I almost switched to a 4 arrow quiver this year. After this I will keep my 6 arrow quiver and maybe practice more 10 yards shots from my stand.
The Whole Story:
I when out on Sunday morning to sight in the gun I bought for my 9 year old daughter to hunt with this year. Well I got to the range at 10am but it didn't open till 1pm on Sundays. I decided to run over to my office and put in the XM radio I had bought for work. After putting the radio in I decided to walk around the woods behind the plant because I had been seeing a lot of does coming out of the woods back there. Well I found a line of rubs and a lot of deer crap. I decided to hunt in a narrow strip of woods that was between the cleared area in the back of our plant and a much larger field next to us. There was a huge trail the deer had worn down so I set up 10 yards off of it in the only tree I could put a climbing stand in. I wanted to hunt Sunday afternoon, but I decided to go sight in the gun and just hunt it after work on Monday.
Monday I worked till 4:30 and then put my ASAT 3-D suit over my work clothes and climbed up in the tree. The wind was all messed up. I had the stand facing the wrong direction. I didn't feel good about the set up and almost got down. About 5:15 I saw 2 does feeding behind the plant. Then about 5:20 I noticed a deer in the thick stuff. It took 20 mins of watching him to figure out he was heading towards me and rubbing every tree in between us.
I saw he was a small basket 8 point buck and started to pass on him. Then I remembered that I was on public land and if I passed most likely someone else wouldn't. He was heading right up the trail and I knew he would come out 10 yards from me into the opening. I stood up, got ready, and waited on him. As soon as he cleared the thick stuff he looked straight up at me. I thought I was busted, but I was wearing the Super Duper Magical ASAT 3-D suit so I had no worries. There was no way that an average deer had any chance of figuring out what I was. I stood still and he went back to walking towards his next rub.
I drew back, put the 10 yard pin on him and fired. The arrow sailed clearly over the back of the deer. I thought CRAP, you dummy, you just missed a deer at 10 yards! Luckily he was a young, stupid deer. He ran in a small circle and blew a few times, stomped his foot and tried to figure out what was going on. Again, he was stupid, so he started right back towards the tree he was dying to rub. I let him get back to about 15 yards from me and I drew, put the lungs between my 10 and 20 yard pins and fired. Sailed right over his back again! CRAP! I am a complete idiot! I missed a deer TWICE at less than 15 yards.
He jumped and walked behind a couple trees and some brush. All I could see was his nose sticking out past the tree and a patch of brown through the brush. I had already nocked another arrow. I looked down the trail for my next shot window and there wasn't anything! I stared at the patch of brown I could see with the deer standing still as a statue. I realized that it was his vitals I was looking at. Only problem was that there was a VERY small window to shoot through. NO FREAKING WAY my sorry shooting butt can squeeze an arrow through there! Hell he was 25 yards off now and I got to thread the needle on this shot. It's ok, I told myself. You have been practicing and you are a good shot. You can make this easily. I drew and shot. I heard a loud thump and thought HOLY MOLY! I missed again! I just knew the thump I heard was the arrow hitting a tree behind the deer. 3 shots and I am now a proven duffus hunter.
The deer had jumped and ran to the top of the railroad tracks I was hunting next too. He stood on the top of the tracks for a few seconds and started to turn back towards me. I thought, HOLY MOLY, here he comes again! I reached behind me and grabbed the 4th arrow from my quiver, nocked it, looked down to clip my release on the string and noticed that I had grabbed the only arrow in the quiver with a STUMP JUMPER rabbit tip on it. Holy freaking crap, I am a complete butthead! I quickly took it off laid it down and grabbed a broadhead tipped arrow. When I looked up the deer started down the railroad embankment. He got to the bottom quickly, but got his antlers tangled in all the briars and vines at the bottom of the hill! I watched him push and pull and kick and shove trying to get free, but he was stuck. I thought, UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE! I just missed this deer 3 times and now I am going to be given a chance to just walk over to him and shoot him cause he is hung in vines! NO WAY!
I sat down to calm my shaking. I decided to wait 10 minutes and see if he got free. He kicked a couple times more and then didn't move again. I climbed down and started over to him. I found my first two arrows on the way over to him. Both arrows clean as a whistle. I start creeping over towards the deer, which I can see still standing up! As I got close enough I realized that he wasn't standing up, he was laying on the steep embankment with my 3rd arrow stuck in his chest. The thump I had heard and thought was the arrow hitting a tree was my arrow breaking a rib clean in two.
There is a much bigger buck in the same area I killed this one. I mean a really big buck! I am waiting for the rut to heat up to hunt him hard. I was hoping that the rub line I was on was the big deer's. I guess I will have to do some more scouting to find him. The only bad part is that I have gotten chiggers every single time I have walked into the woods this year. This stuff is getting old. I guess I need to use more DEET!
