Instead of writing about management techniques and trying to hammer home the importance of good judgment, I decided that it might be more beneficial to share an experience of my own. My hope is that not only do you enjoy this article, but that you learn from my experiences so that you can become a more successful hunter. Each year I travel to
After a thirteen hour road trip and a restless night’s sleep, the first morning had arrived! Sitting on the edge of my bed, I wandered; Could today be the day? There was no moon, a very slight southwest wind, deer still in their early fall feeding patterns, and temperatures in the mid 40’s (wished it was cooler), oh well I’m here and I am pumped. My good friend and outfitter Bob Sanborn had done all the scouting and had previously hung tree stands in preparation for my arrival. The thirty minute ride to the hunting grounds not only gave us a chance to talk about the body size and antler growth of the northern deer vs. that of
Although Bob had been seeing big deer in the soybean fields everyday, we chose to set up in the creek bottoms on trails that lead to the fields. By hunting these trails, we can ambush deer that do not fully have their guard up like they do while they are in and around the fields. I also chose not to bring a grunt tube and horns with me because rut was still two weeks away and by rattling and grunting I would only educate deer.
I followed Bob down into a creek bottom and hesitantly climbed the 22ft ladder that led to the tree stand. Boy do I hate heights. Within ten minutes it was light enough to see through my peep sight. A couple of practice draws is a good way to mentally settle down and it boosts confidence. Another ten minutes pass and I caught a glimpse of a deer, wait not just one deer, but four deer. And not just any deer, but four bucks had made their way down to the creek to drink. I estimated that they were eighty yard from me and I could see that two of the bucks were young, maybe 2.5 year olds and the third was a little older with a nice eight point rack. The fourth buck had the biggest body I had ever seen, but he stayed in the timber and I couldn’t really make out anything about his rack. My heart was absolutely pounding out of my chest. I just knew that the big bodied buck had to have a big rack to match. As the three younger deer mingled around, the fourth buck stood completely still in the shadows of the timber for 45 minutes. It is unbelievable how smart mature deer are. I took my eyes off of him to watch the eight pointer for just a minute and when I returned to the big boy, he was gone. A million thoughts raced through my mind, but I was hoping that he had followed the other three bucks, whom at this point were only 40-50 yards from me. Another twenty minutes pass and I could only see one of the young deer. I figured that by now the other bucks were still close but had moved further out of sight.
Just when I was coming down off of my buck fever, the big bodied deer stepped out from behind some dead timber. Oh my God, there he is. I quick scored him at 165 inches with only 8 points. I reached for my range finder only to realize that it wasn’t dangling from my neck where it should have been. It was resting safely in the back seat of Bob’s truck. Now it is a guessing game. The buck stepped into my shooting lane and I came to a full draw. He is way too far to only be 20 yards. Okay 30 yard pin will smoke him! I released and the arrow stuck him high, too high. The buck wheeled around me and crashed through the timber and hurdled the creek. I had done it; I had forgotten the golden rule of bow hunting. It is better to miss low than it is to hit high. My arrow had passed under the buck’s spine and above his vitals.
In this situation, the deer is either dead or he is not. Either the arrow caught the top of his lung or it did not. After three agonizing hours, we tracked his blood trail only to find it to be a dead end. Tracking dogs could not find the deer either which means that the chances are good that the deer will survive this type of shot. Although I am heartbroken, I realize that this is a part of bow hunting and will most likely happen again. You can trust me when I tell you that I will never forget my range finder again, because the deer was only 21 yards from tree stand when I shot him.
If any of you are interested in hunting
