OT: Not in the cards

[bigbore442001]

I was waiting in anticipation of the time I could get out of work and head to my stand. I had planned to meet my father after I had worked with the cherubs and see if we could get a deer. So far we have had some bad luck hunting with the bow.

When the afternoon class ended I had completed my little scent killing ritual and headed north to my stand. I arrived shortly and saw that my Dad had arrived a bit earlier. He headed into the woods to a stand we set up on Sunday. He is hoping to have a chance with his crossbow. So far he has not had a lot of luck.

I donned my ghillie suit. Set up my bow and headed down the old logging road. I arrived in my stand and sat. The wind was just right. As a rule the deer had come from the direction that the wind is now in. I have learned over the years that if the wind isn't right I will change stands or even think of not hunting.

I sat looking and listening intently. At 4:00 PM I heard static. It was Dad's signal on the FRS radios we carry. Two clicks and all is OK. I sat further and contemplated life in general. A deer stand is good for such things.

It was at 4:30 when I heard movement. The woods in my swamp stand are thick and I have always heard game before seeing it. I know the difference between the sounds of a squirrel and that of something much bigger. Again I heard static but I did not respond. I had positioned myself in a standing position with Bowtech Guardian in hand. An ST Axis carbon arrow with a 100 grain Slick Trick broadhead ready for a job. I peered intently in the direction of the noise. I could not see anything but I knew it was a deer. As I peered into the grove of black spruce I saw a familiar outline. It was a deer. I saw the flicker of the tail and the outline of the rear quarter in the glade.

Soon the deer wandered to my left and closer. I was wondering if the doe would offer itself for a clear shot. As she went behind some trees I drew the bow back. I held it at my anchor point. I have a little mantra I recite in my head."Nose touch the string.Perfect sight picture. Let the arrow zing."All things had lined up and she was quartering away from me with a perfect shot at the heart. I touched the trigger on the release.

It is hard to describe what happened next but the bow went off and it flipped out of my hand and tumbled on the soft forest floor of the spruce glade. Apparently as I shot the lower limb of the bow hit a cut stub of a branch. This had the effect of flipping the bow out of my hand, bottom over top and landing below me. The doe took off and stopped about fifty yards away or so in the thick spice bush that is so prevelent across New England. I could see a tail flicker and some movement. I wondered to myself," Is she hit ?". " Should I wait and let her die?". I wasn't sure how hard she was hit. If the arrow went to the spot I aimed it would have been a perfect heart shot. I waited and heard her move off. It sounded as if she headed to the swamp. I figured that she was wounded and she was heading to water. Then again I was thinking as I saw her tail maybe she would lie down and begin to expire.

I slowly climbed down the stick ladder and proceeded to pick up my bow. It looked fine. I was worried if it was damaged by the shot and the trip to the ground. I heard the deer move off and figured that something wasn't right. Soon I spotted my arrow half way into the ground. I checked it and it was a clean miss. No blood of any kind. No hair. Not one sign of a hit. In a way I was relieved that it was a clean miss. I hate losing an animal of any kind. I like to think of myself as a humane hunter that tries to minimize any suffering. A clean miss is one sign that I have attained that benchmark I set before myself.

I met Dad walking on the logging road. He realized that something was amiss when I did not respond to the signal. He figured I saw something or had taken the shot. I then relayed the story to him. He shook his head and had to laugh a bit. Dad commented about our lousy luck so far but he did state at least I am seeing game. I ran through my head what went wrong. I have used this stand for many years and never had an issue. What had happened was that I took a shot at an odd angle and that there was a stub of a trimmed branch that stuck out a few inches. It was enough for the bow to hit at the shot. The effect of this was for the arrow to hit very low.

I will be headed to the same stand but I plan to trim the offending branch. I believe I will let this stand rest for a couple of days.

[rangerider7]

I'm not trying to be smart, but that's why they call it hunting and not killing. Somedays are good some days are not so good but you are still outdoors in God's country. It will come.

[NonPCnraRN]

rangerider7 is right. If you have to have a bad day, I can't think of a better place to have one! At least it was the bow the fell out of the stand and not you. That would have been a REAL BAD DAY!

[RIHMFIRE]

Good story! Everybody has a bit of bad luck hunting....
at least you did not shoot your blind....like one of the guys
in our club did opening day....he had 3 misses in one day...
actually 2....he really did a nice job hitting the blind!

[brucew44guns]

A "bad day" doing what you were doing, is still pretty good----compared to a lot of things. Just look at the kind of day the Democrats of New Jersey and Virginia had yesterday, real bad for them. Count your blessings!! You'll be back, and win next time.

[Pete44ru]

+2 - A bad day on deer stand is a hundred times better than a day at work.

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