M
Monster Doe
Guest
Wednesday the 27th began as one of the best days of bowhunting I've ever had and ended the following morning in heartbreak.
After getting off work a bit early I decided to hunt a spot I've left untouched all season, and I had a good feeling about it while walking in the mist to my treestand. After fighting mosquitos for about an hour finally temps started to fall a bit and I settled in for what promised to be an action packed night. Sure enough, around 5 PM a large old doe meanders toward my location, stopping every few minutes to look behind her. I half expected a younger buck was back there harassing her, but was preparing myself mentally for other possibilities. Then he shows himself - and would you believe it, one of the largest bucks I've ever laid eyes on, a huge heavy and super tall typical that I'm guessing was right around that B&C class. I prepare myself but so far I can't tell which side of my stand they are going to go by. The doe turns, and proceeds to angle downwind of me!!! NOOOO! Boss hoss follows, my heart drops. Time to trust in The Ghost scent eliminator, that's what it's for, right? Well, the doe passed right by and didn't have a clue, at that point I knew I was safe and was probably going to get a shot. He follows and steps into my small shooting lane (never planned for or seen deer take this route, ever) and I grunt. He stops, perfect broadside at 30 yards.....I tensed my back muscles and the shot was away! PERFECT SHOT! At least that's what I thought until I heard CRACK! The sound of broadhead hitting a large bone structure, which I've decided after talking with friends had to have been some part of the shoulder. Thinking right now about where the shot hit and I don't understand how it could've hit forward enough to get shoulder, but it had to have. Later I found my broken off arrow ten feet from the scene of the crime, and only four inches including the broadhead were in the deer. I leave promptly to give the deer a few hours to bed down and die(in the case I did get a lung)and round up some friends. We found a decent blood trail and got an idea where he headed but decided against pursuing that night.
That night was agonizing, and in the morning my worst nightmare came true. We picked up the trail right away and found where he bedded. The bed was dry(it had rained all night)! All blood and other sign totally vanished, we scoured the area for six hours, nothing.
Since I started seriously bowhunting eleven years ago I've never shot a deer and not recovered it, I consider myself fortunate for that but also knew my time would come. What really turns my stomach is why did it have to be this deer? The deer of a lifetime for 98% of us? (Old Buck and OneCam are iowawhitetail.com's resident 2%ers) Not only that, my shot location was perfect, at least it looked like a perfect hit from the stand. I was so confident in the hit and so sure he was down within 75 yards, only to have my bowhunting world turned upside down.
I will continue to search for him, but from the looks of it he might live, and I hope he does. I hope I don't have to feel like this ever again, and feel horrible about myself when I practice so hard and know when I take a shot at a living creature, I owe it a quick and clean kill. Sorry about the rant, talking about it helps.....a little.
After getting off work a bit early I decided to hunt a spot I've left untouched all season, and I had a good feeling about it while walking in the mist to my treestand. After fighting mosquitos for about an hour finally temps started to fall a bit and I settled in for what promised to be an action packed night. Sure enough, around 5 PM a large old doe meanders toward my location, stopping every few minutes to look behind her. I half expected a younger buck was back there harassing her, but was preparing myself mentally for other possibilities. Then he shows himself - and would you believe it, one of the largest bucks I've ever laid eyes on, a huge heavy and super tall typical that I'm guessing was right around that B&C class. I prepare myself but so far I can't tell which side of my stand they are going to go by. The doe turns, and proceeds to angle downwind of me!!! NOOOO! Boss hoss follows, my heart drops. Time to trust in The Ghost scent eliminator, that's what it's for, right? Well, the doe passed right by and didn't have a clue, at that point I knew I was safe and was probably going to get a shot. He follows and steps into my small shooting lane (never planned for or seen deer take this route, ever) and I grunt. He stops, perfect broadside at 30 yards.....I tensed my back muscles and the shot was away! PERFECT SHOT! At least that's what I thought until I heard CRACK! The sound of broadhead hitting a large bone structure, which I've decided after talking with friends had to have been some part of the shoulder. Thinking right now about where the shot hit and I don't understand how it could've hit forward enough to get shoulder, but it had to have. Later I found my broken off arrow ten feet from the scene of the crime, and only four inches including the broadhead were in the deer. I leave promptly to give the deer a few hours to bed down and die(in the case I did get a lung)and round up some friends. We found a decent blood trail and got an idea where he headed but decided against pursuing that night.
That night was agonizing, and in the morning my worst nightmare came true. We picked up the trail right away and found where he bedded. The bed was dry(it had rained all night)! All blood and other sign totally vanished, we scoured the area for six hours, nothing.
Since I started seriously bowhunting eleven years ago I've never shot a deer and not recovered it, I consider myself fortunate for that but also knew my time would come. What really turns my stomach is why did it have to be this deer? The deer of a lifetime for 98% of us? (Old Buck and OneCam are iowawhitetail.com's resident 2%ers) Not only that, my shot location was perfect, at least it looked like a perfect hit from the stand. I was so confident in the hit and so sure he was down within 75 yards, only to have my bowhunting world turned upside down.
I will continue to search for him, but from the looks of it he might live, and I hope he does. I hope I don't have to feel like this ever again, and feel horrible about myself when I practice so hard and know when I take a shot at a living creature, I owe it a quick and clean kill. Sorry about the rant, talking about it helps.....a little.
