Rebel Darling

If you're in the Albany area, City Beer Hall has it by the pint, draft. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Maine Beer Co. Lunch. On tap! I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

@grampy - Thank you, sir. Hoping we can get some time to sit in the woods before the season's up!

Journal entry here:

Thanks, Fletch! I've got a lot of learning to do... Man, it keeps getting better. The challenge evolves.

10/13/17 I saw her before I heard her. She walked down the same trail I walked in on, head down, nosing the line of Evercalm I left with my boot lugs. I was about 30’ up and 25 yards out, a hemlock between us, when she veered to my right, off the trail and tacked for a group of beech saplings growing beneath some oaks. Last year’s doe came in on the same type of day, same wind, similar temperature. She had veered to my left, though. Snap. She stepped on a twig, paused, looked around, flicked her tail, and bent for acorns. I knew she would walk into a shooting lane in just a few steps, but the distance would be either 15 or 25 yards. She chose 15. I was already standing, full-draw. Moments earlier, I had been thinking that the day just didn’t feel deer lucky, and I looked around at the woods collecting its gold of mid-Fall morning. It was cold enough to feel alive, and warm enough to not feel like I was going to shiver off the seat. Perfect for a tree stand sit, marveling at how the songbirds and sun work together in delivering the day. I snapped a pic, posted it on the Live from the Woods thread, and as I put my phone away, I saw her peer around through the hemlock branches. My heart jumped. I should have stopped her. I should learn to do that in the thick and tight woods. She was slightly quartered to, and took a step closer as I released the arrow. 10 yards, 25’ up. I made a second mistake. I picked up my head instead of watching the arrow through the sight. Stupid mistake. No follow-through. Inexperienced eagerness. She grunted out a breath as the arrow cut into her. A lung, I thought. She turned and bolted away, and I saw the arrow sticking out of her. Shit, her spine, I thought. But she didn’t immediately drop. She ran close to a tree, and the arrow snapped. I hadn’t heard that sound before, and it startled me. Through the leaves, I saw her bed down, tail flicking right before she did. I think that’s a good sign, I thought. I waited a few seconds and then ran the scenario through my mind. I was confused. I knew that the entry point would be high because of the proximity, and back because of my lack of follow-through and her step forward. There’s no way the arrow hit her spine because she took off running full-bore. I didn’t break her back. There’s no way. I decided I’d made a poor shot of some sort, and would have to wait an hour to get down slowly, and try and stalk up on her bed with the hope of a kill shot. At least the wind was in my favor. I knocked another arrow out of habit and sat down. At that moment, another doe came along, cautious and curious. She walked into the same shooting lane. She chose 25 yards. I was still seated, ruminating on my poor marksmanship. I’ve done enough damage today, I thought, and watched the scene unfold, hoping to learn something. Like Grampy told me, “Let the deer teach you. The deer will teach you.” The second doe meandered down the path the arrowed doe ran, looking up and ahead every few steps. When she arrived near the bedding spot, she stood for a few seconds, turned her head a few times, and walked back towards the way she came. She was alone now. She never looked back. That other doe’s dead, I thought, and started to think I had made a better shot than I initially thought. I got excited about a good harvest on my third hunt of the season. Four turkey pecked their way across the woods, following the second doe. Damn, they’re slower than a grandma at the market, I thought, and decided I’d wait for them to wander away before I lowered my bow and climbed down. In the end, they spotted me 20 minutes later from 80 yards away, They hurried off in a line, and I doubt they’ll be back any time soon. On the ground, I stalked over to the point of impact and scanned for blood. A few drops about 10’ away started me on her trail. I crept along, an eye on the blood trail and an eye on the area I saw her bed in about 50 yards away. No movement, so I went on. At the tree where the arrow snapped, the blood trail widened and was easier to see. No arrow after a quick scan. About a minute later, I saw her white belly, and legs extended out. She was dead. I knew it, but crept towards her all the same. I nudged her backside with my foot, and after she didn’t respond, I pulled off my face mask, stowed my spare arrow in the quiver, and got to work. First a photo, some text messages, another forum post, and then field dressing. I felt relief. She went down quick, and didn’t suffer. I thanked her for her offering, and allowed the joy of harvest to spread throughout me. When I moved her for better positioning, I noticed an exit wound on her opposite side, low and back with stomach matter coming out. This surprised me. I thought the broad head had lodged somewhere in her skeleton. The angle from entry to exit made sense, but at this point I became really confused. All my prior deer kills were complete pass through shots from similar distances with the same set up. Same fixed blades, same bow setup. I must have lost energy somewhere, but I couldn’t, and still can’t figure this one out. After field dressing, rinsing down, and packing with ice, I went back to the blood trail to search for the arrow and broad head. I found the back piece of the arrow about 15’ from the tree she broke it on. It had blood on it up to about 5 inches from the fletching. Better penetration than I thought. I walked the trail for an hour longer, and didn’t find the broad head. It wasn’t in the gut pile. It wasn’t in her body cavity. It had clearly penetrated her hide on the other side, but I didn’t find it. I spent an hour and a half on Saturday looking for the broad head, and haven’t found it yet. I’m concerned by a three-headed razor sitting out there. An animal, or a person is likely to step on it someday, and my imagination takes me to a scene in which Jackson’s out there playing and he steps on it. I’m thinking about buying a metal detector… The other mystery is trying to determine why the arrow slowed down upon entry. I can’t find any evidence that suggests I nicked or hit her spine, and I’ve not yet had trouble with rib bones. I’m pulling back 60lbs, and every shot prior to this one buried the arrow in the dirt on the opposite side. Here are some thoughts on the why, and if I ever find the broad head, maybe I’ll discover the answer: - The broad head was dull. This is unlikely, but I guess it’s possible. The arrow has been placed in the quiver numerous times. - The broad head wasn’t screwed on tight. This is unlikely. I’m also unsure of what this might do to arrow flight path. - Something is wrong with the bow. I think this is unlikely. I’ve not made any changes since the bow’s initial shop set up when I bought it in 2015, and it had killed four other deer with complete pass throughs. - Her stomach was full and thick with grass, leafy browse and acorns. Maybe this tight pack slowed the arrow down. I’m thinking this is possible. - The broad head hit a rock on her opposite side which absorbed all the energy. Judging by the point of impact, this may have happened, but I think it unlikely. The broad head will be a tell-all on this theory. The mystery aside, I’m very pleased with and honored by the doe harvest, and consider myself very lucky on the retrieval. In the end, severing her aortic artery is what did her in. Her body cavity was flooded with blood, and I think I smashed up one of her kidneys, and clipped a lung. I lost a few inches of her right backstrap. I should have stopped her, and brought myself to better focus upon release, but I was much more deer lucky than I had thought I’d be right before I saw her. I might not be so lucky next time, and better get back to form and focus when flinging arrows at the target.

