Off to a good start

[Dave N]

Opening day of archery deer season was yesterday. Got out to my stand to see that the neighbor had gone crazy with the bush hog and cut EVERYTHING down across the fenceline. Nothing but squirrels and a possum to keep me company. Went back today and had 3 does come through. The last one came home with me! Looks like the cutting made a new funnel point right where my stand is. I'll take it!

 

[tarheel]

Sounds like he did you a favor. My son and I moved cameras last Sunday and nothing showed on one camera near the creek but the one overlooking a couple of beech trees produced some activity yesterday and last night. The beeches dropped their nuts some weeks ago but the deer are still foraging under them for nuts. There's such a good crop of whiteoak acorns that they'll hardly look at anything else for the next three weeks.

 

[JohnCushman]

Good eats!

 

[devon deer]

Great result there Dave.
Cheers
Richard

 

[Sawtooth]

Congrats Dave. Some good eats right there.

 

[Dave N]

Richard, I will say that losing the weight I did and being in better shape helped out. It's roughly 4-500 yards to my truck depending on where a deer goes down, with several small hills in between. Usually I would go home and get my ATV but today I roped her neck, picked up a stick handle, and started pulling her out. A little sweaty but no heart attack! Although, I did manage to cut my hand open skinning her out. My hoist started giving out and when I went to grab the carcass my knife caught the inside of my palm with the back side of the knife tip. 1/2 inch slice with a bit of fat sticking out. No free medical care here, so I manned up and kept going. Cleaned it up and I'll just hope it closes up soon. Superglue may come out.

 

[Dave N]

Tarheel, the acorns are dropping like crazy here, so I was a bit concerned yesterday with no deer sightings. Guess today straightened me out!

 

[Dave N]

Had a setback this morning. Things were looking good when a small buck wandered under me 5 minutes after getting to my stand. Way too dark to shoot, so it left as safe as it came in. About 9AM a not-to-bad 8 point came from behind me and decided to stop about 25 yards away with it's head behind a tree. YES! Let an arrow fly, and watched it hit a tad high and forward. UH OH... I watched where it went, running like a scalded cat, and sat back down for an hour to wait. Got on the trail, found my arrow bent (yes, I still shoot aluminum!) and full of blood. In one side and out the other, looked promising. I started following the blood trail and had pretty good places and then sparse places. Stayed on it until it finally came out in a large meadow with chest high weeds and grass. Lost sight of any blood there, but the direction it was headed was taking it on a beeline for another property across a road and away even farther. I really hate to stick one and not find it but I also came to the conclusion that it wasn't mortally wounded, or at least not for a while, and I was not going to be able to follow it any longer. If it will live, great. If it ends up dying it sucks, but perhaps by having the coyotes find it they will leave some of the other living deer alone for that much longer. Not real happy about it but anyone who says they have never lost a deer is either real lucky, lying, or hasn't been hunting very long at all. Time to get a few more holes punched into my target to prepare for my next outing.

 

[8andcounting]

thanks for the report, it does suck, its happened to all of us bowhunters . Only thing ill say is that in our group, once you arrow a deer, whether or not you find it you are done, tags punched ... that deer is dead I would guess , you said It was a pass through , the deer is dead or going to die ... maybe you will find him later this fall or in the spring . good luck to you and happy hunting

 

[SFC B]

Fill that freezer!!

 

[Idahoarcheryhunter]

Whitetail doe, favorite deer meat