ApexerER

Thank you, its a weird feeling being tagged out....Got my first deer with the Bow a few weeks ago and now my first buck/best buck with the bow....Now I am hoping to get a big daddy like all the pics on here....

Saturday morning I was in such a bad mood. The wind was whipping and all week it had been perfect hunting days until I could finally get in the woods. I pull up to my parking spot and head into my stand. Somehow I got turned around going in (this is a stand I have been into a dozen or more times) and somehow wound up on another ridge. I couldn't believe I had done this. I was so mad at myself. I was so turned around I looked at my scoutlook app to find what direction I had to head. So I am past my stand and have to walk through where I believe the deer bed down to get to my stand but if I don't walk through there I will be late. I never bring a flashlight, my hunting buddies think I am crazy but I feel like my eyes adjust very well if there isn't any light around and I have never had an issue in 20 years. I go as quietly and quickly as possible to my stand and get there as it is getting light out. As far as I could tell I, somehow I didn't bump any deer. I didn't know whether to be happy about this or assume there was no deer around. I climb up sweating my ass off from taking the extra extra long way. I make it about an hour before that sweat makes me cold even though I have on good base layers. The tree is swaying back and forth and it starts sleeting/snowing/ raining and it is hitting me right in the face. I am cold, getting wet and really pissed off. At this point I decide this is stupid. It is about 7:45 am and I decide I am going to try to make it until 8:30 which would be very early for me to leave. I decide I am going to try grunting and rattling which has never ever done anything for me in the past. So I hit the grunt tube a few times and do my best rattle routine I can come up with that sounds about right to my ears and put the stuff down assuming like always nothing is going to happen. Less than a minute later I hear a noise behind me and I look over my shoulder and all I can see is the white antlers. Holy Crap! I actually called in a deer. He is less than ten yards from my stand and almost directly behind me. ( I like to tell myself I called him in, for all I know he was coming anyways) So I stand up and try to quietly turn around. I am shaking and trying to get my bow off the bow hook which is now right in the way of course. The arrows on my quiver are scraping on the treestand...(note to self, remove quiver from now on)...I get the bow hook out of the way and my release on the bow and he needs to take about 5 more steps to come around where I can get a shot I feel comfortable making. I am peaking around the tree trying to see him without him seeing me. He stops and does a 180 and goes back the other way. No way he smells me the way the wind is blowing. I get myself turned 180 degrees with my knees shaking like a leaf and he works his way around the other side of the stand. I pick a lane and I wait. I draw back as he is a few steps away and as he steps in my lane I let it fly at 22yds. Looks like a good shot as I watch the arrow capped with a NAP mechanical and lighted nock blow right through him. He doesn't move, jump, kick, nothing. He slowly kept walking away as I am trying to nock another arrow. I drop the arrow on the ground and grab another and by this time he is at least 40 yds out and walking slowly away without a care in the world. I sit down and try to calm my nerves. I know it was a good shot but I am going to wait. I tell myself I will climb down at 10am. At 9.45 I can't take it anymore and I climb down. I go and look for my arrow. I can't find it anywhere. I follow where it looked to me the deer had gone and I find blood. Quite a bit of it. So I start tracking. I track the deer down a game trail following a blood trail that I could jog if I wanted to. He comes to an overgrown area with thick weeks and an old fence. The game trail goes left and right at the fence. I follow it both ways and find no blood. At this point I call my other buddies figuring I won't be disturbing them they should be finishing their morning sits. Three of them come and I meet them out at my truck. We go back to the crime scene where my buddy Gary finds my arrow. It is blood from top to vanes and I show them the blood trail. We follow it quickly to where I had lost it. The deer didn't go left or right but cut back at a 45 degree angle into the thickest nastiest stuff I have ever seen. Garry and I climb in while my other two buddies went around to see if he would come out. I assumed he was going to be dead in this thicket. Nope he came out the other side. Never even laid down. We follow him out through some hard woods and he crossed the railroad track off the property we lease. We are friendly with the guys that hunt this side and know they will not mind us tracking a deer just like we wouldn't mind them tracking one on ours. We keep following. This deer went up and down ridges, over streams, the whole time dropping enough blood that we could easily follow the trail however fast we wanted to walk. We kept saying we can't believe how far this deer has gone. Nobody could believe it. My Buddy Jimmy kept saying we are going to come out on Route 9J soon. At this point by buddy Jimmy and Brian doubled back to get the truck and meet us on route 9J. Garry and I continued following the blood. We came to a swamp (none of us had ever been down here) and figured he has to be in the cattails. I go around while Garry pushes through. We were right he bounded out of there away from me and toward the road now only about 250 yds away. I watch him bound off and I am like, how can this deer be running like that. Then I hear a car slam its brakes on and tire squeal. Yup he crossed the road. We go out to the road all dressed in camo and me holding my bow. I feel a little weird but I don't have an arrow nocked or anything. We find where he jumped the guard rail, still bleeding, find where he jumped the guard rail on the other side with blood on the rail. Now we don't have permission to be on this side of the road. There aren't any posted signs and there are no houses around to ask permission from. I stand up on the rail to see if I can see him anywhere and he isn't 10yds off the road and jumps up and bounds away like nothing is wrong. I can see him maybe 40 yds in and his tail is flickering. I said to Gary look he is waving at us. At this point Jimmy and Brian pull up in the truck and we are deciding what to do. Brian is a county police officer so we let him decide because I don't want to get in trouble. We decide we are going to go in and try and push him back across the road where we have permission to be. Gary and I go in, Brian stays on the road so if someone asks what we are doing he can tell them he gave us permission to go in. We go in without my bow. I walk in to where I last saw him and he is laying there dead. That deer went a long ways for how it was bleeding and the shot I put on him. In hindsight we should have stopped and waited but the amount of blood that we followed we assumed for a long time we would find him in the next few steps. I am glad Brian was there because otherwise, I don't know if I would have entered that property....I learned a few things, it is great to hunt with a police officer and I will never complain about the weather again (maybe)

