briguy-ia
New Member
First ever whitetail. First ever buck. First ever archery kill. Never killed anything larger than a sparrow before today. The not-young-anymore gray guy with a total of one year hunting experience gets his first. Got skunked last year and made tons of mistakes as a rookie. Still feel like a rookie but managed a score today.
This buck was chasing a doe and grunting 30yds to the west, right at sunrise. I grunted back a few times with the buck decoy between him and me. He gave up on the doe and came in to the grunt, then saw the decoy. Actually sniffed the decoy's behind and trotted off about 10yds south-west. Still curious, he circled slowly around to the south heading broadside into a shooting lane 20yds from my stand. Drew back and steadied. Gave him the "merp" when he got to the lane. Two seconds later there was an arrow deep in his boiler room.
Recovery waited a few hours until my buddy Shane was finished for the morning. Blood wasn't great. A string of steady drops here and there but no gusher. Ten yards in we found the broken knock side of the arrow, with blood covered shaft and fletchings. After a while we found blood on both sides of the escape trail so we figured the shot was a near pass-thru. Then Shane spotted blood with bubbles! Confirmed lung shot! But still not a great amount, still a small drop at a time, but at least steady. We found him bedded down along some downed tree trunks. He went no more than 75yds from where he was shot.
Turns out I double lunged him an inch above the heart. And his hide was cut through both sides. The Magnus Buzzcut made it all the way through, but the arrow shaft didn't.
Very excited, beyond words. I have learned nearly all the techniques from internet, including this forum, so thank you all for posting. It has helped me pursue an interest in archery hunting that I waited for many years before diving in. My buck isn't a record breaker or as old as the bucks I will hold out for in the coming years, but he is my first ever, and special to me. Thanks again to all who post.
I will get a photo after I figure that part out.
This buck was chasing a doe and grunting 30yds to the west, right at sunrise. I grunted back a few times with the buck decoy between him and me. He gave up on the doe and came in to the grunt, then saw the decoy. Actually sniffed the decoy's behind and trotted off about 10yds south-west. Still curious, he circled slowly around to the south heading broadside into a shooting lane 20yds from my stand. Drew back and steadied. Gave him the "merp" when he got to the lane. Two seconds later there was an arrow deep in his boiler room.
Recovery waited a few hours until my buddy Shane was finished for the morning. Blood wasn't great. A string of steady drops here and there but no gusher. Ten yards in we found the broken knock side of the arrow, with blood covered shaft and fletchings. After a while we found blood on both sides of the escape trail so we figured the shot was a near pass-thru. Then Shane spotted blood with bubbles! Confirmed lung shot! But still not a great amount, still a small drop at a time, but at least steady. We found him bedded down along some downed tree trunks. He went no more than 75yds from where he was shot.
Turns out I double lunged him an inch above the heart. And his hide was cut through both sides. The Magnus Buzzcut made it all the way through, but the arrow shaft didn't.
Very excited, beyond words. I have learned nearly all the techniques from internet, including this forum, so thank you all for posting. It has helped me pursue an interest in archery hunting that I waited for many years before diving in. My buck isn't a record breaker or as old as the bucks I will hold out for in the coming years, but he is my first ever, and special to me. Thanks again to all who post.
I will get a photo after I figure that part out.
