the blind, the deer had started to wonder a bit, right towards the gravel road. At this point I wasn't aware that the deer was blind and couldn't see. The deer is looking in my direction and didn't react to my movement outside the blind. As Im making my towards the deer, the giant 8 come barreling down the road and tries to bowl the deer over. Not sure how he missed. I was able to get within 30 yards, ranged the deer at 29 yards broadside. Drew my bow, had to let down and take a few deep breaths. Draw again and let one fly, through and through. The deer turned and ran into the chain link fence and bounced off. Stood back up and was gushing blood. The deer finally fell over and succumbed to the 2nd shot. During the melee, the 1st arrow came out. I went and retrieved both arrows. The 2nd arrow was fine but the 1st one was broken off. I then assumed the rest of the arrow was still in its head. I was right. We temp tagged the deer and got back in the blind. I was still a fuckin mess. Replaying everything over in my head. I felt so bad for the deer. I fucked up big time and the deer had to suffer for my lack of control. 20 minutes later another deer, this one much smaller, showed up. Theres no way in hell Im taking another shot right now. Legal light is passing. We get out of the blind, drag the deer out to the road. That's when I found out it was a button. We also found the rest of the arrow. The nock was the only part sticking out from its right eye. The rest of the night I kept thinking about what had just done. Went back fro some chow, a huge group picture. I meet up with Phil outside the hall. Told him what had happened. Time to head for the hotel. Im lying in bed and my phone said 10:30. 5 minutes later it said 9:35. As did the clock on the night table. Time to try and get some sleep. Still replaying everything over in my head.

Sunday:
Alarm goes off at 4, me and my buddy kind of slowly get going when he realizes its 5:15. We were supposed to have been meeting up with our guides at 5:30. Basically, my phone "Fell back" TWICE!!! Fuck we are going to be late. We made it, but were 10 minutes late. No worries. Got out to the blind around 6 and 5 minutes later we've got 6 deer at the corn. One looked to have a rack and seemed to be tending a doe. 25 minutes later, legal light comes around. Nothing else showed up the rest of the day. The weather held off for the most part. Nice shower from 7-8:30. All clear after that. We left the blind at 11:00. We showed the area coordinator where the deer had been traveling. He said he'd keep it in mind for next year. Went back to the hall for lunch, snatched up my BB and headed to Giles to butcher. Got the deer all cut up and just walked in the door about an hour ago.

All in all it was a great weekend. Lots of good people up there. From hunters, to guides to volunteers. Its a great event and gets a little bigger each year.

Im still down on myself for my fuck up. I think I will be trading in my compound for a cross bow. Im way to accustomed to triggers and scopes. I don't have a good excuse for why things happened with that shot. But the deer should not have to suffer for it.

Phils write up is correct, they do pile us up. Its a population control hunt. 45 hunters, 32 deer. I don't think any of them were very big.

Thanks to everyone who followed along. Im already looking forward to next years event. Hopefully it will turn out better.

The blinds are up a month before the hunt. Something I wanted to add, I've been going to this hunt for five years. Many of the handshakes have turned into hugs. It's a special event.

It wasn't the equipment, I can guarantee that.