moosehunter
PMA Member
The last two seasons have been very limited for me. Both years I ended up at Mayo clinic for extended stays fighting off Non Hodgkins Lymphoma and trying to stay alive. Thankfully, so far that plan has worked. So needless to say I was looking forward to bow season this year. Halloween time has been good to me so I was very hopeful I would pick the right stand and something worthy would come by. Friday the 1st I climber into a stand and shortly after had a doe close. I scanned farther looking for a buck but saw nothing. 5 minutes later the doe wandered off. 10 minutes or so after that I looked to my left and saw a buck on a cornfield edge heading my way. Not think I would shoot him I grabbed the phone to video. As soon as he was in front of my I need I screwed up and should have picked up the bow. I shoved the phone in my pocket, grabbed the bow, clipped on the release and pulled back waiting for him to clear some brush. I let it go and saw the arrow bury itself deep but far back and low. The buck ran a short distance then walked to a fencline where I watched him for 4 or 5 minutes. He walked a little more and stopped again. I could see blood dripping so I was hopeful. He turned walked downhill and out of site. 4 hours later my nephew and me returned to start the tracking process. Lots of blood made it easy to follow. For awhile. Soon we were having trouble finding sign. We marked the last good spot and returned this morning. Tracking was once again very tough. A drop here and there. Hardly anything. Still I was sure I killed him. So Nolan stayed with the blood and I walked a trail he seemed to be following. Then I cut downhill and headed back in the direction we started. After a 100 yards or so I spotted him crashed part way up the hill. Arrow still in him. No gut shot but the Rage did it's job and he had an exit wound on the bottom. So he was pretty much bled out. Maybe next time I'll grab the bow first.
