Yesterday morning I dragged myself out of bed at 3am, after tossing and turning till after midnight, to drive the 2 hours from my home in North Georgia to some private land I hunt with Jerry Russell down in Monroe County GA. Jerry manages properties all over the state for deer, bear and hogs. He has several such tracts in Monroe County that are Traditional Bowhunting only and I wanted to get there well before first light.
My drive was very uneventful and it was a speed limit plus 9mph drive the whole way. I found myself in my stand and settled by 6:15am and sat there listening to the distant traffic rolling down I-75.
At around 8am I get a text from a friend who had shot a spike and when I looked back up I caught movement about 45 yards away and found myself looking at an absolute BEAST! I watched that buck for about 10 minutes, never getting closer than 45 yards and he eventually went back the way he came. I figured I would wait about 10 minutes and try some light rattling to see if I could coax him back.
I spent about 30 seconds lightly "tickling" the horns, hung them up and then sat and waited.
About a minute later I catch movement off to my left, seconds later....HORNS!
Ha ha... :coffee:
The coffee is hot.... I'm in!
:campfire:
:campfire: :pray:
:campfire:
:archer2:
I immediately realize this is not the monster I was watching earlier however, the buck is large bodied and I know he is at least an 8 point. I intentionally do not focus on or try to count points. I know if he presents a shot I will take it. I can count points later.
He continues coming towards me, slowly but deliberately pausing now and then to sniff the wind. My only problem is he is coming in head on and I am worried that he may not present a shot until after he passes me, putting the slow breeze into consideration. Still, my heart is racing and I am hopeful he will turn.
At about 15 yards out he does turn and heads in a direction that would be broadside, if I was on the ground, however I am 20' above him and he will pass within 5 yards of the tree I am in. I begin considering the shot, which will be almost straight down and on my left side. Not my favorite scenario by any means but luckily one that I practice frequently from a stand I have in my back yard for year round practice. I consider my arrow weight (840 grains) and my bow, a 70# Pacifc Yew Classic made by my good friend Jay St. Charles and I am confident I can send one through the vitals if he will just keep moving forward.
At 5 yards broadside, nearly underneath me, I bring the bow to full drawn, feel the cock feather touch my nose and instantly the barrel tapered cedar is on the way. It impacts high at the back of the buck's left shoulder and the buck wheels and runs at top speed the way he came in. I watch him until he is out of sight, listening intently for the sound to cease. It does but without the tell tale "crash".
I look back to the point of impact and am pleased by what I see. My arrow has impaled mother earth and while the fletched end is broken and lying a couple feet away I am confident it has done it's job well. With shaking knees I sit back down, check my watch and begin that horrible 30 minute wait to pick up the trail.
(https://i.imgur.com/iavXIve.jpg?1)
:campfire: :coffee:
Keep it coming. Sounds like you did another great job!
Sitting in my Loc On Spirit.....holding on to the stand as my knees continue knocking I begin mentally committing everything to memory. Where the buck was standing at the shot, the path he ran, making mental notes of particular trees, the contour of the terrain where he ran and the last spot I had him in sight. As I am doing this I see blood from my stand, soon I realize it begins just a few feet from where I can see my arrow and I can easily follow the blood trail with the naked eye for at least 30 yards perched 20' up in my stand.
Without a doubt I know he is down, it is just a matter of not giving in to the urge to climb down right away and get after him.
The 30 minutes passes like Molasses in February. I tried to focus on other things but as you may imagine it was all an effort in futility. At 20 minutes I start lowering my gear and making my way down from my stand. A closer inspection of the arrow reveals it is 2" into the ground and there is blood and a lot of hair at the impact sight. Th hair is a mix of dark brown and white chest hair.
I retrieve my bow from my gear rope, nock and arrow and check my watch......25 minutes.....to hell with the other 5 minutes....I am going.
I start following the blood trail, slowly and quietly which is hard to do considering how heavy the trail is. I almost want to start jogging it but instead I continue "by the book". This is what I find at 8' from the impact site.
