I killed my best buck with a bow last week at our place in Atascosa County, a deer I named Kickstand... below is a recap of the hunt.
After seeing this buck on camera earlier in the season, he'd only been spotted a couple of times before I saw him from a rifle blind on the afternoon of the 28th. He came out by himself around 3:45 PM and hung around until about 5 PM.
I was really temped to shoot him, especially since he had developed a limp, but I decided to hold off and try to get him with my bow. The morning of the 29th was very windy (gusting to 35+ MPH at times), but fortunately it was blowing directly at my popup from the feeder, and the deer weren't very spooky. Kickstand was a no show, but I also didn't see any of the same deer that I had seen the afternoon before, so I still felt good that he would show up in the afternoon.
I got back in the popup at 2 PM and didn't see much until a doe and a yearling came out around 3. I was reading a book and not paying too much attention when I happened to look up, and all of a sudden he was RIGHT THERE in my hand corn, 15 yds away!
I slowly got in position, and when all three of the deer at the feeder had their heads down and the buck was almost broadside, I drew back and waited for him to give me a shot. After almost turning broadside one way, he swapped ends, brought his right leg forward, and I settled the pin behind his shoulder and let the arrow fly.
I didn't see the arrow hit, but I heard a THWACK and he took off to my right, kind of hunching up as he ran. I couldn't see the arrow in him or any blood where I might have hit. I also couldn't see the arrow laying on the ground, which made me really start to second-guess my shot over the next half hour.
After an agonizing 30 minutes, I got out of the blind and found the arrow near the feeder, coated in blood, from the SlickTrick to the nock.
My dad got there shortly after that and we began the track. I felt better about the shot after finding the arrow, but there was NO blood trail to speak of. Fortunately I had seen the way he ran, and we started looking for blood around the game trails that the deer used to enter/exit the brush. As I was looking for blood around one game trail, my dad called out that he hadn't found any blood, but he could see a dead deer! He was about 20 yds in the brush after running about 50 yds total from the feeder.
The above picture shows the exit, just on the opposite side shoulder. The shot was a good pass through, entering right behind his onside shoulder, and as with the other deer that I've shot with SlickTricks, he didn't bleed much for the first 30-40 yds, but he didn't go far either.
He scored 165 3/8 with his left main beam broken off right past the G4, and if his left side matched his right, he would have been a mainframe 12 pt.
Thanks for reading!
After seeing this buck on camera earlier in the season, he'd only been spotted a couple of times before I saw him from a rifle blind on the afternoon of the 28th. He came out by himself around 3:45 PM and hung around until about 5 PM.
I was really temped to shoot him, especially since he had developed a limp, but I decided to hold off and try to get him with my bow. The morning of the 29th was very windy (gusting to 35+ MPH at times), but fortunately it was blowing directly at my popup from the feeder, and the deer weren't very spooky. Kickstand was a no show, but I also didn't see any of the same deer that I had seen the afternoon before, so I still felt good that he would show up in the afternoon.
I got back in the popup at 2 PM and didn't see much until a doe and a yearling came out around 3. I was reading a book and not paying too much attention when I happened to look up, and all of a sudden he was RIGHT THERE in my hand corn, 15 yds away!
I slowly got in position, and when all three of the deer at the feeder had their heads down and the buck was almost broadside, I drew back and waited for him to give me a shot. After almost turning broadside one way, he swapped ends, brought his right leg forward, and I settled the pin behind his shoulder and let the arrow fly.
I didn't see the arrow hit, but I heard a THWACK and he took off to my right, kind of hunching up as he ran. I couldn't see the arrow in him or any blood where I might have hit. I also couldn't see the arrow laying on the ground, which made me really start to second-guess my shot over the next half hour.
After an agonizing 30 minutes, I got out of the blind and found the arrow near the feeder, coated in blood, from the SlickTrick to the nock.
My dad got there shortly after that and we began the track. I felt better about the shot after finding the arrow, but there was NO blood trail to speak of. Fortunately I had seen the way he ran, and we started looking for blood around the game trails that the deer used to enter/exit the brush. As I was looking for blood around one game trail, my dad called out that he hadn't found any blood, but he could see a dead deer! He was about 20 yds in the brush after running about 50 yds total from the feeder.
The above picture shows the exit, just on the opposite side shoulder. The shot was a good pass through, entering right behind his onside shoulder, and as with the other deer that I've shot with SlickTricks, he didn't bleed much for the first 30-40 yds, but he didn't go far either.
He scored 165 3/8 with his left main beam broken off right past the G4, and if his left side matched his right, he would have been a mainframe 12 pt.
Thanks for reading!
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