With a good cold night forecast, I figured this morning would be a good day to go and sit in my "city stand" before work to see if the spike that works the area might make an appearance. I'd also seen a nice 8-point on the trailcam once or twice, so there were two potential bucks (no does). My good stand is still hanging at another spot an hour's drive away, so I was using a home-made platform that a skinny buddy of mine uses - I definitely did not trust it much and with no seat I knew I'd only be good for a few hours. I was a bit late getting out the door, decided to skip Tim's because I was only planning to sit for a couple of hours. At 7:30 (sunrise time - half-hour after legal light) I was just arriving at the bottom of my tree. That was the last time I looked at my watch until I arrowed the deer 17 minutes later...
I hung my three climbing sticks and got myself safely attached to the tree before stepping onto the rickety home-made hang-
on stand. Hauled my bow up and got settled, then realized that my small daypack was still on, so I used my linesman's belt
to attach it to the tree out of the way. Doing this one-handed while juggling my bow was abit of a pain, so I had my back
to the shooting lanes when I heard a loud SNAP. I FROZE. Crunch, crunch, snap, rustle, SNAP. HOLY CRAP! I carefully let
the pack hand and turned my neck as far as I could and froze. At his next movement I picked out the deer coming straight in, 50 yards out. When he went behind a deadfall I turned as quickly and quietly as I could. He popped out at 30 yards and lifted his head high and FROZE. He then took two delicate steps in reverse and went back around the deadfall. I figured he winded my fresh scent. I stayed frozen there watching and listening, and heard him make his way around to the side and come in from my left. I was nocked and ready. He stopped on my weak (left) side and lifted his head high again,
breathing hard and he tested the air... I considered the shot, but it was a bad angle and on my weak side, so I just stayed put. I mentally told myself that I was only going to take a perfect shot at this deer - he was just my little spike, and still a lot of season and many options ahead of me if he walked. Well.... walk he did - right into the shooting
lane at 15 yards broadside - put his head down and started snuffling to find the source of the smell of the apple pellets that I had scattered when I arrived. I waited for my chance and drew my bow. As my pin settled on the sweet spot for an easy shot my back leg started to shake, buckling at the knee in some kind of insane Elvis impersonation! What the HELL? I leaned back against the tree to steady myself, renewed my aim, and released. The arrow hit him hard and forward with a loud CRACK. He ran off with what appeared to be 3/4 or more of the arrow sticking solidly out of his body (not flopping around - clearly embedded in something hard). I couldn't believe that I'd messed up such an easy shot! After a few jumps he slipped and fell between some big rocks, jumped up and crashed off into thick cover. I was disappointed - figured the arrow was jammed into his shoulder bones somehow. I looked at my watch - 7:47! I waited in the stand until 8:30, playing some kind of game on my GPS and not feeling very optimistic at all... I had a bearing to where I had last seen him and when I climbed there I followed the bearing and found no sign at all. I only spent 5 minutes at that and then went back to basics - went to the spot where he was when I shot and followed tracks of his first few leaps. I was much relieved to see some drops of bright red bubbly blood not far from the shot. Suspecting that the arrow went deer than I thought, I started tracking with renewed optimism... The main cover in the area is a dense groundcover with deep red leaves, so hard to see blood drops. Luckily there was a good frost on the leaves still, which made it easier. The sun was warming up though, and the frost was melting and dripping off everywhere that a sunbeam beat down. This made me really feel like the clock was ticking to find this deer - the melting frost was going to make tracking more difficult than it already was! The blood trail was no great, but I followed along with a few false turns, mostly because I was mistaken about where he had fallen when he slipped, so I got steered wrong with that a bit. Finally the blood trail petered out, and I searched and searched for the next drop. No luck. I looked ahead to a shaded patch of dense cover where I figured the sun had not been yet and I might pick up a drop. Better - I saw a deer tail buried down under a triangle of deadfalls! He looked like he was hiding under there, almost crouched down, so I went back for my bow just in case and snuck back up to confirm that he was dead.
Here's the next installment of "Dave Shockey" video...
Once again, I was very impressed with the meatseeker mechanical broadhead
It took some lumberjacking to get him clear of it so that I could strap him up for hauling.
Sorry, the videography needs work here, but I was solo and in a rush!
Hauled him out with guts-in to keep him clean in this nasty cover, then left him under a transmission tower and went for the gambrel.
Tried my butcher's suggested gutting method - hung him guts-in, started cutting at the throat (blood drained as I entered teh chest cavity). Up through the brisket, being very carefup up near the guts. I used the Butt-Out again to quickly take care of the anal canal, then unzipped him and the guts just FELL out. I cut the diaphram and finished up with cleaning, then had the skin off him in 20 minutes or so. Turns out that the arrow went though and hit the OPPOSITE shoulder. Once I was happy with the job I hauled him up higher out of yote reach and propped his chest open to let the breeze blow through. Had to go to work then, so I left him hanging and registered him online at work. I was a bit worried about the temperature (he was in the shade, but still), so I ended up booking the afternoon off and went back for him - threw him over my shoulder and into the car, then off to the butcher I went!
I still can't quite believe how lucky I was to arrive at EXACTLY the right time, and not a second too late (and a second later WOULD have been too late!). So that's me done deer hunting for 2010 - I hunted three days to get my first two archery deer and my first buck ever. Hit a branch and missed a doe on my first day. Shot my doe on a quick after-work hunt my second time out, then shot my first buck ever on a vERY quick before-work hunt! Don't worry - I won't be letting this extraordinary good luck go to my head - I KNOW that not all my seasons will be like this! Only thing left to do is to help my good buddy haul a very big deer out sometime in the next 6 weeks or so (no pressure Take'em!). Meanwhile, ducks and pheasants await!
