I awoke from a blissful slumber of my soft bed. I guess I acquiess to civilization. The din of the clock radio with some incipid pop star will wake the dead . I rise and shuffle about my cave. I put on a pot of water and bring to a boil for some smoky Yunnan tea.
After going through my descenting routine of enzyme laden soap,I don my equipment and wait for Dad. We climb into the Ranger and head out. It is still dark but there is a glint of a sunrise as I drop him off at his spot. He stated that he will hunt off the ground with his crossbow.He took a lounge chair, camoflage of course and headed into the woods. I too decided to hunt off the ground as well. Where I situated my stand, the southwest wind would be blowing my scent to the active run that the deer are using. I am not totally confident of all the stuff I use to stay scent free.
I walk into the woods after crossing the hog fence. I thought I heard something shuffle about ahead of me. I was hoping I didn't spook any deer.
I go to the spot I cleared out and propped up my little Coleman folding chair. It looks comical for someone 6-2 at 280 to sit in such a thing but it works.
I put on the jacket, headnet and hat of the Rancho Safari ghillie suit. I figure I will shoot from a seated position thus the shaggy pants would not be needed.
I nock a carbon arrow into the Jennings Buckmaster. I have it set at 64 lbs with 75% let off. I am using a sharpened two bladed Magnus broadhead.
I sit and wait. But not for long. Right now the rut is in full swing. The deer are moving about and at 6:18 AM I hear something coming my way. I am glad that I cleared a couple shooting lanes for my seat in the woods.I look and there he is. A nice 6 pointer. He has one thing on his mind and it isn't me.
I raise my bow and draw back when there is a tree in the way. He emerges and stops at the shooting lane . The distance is all of ten paces. I make a kiss sound. He stays still. I line the green fiber optic dot of the sight in the peep on his chest. I pull the trigger on the release and see the arrow go into him like a yellow flash. It must have been the bright nock in the dawn light.
He trots off. I knew I hit him good and hard. A shot in the upper chest. I lost a deer last week and feel really bad. My subconcious kicks in and I think about this deer. Will I get it. I see him stop and then he goes forward. His tail is wagging back and fourth like a puppy dog. He then stumbles and falls about 50 yards. He gets up again. My heart sinks a bit. Did he get hit hard? What is going on?
He then walks over the knoll of pines, tail wagging and I hear some thrashing. Hmm. Did I get him? I say a prayer for thanks and for a favor. To get the deer.
I wait. It is now 6:30 AM and I click the mike of the Motorola Two way for Dad. He clicks back. I try to call him but these things must have some really poor quality. As I step out of the woods, I see my friend's wife. I tell her what happened. She is excited and we chat for several minutes.
I then go to my truck as it is 7:00 AM and drive to the spot where I dropped Dad off. He is only about 1/2 mile from me as the proverbial crow flies but I have to drive in a big circle of about 2 miles to get him. I then pulled over and walked down the cart path to where he was. I see Dad coming over the hill and we then chat about the radios poor quality. I then tell him of the shot. We are both excited.
As we drive we discuss what the plan is. We will go to the last spot I seen him and NOT TALK. I hope he is down good.
Well, we cross the old hogwire fence. Then I show him where I set up . This shot in a way is a big first. I have never shot a deer off the ground with a bow and arrow. All, up until now, were shot from treestands. I find my arrow. It passed through the deer and was laying broadhead down about 10 yards from where the deer was. It was covered in blood. Good sign.
We walk to the pine knoll and see that for about 50 yards, not a drop of blood. It was a high shot so the chest cavity would have to fill up before any would leak out.
Sure enough. There was a steady stream of blood and my Dad said," I see him." There he lay. A nice, fat, 6 point buck. Taken cleanly and with honor.
I say a prayer of thanks for the gift of meat and hide. Some may think that is strange but I view the opportunity to hunt as a special gift and there has to be some thanks for that opportunity. I then attach the Massachusetts buck tag to it's ear and begin the field dressing. I always use my Grandfather's knife for the first cuts. It has a special place in my life and is a cherished heirloom of a day and age much different than what we have now. This is a means of connecting with that day and age. I make the cuts and clean him out. My Dad attaches the drag to the antlers and I walk uphill a bit.
We cross the hogwire fence and then put the deer into the truck. It is a nice deer and will give us fresh winter meat. I also plan to take the antlers and place then on a plaque. The hide, in my opinion, must be used. In addition, since it is the rut, I will excise the tarsal glands very carefully and vacuum seal them for future use.
This was indeed a glorious morning.