I don't understand what is going on here....I got my pic of my doe up no problem at all. It isn't giving me the option to Edit my posts either...Its like someone else wrote them....Last Try on a different computer...

Wind is crazy this morning. Somehow I got turned around coming into my stand. I have been here with no issues a dozen times this year. My buddies think I am crazy for not using a flashlight. Might have to start at least carrying one. Still in by 6am but I did a lot of unnecessary walking around. Come on deer...go away wind

I hope that works out for you.....I was just cursing the wind.....Good luck!!

I am in such a bad mood right now. I can never seem to catch a break with the weather. Every day since Monday there hasn't been a breath of wind.....Which of course is when I am at work. Today the wind is blowing like crazy with 40MPH gusts and it is suppose to continue through the weekend. Then Monday it is suppose to calm again and where will I be...at work. Seems like every weekend day that I can be in the woods is windy and I am trying not to get sea sick in my stand from swaying to and fro. At this point I would rather sit in the rain as long as it was calm.....

I am at work right now....I walked in this morning, I made it two steps in the door and someone asked me what was wrong. I said I am super pissed at the weather. The wind is blowing with 40mph wind gusts and it is suppose to continue all weekend....Until Monday when I will be back at work. Everyday before today I would get up and leave for work....Step out side and there wasn't a breath of wind.....Seems like everytime I can get in the woods the wind is blowing and I am swaying in the tree....I use my vacation time for family so I can't take a week off to just hunt....

Actually the first thing I do in the morning before I hunt is look at scoutlook and the sunrise/sunset times for the day.....

I have had a pair for three years now and I would say this describes them perfectly. Sometimes I have to stand up to get the heat back in my feet. I would say they have held up well in the three season I have used them. I did have one time this year when I went out and the right one was not working. That actually made me really notice the difference. I figured that was the end of them but when I went out the next time they both worked. I must not have had that right one in the charger correctly or something. I will say that going out and having the right one not working gave me a new appreciation for what they do. There was a huge difference between my rt foot and left. I wish the battery would last longer but I understand....how big of a battery can they jam in a insole....I paid full price for mine because I was sick of cold feet. I would say if you can get them for some of the deals people posted it is a no brainer. I have never submerged them in water so I can't answer that....

My Golden retriever that passed away on 2/20 last winter had really bad hips. When he was 10 months old he would no longer go up the stairs. It was really sad, he and I had become really attached. They did a procedure to him where they basically broke his hip and turned it making the hip socket tighter. I don't remember what it was called but there was a name for it. He had a rough couple weeks after the surgery, we had to walk him with a towel under him and he spent 2 or 3 weeks in a crate. Once they were healed they never bothered him again. He died of cancer about a week before turning 13 and was the best dog ever. I was worried he would get arthritis in his hips from the procedure but he never did. It was great and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if I had to for a beloved dog.....

Saw this thread on Archery Talk and the stories were great. I was thinking how cool it would be to hear NY stories. I don't have anything to exciting. I had a guy a couple of years ago walk up to me on our hunting lease and ask me if I had seen anything. He was wearing brown carhart coveralls. Not the best thing to be wearing in the woods obviously and he was drunk and had no idea where he was. This was at 7:30 am or so. Asked me how to get to the RR tracks and I walked him to them. I was thinking after he left I probably should have made sure he made it out ok but all I was thinking at the time was this moron is ruining my hunt.....

That was my post so I read that....I was hoping a couple of other would chime in. I read the reviews on Cabela's. A couple people said they called PSE about the scope and they sent them a new better one so I was thinking I could do that. Do you have a suggestion when you say maybe spend more on a better package? From what I have read you have to spend a lot more to get what you IBO you get with the fang....It also sounds like most of the packages that you purchase the scopes aren't the best with all of them...

Wow Core, I have been reading a lot of your posts etc. You are really into this hunting....I should keep track of time in stand, driving, wakeup time etc......I have tried to remember to log deer I see and get in scout look but I never remember...I am going to get a small notebook and put it in my pack and make notes. I think everything you are doing is awesome for someone just getting into hunting.....

