Redemption!

[UA22Plumber]

This past weekend I went hunting with my friend in the southern tier. I sat in the same stand I have for the previous two year that I have killed deer from. Saturday we had a 4 point fork buck present himself but I was unsure of the distance so I never let the arrow fly, ended up been about 40 yards. He came back a half hour later behind my friend and he managed to get a shot off. To his disappointment he used the wrong pin and shot over his back. Sunday morning the same guy came in on the path. Only this time I was ready. He stepped out and turned his tail to me. Took 2 steps away the gave me a nice quarting away shot. I took it. I heard the arrow hit the deer. But didn't see where. Still sitting in the stand I can see my arrow sticking out of the dirt straight up and down 10 yard away from where I shot, only my white fletching still looks white. I got down to check my arrow, the front 3/4 of the shaft were covered in fat and the rest had blood and chunks of fat on one side. Also there was a large pile of white hair. I knew this was not ideal. My friend and I speculated that from the angle I went in the vitals and exited the chest. We did not hear it run that far. We went in the direction it took off in. 25 yard from the shot a red line of blood lay on the ground. With the amount of blood we thought for sure he was within 100 yard or less dead.

We followed that line of blood for almost 80 yards to the base of a hill then the blood got sparse. then to our dismay we followed the trail up that hill and found where the deer had laid down. We must have jumped it. I was pissed that we had been excited and only waited a half hour to pursue the deer.

We backed out and went back to where we hunt and my friend hung another stand for upcoming gun season.

Now three hours after I took the shot we went back to the last blood and started tracking again, only now the light layer of snow on the hill top had started to melt, making this task even more difficult. After the deer got up from where it had bed down the blood trail change to a spray pattern for more than 100 yards. Then changed to small drips for another 60 yard then large drops going back down the other side of the hill. Then it jumped diwn onto a 4 wheeler trail and there where 2 large drops and 2 feet away one small drop. Then 20 feet away a tiny drop then another 20 feet another tiny drop. Then from the blood and some tracks we could tell it went down into some thick stuff. My buddy found one more tiny drop 40 feet from the last and that was it no more trail. We searched in that thick stuff and found nothing.

Now disgusted with myself I was very upset to have made a bad shot on this deer and have to leave it for dead.

Since we covered close to 700 yards tracking this deer over three hours my friend believes that I must have just hit this deer in the belly area and that it is still alive.

Well now after that long unhappy story it's time for the redemption! It's now Wednesday morning and I'm back home. I check the wind forecast last night and it was good for my stand behind my house. Got up and got to my stand at 6:30. 7:05am I got a nice 4 point. It was kinda bad shot. I think I hit a twig. It was back far. But I immediately saw his side gush red. He went maybe 20 yards and fell over. I could still here him breathing so I stayed quiet for a while. While sitting there wait for him to die, at 8:30 five more deer came in on me. The ones I could see were does. I thought about filling my doe tag too but they spotted me going for my bow and took off.

At least I got my buck and meat for the freezer.

Edited November 7, 2012 by UA22Plumber

[tughillhunter]

very nice. congrats

[shawnhu]

Nice story and nice harvest. Even though the shots were not ideal, you made an effort to try to find the wounded deer. Sounds like more range time is in order. Keep it up!

[GreeneHunter]

Nice !