deadeye
Active Member
I will be the first. I started bowhunting at age 10 when I finally got a bow with enough poundage. Had a few close encounters, but didn't want to take anything but a perfect broadside shot. It was opening day of pheasant season when I was 15 - 1995. My dad and I pheasant hunted that morning at my uncle's. It was wet and rainy out. He had shot a small 6 or 8 with the bow 2 weeks before as he was after meat that year - before he was into QDM. We were done bird hunting and he wanted to know if I wanted to bow hunt that afternoon. I said you bet and he took me out and dropped me off and went and visited a friend that lives in the area. He came back a couple hours later and had just climbed into his stand when he see's me walking towards his stand. He knew right then what happened. He wondered what I got - I replied I shot a little button buck. Man was he happy. We got to my stand and got to the first blood and I couldn't stand it any longer. Dad that button buck is a 9 pointer. We started following the blood and we had decent blood and the deer stayed on the main trail. It was a small finger of timber and the trail came out into a field. About 10 yards before the field edge we didn't see any blood and decided to walk out to the field edge. About 5-10 yards off the path on the field edge was my first ever deer harvest - with the bow none the less. My dad went nuts. He was 2.5 years old and field dressed 176. Dad scored him at about 100-115 I really can't remember.
Now the story. I had been in my stand for a bit on a decent afternoon. Damp, but not raining and cool, but not cold. Had not seen any other deer that I remember. I saw this nice buck quite a ways off to the west of me and he didn't take the trail that lead to my stand. So I grabbed my grunt tube and hit it a couple of times. I waited and watched for a few minutes. I looked into the opposite direction to make sure nothing was sneaking up on me. When I turned around there he was coming right at me. He was walking slow but steady. He hit the trail at and came by at about 10 yards. I drew my Jennings T Star back and picked an opening and grunted with my mouth - no responce still walking. Got by the next tree and I did the same - he sped up. Next opening I put it on the edge of his shoulder and shot while he was walking and quartering away. I got about half the arrow inside him - shot placement was good. Wound up with one lung and heart. 144 yards to where he lay.
We name all of our stand locations so we know where we are talking about seeing deer etc. This stand became known as lucky. I have shot 3 bucks with the bow and 1 buck with the musket from that stand. Have seen some of the largest deer from that stand also. Muddy really hates it though. As long as it is "lucky" for me I don't care if he bad mouthes it.
Now the story. I had been in my stand for a bit on a decent afternoon. Damp, but not raining and cool, but not cold. Had not seen any other deer that I remember. I saw this nice buck quite a ways off to the west of me and he didn't take the trail that lead to my stand. So I grabbed my grunt tube and hit it a couple of times. I waited and watched for a few minutes. I looked into the opposite direction to make sure nothing was sneaking up on me. When I turned around there he was coming right at me. He was walking slow but steady. He hit the trail at and came by at about 10 yards. I drew my Jennings T Star back and picked an opening and grunted with my mouth - no responce still walking. Got by the next tree and I did the same - he sped up. Next opening I put it on the edge of his shoulder and shot while he was walking and quartering away. I got about half the arrow inside him - shot placement was good. Wound up with one lung and heart. 144 yards to where he lay.
We name all of our stand locations so we know where we are talking about seeing deer etc. This stand became known as lucky. I have shot 3 bucks with the bow and 1 buck with the musket from that stand. Have seen some of the largest deer from that stand also. Muddy really hates it though. As long as it is "lucky" for me I don't care if he bad mouthes it.
duckaholic
New Member
My first kill was an elk, but that was with a rifle. I'll describe my first bow kill since I would rather be hunting with a stick and string any day!! I was 9 year old and living on Hill AFB, Utah. I had graduated from hunters safety just 2 days prior. Dad put me in a tree that was right off of a gravel road. When sitting in the stand I was eye level with the road. I had sat in the stand a few times before this hunt and saw a few young bucks and alot of does. At that age anything was fair game!!! All evening I had those brown tree rats making all kinds of noise behind me(on the road). As the evening went by I saw 2 does and a spike buck. I actually came to full draw on a doe but decided to let her go on because I saw movement behind her, I actually thought it might be a buck. Anyway, I was sitting down in my stand and heard some noise behind me, paid no attention because of those tree rats. Then I heard a branch break, I slowly turned and found myself face to face with a mature Mule deer doe. I slowly grabbed my bow and eased out of the seat to stand up. It took all I had to get up because my legs were like jello I was so nervous. It was perfect, she was broadside, head down and away, and only 5 yards away in my only shooting lane behind me. The only thing that was wrong was the wind, for some reason this deer was supposed to be dead, at 5 yards she could of smelled by breath. I pulled back and let one arrow fly. I remember the sound so perfectly. She took off out of sight. I was so shook up I grabbed to tree because I felt as if I was going to fall right out of it. The whole time my dad was 200 yards from me and had a clear line of view to where the doe was at when I shot her. But, he missed the show. I waited for him to come get me when it was dark. He came over and asked if I saw anything. The only thing I said was "Yeah". He knew my the look on my face that something wasn't right. I told him that I thought I hit one and we headed on back to the truck. As we walked back to the truck I bent down to tie my shoes and saw her eye with my headlamp. She went 15 yards and I didn't see or hear her fall. I will never forget when my dad told me I had to drink the blood after I accidently cut open her gut with my knife. I will also never forget the first smell of deer gut!!!!!!!