I hung my three climbing sticks and got myself safely attached to the tree before stepping onto the rickety home-made hang-
on stand. Hauled my bow up and got settled, then realized that my small daypack was still on, so I used my linesman's belt
to attach it to the tree out of the way. Doing this one-handed while juggling my bow was abit of a pain, so I had my back
to the shooting lanes when I heard a loud SNAP. I FROZE. Crunch, crunch, snap, rustle, SNAP. HOLY CRAP! I carefully let
the pack hand and turned my neck as far as I could and froze. At his next movement I picked out the deer coming straight in, 50 yards out. When he went behind a deadfall I turned as quickly and quietly as I could. He popped out at 30 yards and lifted his head high and FROZE. He then took two delicate steps in reverse and went back around the deadfall. I figured he winded my fresh scent. I stayed frozen there watching and listening, and heard him make his way around to the side and come in from my left. I was nocked and ready. He stopped on my weak (left) side and lifted his head high again,
breathing hard and he tested the air... I considered the shot, but it was a bad angle and on my weak side, so I just stayed put. I mentally told myself that I was only going to take a perfect shot at this deer - he was just my little spike, and still a lot of season and many options ahead of me if he walked. Well.... walk he did - right into the shooting
lane at 15 yards broadside - put his head down and started snuffling to find the source of the smell of the apple pellets that I had scattered when I arrived. I waited for my chance and drew my bow. As my pin settled on the sweet spot for an easy shot my back leg started to shake, buckling at the knee in some kind of insane Elvis impersonation! What the HELL? I leaned back against the tree to steady myself, renewed my aim, and released. The arrow hit him hard and forward with a loud CRACK. He ran off with what appeared to be 3/4 or more of the arrow sticking solidly out of his body (not flopping around - clearly embedded in something hard). I couldn't believe that I'd messed up such an easy shot! After a few jumps he slipped and fell between some big rocks, jumped up and crashed off into thick cover. I was disappointed - figured the arrow was jammed into his shoulder bones somehow. I looked at my watch - 7:47! I waited in the stand until 8:30, playing some kind of game on my GPS and not feeling very optimistic at all... I had a bearing to where I had last seen him and when I climbed there I followed the bearing and found no sign at all. I only spent 5 minutes at that and then went back to basics - went to the spot where he was when I shot and followed tracks of his first few leaps. I was much relieved to see some drops of bright red bubbly blood not far from the shot. Suspecting that the arrow went deer than I thought, I started tracking with renewed optimism... The main cover in the area is a dense groundcover with deep red leaves, so hard to see blood drops. Luckily there was a good frost on the leaves still, which made it easier. The sun was warming up though, and the frost was melting and dripping off everywhere that a sunbeam beat down. This made me really feel like the clock was ticking to find this deer - the melting frost was going to make tracking more difficult than it already was! The blood trail was no great, but I followed along with a few false turns, mostly because I was mistaken about where he had fallen when he slipped, so I got steered wrong with that a bit. Finally the blood trail petered out, and I searched and searched for the next drop. No luck. I looked ahead to a shaded patch of dense cover where I figured the sun had not been yet and I might pick up a drop. Better - I saw a deer tail buried down under a triangle of deadfalls! He looked like he was hiding under there, almost crouched down, so I went back for my bow just in case and snuck back up to confirm that he was dead.
Here's the next installment of "Dave Shockey" video...
Once again, I was very impressed with the meatseeker mechanical broadhead
It took some lumberjacking to get him clear of it so that I could strap him up for hauling.
Sorry, the videography needs work here, but I was solo and in a rush!
Hauled him out with guts-in to keep him clean in this nasty cover, then left him under a transmission tower and went for the gambrel.
Tried my butcher's suggested gutting method - hung him guts-in, started cutting at the throat (blood drained as I entered teh chest cavity). Up through the brisket, being very carefup up near the guts. I used the Butt-Out again to quickly take care of the anal canal, then unzipped him and the guts just FELL out. I cut the diaphram and finished up with cleaning, then had the skin off him in 20 minutes or so. Turns out that the arrow went though and hit the OPPOSITE shoulder. Once I was happy with the job I hauled him up higher out of yote reach and propped his chest open to let the breeze blow through. Had to go to work then, so I left him hanging and registered him online at work. I was a bit worried about the temperature (he was in the shade, but still), so I ended up booking the afternoon off and went back for him - threw him over my shoulder and into the car, then off to the butcher I went!
I still can't quite believe how lucky I was to arrive at EXACTLY the right time, and not a second too late (and a second later WOULD have been too late!). So that's me done deer hunting for 2010 - I hunted three days to get my first two archery deer and my first buck ever. Hit a branch and missed a doe on my first day. Shot my doe on a quick after-work hunt my second time out, then shot my first buck ever on a vERY quick before-work hunt! Don't worry - I won't be letting this extraordinary good luck go to my head - I KNOW that not all my seasons will be like this! Only thing left to do is to help my good buddy haul a very big deer out sometime in the next 6 weeks or so (no pressure Take'em!). Meanwhile, ducks and pheasants await!
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They don't mind cause they know they are leaving with meat.
