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KY TAG Filled... Ready For OH .. The Story of "Hollywood"

Hogmister13

Junior Member
231
56
Bow hunting has always been my passion, so much that I would even take my bow to use during rifle season. But a couple instances had left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve wounded my fair share of deer before, and in bow season of 2017, I one-lunged what would’ve been the biggest deer of my life - a 180 class buck. This was a feeling I never wanted again.



I didn’t think I would ever get a chance at that caliber of deer again until Sunday evening. It all started in July, when I got the first picture of him. It was clearly one of the biggest deer I’ve ever had on cam. I named him "Hollywood " ... but he was not a regular. I only got one picture of this deer all summer, so I knew it wasn’t his core area. But I had a good idea that it was gonna be his fall range. My theory was that he was living on a farm about half a mile away across an interstate, on a 400 acre bean field. Only because he had everything a deer needs- the beans, cover and water there. It’s the only bean field within 10 miles of the area, and never gets hunting pressure. But I had something going for me. I had a lot of doe, cover and standing corn, and I also had started a feed site as well - and I just knew it was a matter of time he would show back up ...



Opening day arrives, and I’m in my home town hunting another good deer I had on camera. But he was a no-show. Sunday morning comes around and something was telling me to go check the cam where I had Hollywood. This farm is about an hour drive away from home, yet something was telling me to make the drive . Bucks were shedding velvet and the beans were turning, and it’s that time of year they transition to their fall ranges. Sure enough, I checked my camera and he was back. Not only was he back, but he was in the daylight opening evening and I wasn’t there; I was sick ...



I rushed back home to get my hunting gear and climbing sticks and headed back to hunt him that evening. Everything was falling into place. The wind was perfect and he had just gotten a taste of a recent freshened up corn pile , and I was confident he would be back. Around 7:30, I go to stand up in my stand, like I always like to do the last 30 minutes or so of shooting light. Sure enough, I look up and could just see horns coming through the tall weeds. I immediately grab my bow to prepare. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it through my chest. Hollywood takes his sweet time walking into the corn, checking the wind with every step. I could tell he was cautious - as he was alert to every little sound. I was thinking to myself that i would never get my bow pulled back on him. Finally, he reaches the corn pile and he is completely facing me. It seemed like hours that he faced me, and I was just waiting for the chance to pull back. Finally, he became distracted by a horsefly that was pestering his back. As he turned his head, I made my move. I quickly pulled my bow back, and when I did, Hollywood turns back around and looks dead at me. I could see his eyes widen in alert, and I knew he was about to bolt. I quickly put my pin high between his shoulder blades, and let the arrow fly. He was so close- about 13 yards or so from me. I was confident the arrow would get good penetration. After the shot, he did a quick mule kick and runs hard through a thicket behind me. But I never heard him crash. I immediately climbed down just before it got dark so I could check to see if there was blood where he had been standing. I found a small drop of blood, and could see it was oxygenated. A good sign, but I still feared that I may have only gotten one lung at the angle I had for the shot. I back out of the woods and call my dad and a few of my buddies to calm my nerves and explain what had just happened. I give him 3 hours before deciding to go back. I picked up the blood trail pretty easily for the first 100 yards- but the 100 yards turned into 200, then 200 turned into 300 and at this point I’m getting sick at the thought of not finding him. Deja vu began to set in from the big buck I’d had in 2017 ... I was convinced that it was another one lung, and he was going to Survive. As it turns out, it appeared he had made it to a standing corn field, where I tracked him another 100 yards before I began finding multiple piles of what looked like blood clots. I tracked him through the standing corn and into a thicket of high weeds that were over my head. Suddenly, I heard him jump up and bust through the thicket I had just entered. At this point, I felt so nauseous I could throw up. I had an awful feeling that it was not a fatal hit.



Immediately, I backed back out and decided to rent a nearby hotel room so I could stay close by and search again the following day. Needless to say, I couldn’t sleep and 3 hours passed by with me staring at the ceiling with my mind racing that I had ruined my chance at Hollywood and that I was done with bowhunting for good. My excitement and love for bowhunting had faded in those few hours at the thought that I didn’t get the kill.



Before the dew set in, I decided to head back so that the blood would be easier to spot. I returned to the thicket I had heard him in, and proceed slowly. I spotted where he had bedded down, and then lost the blood trail shortly after. I spent another hour on my hands and knees in the tall weeds trying to determine which way he may have went. At this point, panic set in as I began criss-crossing though the thicket. I had lost hope, and I just knew that I had wounded another giant buck. Just as I was about to give it up, I walked another 50 yards or so shining my flashlight through the overgrown field and my light hit a white belly. I immediately knocked an arrow to prepare for a follow up shot that may be indicated, but after getting a closer look, I realized Hollywood was done. I dropped everything, and fell completely on my back in tears. It was four in the morning, but I called my dad to tell him the news. I had found him, and I had just made the biggest kill of my life! It was 12 hours of the most emotional roller coast ride I’ve ever had, from what felt like the lowest of the lows to the highest of highs. I owe it all to God.
 

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teenbowhunter

Junior Member
1,059
72
Delaware County
How much penetration did you get and what type of broad head were you using?
Also, do you have a picture of where the arrow went in?
Just curious, haven’t seen that shot placement before.
 

Hogmister13

Junior Member
231
56
How much penetration did you get and what type of broad head were you using?
Also, do you have a picture of where the arrow went in?
Just curious, haven’t seen that shot placement before.

The arrow entered the neck about 8 inches above the brisket and it came out at the bottom of its stomach between the shoulders ...was surprised it ran as far as it did.. Must have only got one lung.. shot with a 3 blade Grim Reaper Whitetail Special