(https://i.imgur.com/ve49UA5.jpg?2)
This pretty much continues for many yards, the only gap in the trail is where the buck faltered once, hit a tree and rolled. He did regain his footing and managed another 20 yards after this and immediately the trail resumed. Here is last blood. (note the hoof in the left of this photo)
(https://i.imgur.com/clv4lMB.jpg?1)
He had traveled about 80 yards in what could not have been more than 10 seconds. Standing there looking at him I look and after a couple seconds I find my stand in the trees less than 40 yards away, he had run around the little hill I was hunting one edge of.
Field dressing and autopsy began although I was sure I had hit the heart I also found that the single bevel had destroyed 1 lung and damaged the other as well. However, the real damage was from the over 3" slice into the heart, my arrow had found its mark.
(https://i.imgur.com/WEoFOsK.jpg?1)
Im a member of the main 500 acre chunk. Headed down there tomorrow. Cant wait to see your buck!
That's awesome!!! Congrats!!! :clapper: :pray:
QuoteOriginally posted by Etter:
Im a member of the main 500 acre chunk. Headed down there tomorrow. Cant wait to see your buck!
Was surprised not to see anyone there when I went over to skin and quarter it yesterday........ghost town. :(
:clapper: :clapper: well done......
(https://i.imgur.com/cspGyUz.jpg?1)
Congrats Steve! I think I know where that stand site is! Good one.
QuoteOriginally posted by BowHunterGA:
QuoteOriginally posted by Etter:
Im a member of the main 500 acre chunk. Headed down there tomorrow. Cant wait to see your buck!
Was surprised not to see anyone there when I went over to skin and quarter it yesterday........ghost town. :( [/b]
That's why Im a member. Low pressured deer. Ive killed a couple does down there this year. Last year I missed an absolute giant.
Great deer. Congrats!
Attaboy!!
Tim B
Way to go sir! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Good story and fine buck-congrats.
Boy Oh Boy, what a story, loved every minute of it :campfire:
Nice job Steve! Good thing you couldn't sleep and made the drive!! :clapper:
Well done Steve!
Congratulations sir great shooting!
Congrats!
Congrats, well done.
Nice buck!
Cool freaking story man! U had me all along!!! Congrats to ya!
Roy
Cool freaking story man! U had me all along!!! Congrats to ya!
Roy
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
That run around the hill, brought back memories!!! The last Buck I shot, took off around the rock knob my ground blind was on. If I'd have turned around, I'd have watched him drop.
What excitement...congrats on a nice buck.
congrats
Congrats on a great buck!
Congratulations on a great buck and great shot! Nice stick by the way!
Well Done!
Thank you for sharing with us! Great job!
Congrats!!
Great story, Steve. Congrats on a very nice buck.
I've read many stories in outdoor publications that couldn't touch yours well done and nice kill. Congrats
QuoteOriginally posted by Possum Head:
I've read many stories in outdoor publications that couldn't touch yours well done and nice kill. Congrats
Thank you, this version was a bit abreviated, I will be writing a fuller article for my website sometime soon.
Great read! Thanks for taking the time to share!
Congrats on the deer and a well told story
Well done, Steve. Nice buck.
Well done sir!
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Bisch
awesome!! didn't realize there was a traditional only club in my neck of the woods?
There isnt. Keep walking.......
Well done..Nice buck!! Its such a great feeling when it all comes together! God Bless....
Sounds like a really great hunt with some nifty shooting as well. Congratulations!
QuoteOriginally posted by caleb7mm:
awesome!! didn't realize there was a traditional only club in my neck of the woods?
Contact Jerry Russell. He is also on TG as "Fireboss"
Well done, nice buck, great story. Felt like I was there with you.
Well done, nice buck, great story. Felt like I was there with you.
CONGRATS STEVE!!!!! :clapper:
Pacific Yew Classic, forget the deer ha ha I came here to see that laying across the deer... my favorite longbow of all time,,, jay rules when it comes to laminated Yew!!
okay he's a nice deer too 8^) and great story with blood pics..
Great shot and wonderful story telling Steve. Congratulations!