Keep us posted, and good luck! Great looking buck!

I wonder if the issue is in how the Tapatalk iPhone app interprets this specific website theme, be it Wordpress, or some other type. I have yet to update my iPhone iOS in order to preserve functionality. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Tough day for sure, but I'm with growie; there are definitely better days ahead...

I still have to catch up here, and get an entry written down for my doe harvest. It's been a busy, busy few days. Yesterday, my buddy Adam and I honored his dad by recording a song he wrote for his old man with a songwriter named Hal Ketchum. We then honored him all the more by sitting for a bowhunt last evening. I hadn't heard / played on the song but 1 time through, but Adam liked the feel of this take, so we kept it. I think I missed the mark, but I can't argue with the man here. Later, during the evening sit, Adam was surrounded by deer for hours. A couple fawns came my way, and they got the pass. Right before sunset, Adam let an arrow loose at a buck, and missed him clean and low. "I can see my dad laughing his ass off at me now," said Adam. We had a great day. Here's Adam's words on what the day/song meant for him, followed by a link to the video: --- "Tomorrow morning, the morning of October 16th, marks 5 years since my father passed away. So much has changed in those five years that sometimes it feels like a lifetime has passed... yet, often there are moments that take me back so vividly that it feels like he never actually left. That happened today, and it was beautiful... About a year or so after my dad had passed I got a phone call from one of my favorite singer/songwriters of all time, Hal Ketchum. Hal and my dad were close friends growing up and after somehow coming across some of my music, he tracked down my number and called me up. He told me some great stories about him and my dad as young guys just starting out in the world and I filled him in on the more recent years. We also talked a lot about music and at the end of the conversation we decided to collaborate on a song. What we came up with was a tribute to my dad. What I've always found most interesting about the song was that it was written from two completely different perspectives and it came together in a way that perfectly summed up who my father was, how he lived his life and the impact his presence in this world made on those around him from the time he was teenage boy until the day he died. Today, my friend Michael Poulopoulos came over and spent the day in Cossayuna. We ran through this song about one and a half times as Carl Anderson set up his camera and then we played it again all the way through and never looked back. Carl also managed to capture much of the rest of the afternoon on film and when he got home he put together this cool video. While he was doing so, Mike and I capped the day off with a peaceful evening of deer hunting, which ended in me flinging an arrow directly underneath a 3 point buck right before dark. I could almost hear my old man laughing about it as I walked away from my tree stand flustered and in disbelief. All in all the entire day was a fitting tribute. I'm glad it all happened the way it did and I'm glad to have good friends to share it with and help me capture it in such a way." ---

Good luck to ya, @Buckmaster7600.

Very true on any piece of meat...

I'll let her know... Ha.

Nice harvest and shot, Fletch!

Still good when arrowed, if you cut around any "bad" or bruised meat, I imagine. I've only had the arrow slice across the heart, and those came out just fine. I've not yet had a dead-centered pumper shot. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Good luck out there! I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Not in the slightest. I cut all the ligament-type parts off, leaving only the red, tender muscle. Excellent meat with very little "chewiness" once prepared for it. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

My buddy and I were supposed to eat deer heart last night, but his wife rang him up and called him down the mountain. So, I decided that I'd pan sear the heart for breakfast with my wife. I let the heart soak in water over night, and pumped out any remaining blood clots. I cut the heart into bite-sized pieces and let those pieces sit in a mixture of olive oil, a crushed garlic clove, a pinch of salt, and several pinches of pepper. Plain and simple, but just enough to keep the tongue intrigued. I then pan seared the heart for about 20 seconds on each side using medium high heat in a cast iron pan. Once the heart was cooked to my liking (medium rare), I placed the heart back in the bowl and stored it in the oven to keep warm. Next, I drained the pan of excess oil, making sure to leave as much garlic and pepper as possible, and then fried up a few eggs in the "dirty" pan. The wife said, "this is so good," so I'll call that a win... If I had it on hand, I would have added baby spinach to the pan with the heart and let it cook down, even after the heart was finished. I would have liked that. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Plump harvest!!! Congrats on the bear! I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

10/13/17 - 4L Stomach full of acorns. Lots of grass, and unidentifiable leafy browse.

This might help: https://www.uspto.gov/patents-getting-started/patent-process-overview#step1

We'll be pan searing some heart tonight!

Last year's doe stand produces again. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

There's gold in these hills. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

That's what I'm thinking as I sit here like a little kid, getting myself together to go sit in the stand... I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk