Thursday, October 8, 2009

Deer Number Two Down!!!


Well, I finally managed to get a real deer hunt in this evening. Since I started working 12 hour long night shifts, I haven't had a lot of time or energy to hunt. I did hunt a few mornings after work, but I never stayed in the stand for more than an hour or two for fear of falling asleep and falling out! I had yesterday and today off and I had planned on hunting both, but exhaustion and high wind kept me from hunting yesterday.

I decided that I wanted to hunt this evening, so I headed out to a small Christmas tree farm that I have permission to hunt. The property is only about 15 acres, but it is covered in trees and also has a few acres of nothing but woods and vines. The deer love to hide there during the day and feed out at night. The landowner wants all the deer killed so that they don't eat his seedlings, and I am happy to oblige!

I got into the stand at about 2:30. It is on a sycamore tree and overlooks a small swampy area that holds water. Since it was a warm day, I figured this was probably the best place to get a crack at a deer. I finally heard footsteps at 6, and the doe I ended up shooting walked up to the watering hole.

She walked up on me so fast that I barely had time to stand before she was in the water and within range. She got jumpy for a few seconds and actually stared at me, but I managed to stay still long enough to keep her from busting. The doe grabbed one more sip of water and started to turn away. I drew my bow back and released almost in one motion.

I made a good shot, albeit high, and the deer ran off with arrow sticking out of both sides of her. I knew I had hit her well so I climbed out of the stand after a few minutes and started to track. She only ran about 60 yards, so I found her after only a few minutes of tracking. I continue to be amazed at the Rage 3-Blade broadheads I am using. Due to the high shot I only got the far side lung, but the holes the Rage made allowed the doe to bleed out very fast. After field dressing the deer I drug her out and made the short drive home to hang her up! This was my first hunt of the year in my home county, so I was glad that I managed to knock one down.

I have to work the next three nights, but I am going to try to sneak a hunt in Saturday morning when my shift ends. Luckily I only work two days next week, so I'll get lots of hunting in! I think I am going to buck hunt the rest of archery season, so hopefully my next deer post has some horns in it. Best of luck to everyone as your deer seasons get underway!

5 comments:

  1. Good work! I enjoyed hunting with you this morning, even if the results were not what I'd hoped for. We'll get 'em next time.

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  2. Your season is off to a great start. I hope to arrow my second deer here real soon. I guess a man can dream right?

    And I love the Rage broadheads as well. They are amazing, and have saved many of us archery hunters from long track jobs.

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  3. Thanks guys! Both of your guys luck will turn before long, I am sure of it. I hope I start seeing some bucks!

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  4. Congrats! It is good to see positive results for this season. Keep it up!

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  5. Great shot! That deer sure is a beauty. I think I will try out hunting one of these days. I could do a lot of time off the drudges of work. It sure is gonna be nice to have one of those beautiful trophies hanging on my study. I am still starting out with finding the Best Hunting Knife. You got any suggestions?

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