Just adding it up I would say I spend between 50-60 hours in a tree during bow season. I would love for it to be more than that but work and family get in the way of that....(not that that is a bad thing)

So I have been reading a lot about different crossbows. The Fang seems like it is one of the fastest bows for the money and all of the reviews seemed like people were happy with them. One person had a limb crack on like the 20th shot though so I don't know if this is a one time thing or an issue. That could be awful dangerous. I don't want to jump into a decision because I won't be getting one for this season anyways. Seems like all the other crossbows in the price range of the fang are much slower and not as compact.

In my opinion, NO......I hunted the rifle season only for years and years. I am 42 and started bow hunting 3 or 4 seasons ago. I thought about bow hunting a lot along the way but I just didn't have the time or want to make the commitment to become proficient with a bow at the time. Had they included crossbows I would probably have jumped on that bandwagon. Not once in the 20+ years of rifle hunting only did I think boy those greedy selfish bowhunters get a whole month and a half in the woods that I don't. I never gave it a second thought. I do wish I started bow hunting earlier. It is great being in the woods without hearing shots ring out all over the place and seeing deer that aren't so jumpy....Those are things I never thought about when I only hunted with a rifle. Also, my father, who got me into hunting never bow hunted. He kind of felt it was....the only word I can think of is unethical but that's not really what it was. He was just always very worried about wounding a deer and not retrieving it.....

I get so excited when I see a deer, doesn't matter what it is....I feel like my heart is going to beat through my chest. As I have gotten a little older (I am now 42) I have made myself take my time with my shot. When I was younger I would lift my gun and start banging away...(not that many people are going to want to hear that on here) I just started bow hunting a few years ago. When I get the chance to draw or raise my rifle I repeat to myself over and over to aim small miss small....Yes I got that from Ted Nugent TV but it helps me. It doesn't help me at all with the excitement, but it does help me make sure that when I am pulling the trigger or releasing an arrow that I am where I want to be. I learned that rushing the shot doesn't do me any good and like you I missed a lot of deer. All with the rifle. Tampering the excitement for me is impossible. Learning not to rush my shot is not and actually might even make it more exciting. I still might be shaking like hell but it makes me do the best I can at that moment. I have learned it is better to miss a shot opportunity all together than to make a bad rushed shot....Most of my hunting buddies are either liars or they don't get excited until after they shoot....(so they tell me) I am not sure why they even hunt if that is the case...My shot opportunities are few and far between but I get the exact same excitement just seeing them....

Where would you like me to send it.....that sounds like a no brainer with all the crap I spend money on....

Man, I can't wait to get back in the woods. I keep looking at this every half our looking for update.....Saturday seems so far away. This time of year the week days go so slow. I feel like I am looking at the weekend the way I used to look at Christmas when I was 8. Takes forever to get here....I envy all you guys that can get out during the week....(not that I want to be unemployed)

Wondering what everyone does to try and bring the deer in? Early season I don't do anything except sit and observe. Starting two weekends ago. I made a mock scrape and hung my scent dripper. On my way to the stand I drag a scent wick soaked with doe in heat. I refresh it and hang it when I get to my stand....climb up and wait until 8am. Usually about 8 if I have not had a lot of action I will hit the bleat can twice and again wait. At about 8:30 I will hit the bleat can again followed by a few grunts.....Then I wait again. If by 9 I have not seen anything I will try the bleat can again,, along with grunting and will hit the rattle bag fairly lightly....don't want to sound like too big of a deer. I do all of this and honestly can't say it has done a single thing for the number of deer I have sighted. What do you guys and gals do? Should I try the call earlier?

Well, I would be one of them if I wasn't......How is that for an answer? I waited for years for them to open crossbow because I didn't feel like I could spend the time becoming proficient with a compound bow. 4 years ago I broke down and purchased a compound bow because I wanted to spend more time in the woods. I was surprised how quickly I was able to shoot it well and I have been hunting with it since. Now I am looking at maybe purchasing a crossbow. If the do full inclusion I will for sure but I don't know if I want to spend the money on a two week season when I can just use my compound....

Well we got a little off topic here and I am not sure if I really got an answer. It sounds like the cheap packages will work as I figured they would. But would it be worth it to double the budget to $600-$700 and wait a year or two. I guess I am going to take a long hard look at them in the off season and make a decision....

You can, I am aware of that but I am not going to bring a Xbow when I can bring my rifle. I am not a traditionalist....

I don't have the experience some of you guys do. I purchased a Bowtech Assassin 3 or 4 years ago to start hunting with. I got the RAK package and it ended up being a waste. I hated the sight. I wound up taking all but two pins out of it because I hated the 5 pins. About a week after that I purchased a single pin HHA and I shot much better after that. I would never go back to a multi pin site. The site is adjustable but I leave it @ 25 yds. Shooting @ 20 and 30 yds without moving the pin I am still well within the kill zone and I wouldn't shoot farther than 30 anyway. I got rid of the rest that came with it when I purchased the site as well and got the trophy ridge revolution....I don't know if that helped as well but my accuracy was much better with a single pin to focus on....

I will be using my Browning BAR .308 with a Nikon Prostaff 3-9 mounted on it....shooting Fusion 165 Grain