With the front moving in this morning, I decided it would be a good morning to sit in the Krivoman near my house before work for a quick hunt. Just as I got situated, a friend/customer texted me and asked if I wanted to ride to the field with him to mark a location. I left all my gear in the blind (including camera) and returned home, showered and met Jeremy in town.
I made it back to the house around 5 and headed back down to the Krivo for an afternoon hunt. The north wind was good for the setup. Shortly after 6, I had a couple of yearling does and an old, mature doe work into my shooting lane. I took the shot with my Traverse and heard the arrow hit, but couldn't really tell where since I don't currently have lighted nocks on the arrow. I felt like it was a decent hit, but I wanted better verification. I sat and let things quieten down for about 10 minutes before quietly exiting the blind and inspecting the scene. I didn't see blood around the "dig marks" where the doe was standing. The arrow passed through and had blood on it, but not as much as I had hoped. I retreated to the house to check the video on a larger computer screen.
In looking at the video, the arrow hit right behind the shoulder...but the doe was quartering away, so the shot was forward of the ideal shot placement.
Thinking I had probably clipped one lung, I decided to wait for an hour before starting the track. I walked back in just before dark to see if I could get on blood. It took a bit to find first blood, but once I did it opened up to a HEAVY walking blood trail. I was going to take things slow so as not to inadvertently push the doe, but with the amount of blood on the ground I was confident it would be an easy track. I was wrong.
I trailed her 145 yards until she hit a cross fence and a heavy thicket and the blood simply disappeared. I searched all around without any luck beyond the last spot I found. I was getting discouraged but decided to return to the house to get the dogs. They are not blood tracking dogs, but they do have good noses and I figured they might stumble upon the trail or the dead deer. It was nearing two hours since the shot. I returned with the dogs and put them on the heavy blood trail and got them excited about the prize we were looking for, but they didn't fully engage the trail. Eventually, I decided just to walk through the thicket with my flashlight in hopes of stumbling upon the deer. I heard what sounded like something running and the dogs chasing after, but I wasn't sure. I walked to the area where they were and I found blood! Heavy blood. She had opened back up and the trail was heavy. I thought about backing out, but with the dogs having given chase, I figured my best bet would be to push her til she died or we lost her again.
The trail was heavy and leading right to the creek at the back of the property. I knew she would likely head there, and the blood confirmed it. I was concerned that once she hit the creek I would lose the trail in the water. Fortunately, she turned on the sandy bank and I could tell the direction she ran. I shined the light down the creek about 50 yards and saw the reflection of both dogs' eyes, and noted they were just standing instead of moving. I figured they were guarding their catch. Sure enough, when I walked up the doe was laying at their feet. I congratulated the pups and then grabbed a leg and started dragging the doe back down the creek. At that point I felt a leg tense up and realized she wasn't dead. I quickly dispatched her with my Skeletool and then dragged her along the creek to a spot where I could most "easily" drag her up the steep bank. There was nothing easy to it! It was a chore, but I eventually got her up the bank and back to the house to skin, quarter and put on ice!
After inspection, the arrow hit right behind the shoulder, but strangely it exited right between both shoulders in the middle of her back (just left of the spine). She must have rolled REALLY hard!
Even though it's a doe, I'm pretty excited about this one! Video to come.
I made it back to the house around 5 and headed back down to the Krivo for an afternoon hunt. The north wind was good for the setup. Shortly after 6, I had a couple of yearling does and an old, mature doe work into my shooting lane. I took the shot with my Traverse and heard the arrow hit, but couldn't really tell where since I don't currently have lighted nocks on the arrow. I felt like it was a decent hit, but I wanted better verification. I sat and let things quieten down for about 10 minutes before quietly exiting the blind and inspecting the scene. I didn't see blood around the "dig marks" where the doe was standing. The arrow passed through and had blood on it, but not as much as I had hoped. I retreated to the house to check the video on a larger computer screen.
In looking at the video, the arrow hit right behind the shoulder...but the doe was quartering away, so the shot was forward of the ideal shot placement.
Thinking I had probably clipped one lung, I decided to wait for an hour before starting the track. I walked back in just before dark to see if I could get on blood. It took a bit to find first blood, but once I did it opened up to a HEAVY walking blood trail. I was going to take things slow so as not to inadvertently push the doe, but with the amount of blood on the ground I was confident it would be an easy track. I was wrong.
I trailed her 145 yards until she hit a cross fence and a heavy thicket and the blood simply disappeared. I searched all around without any luck beyond the last spot I found. I was getting discouraged but decided to return to the house to get the dogs. They are not blood tracking dogs, but they do have good noses and I figured they might stumble upon the trail or the dead deer. It was nearing two hours since the shot. I returned with the dogs and put them on the heavy blood trail and got them excited about the prize we were looking for, but they didn't fully engage the trail. Eventually, I decided just to walk through the thicket with my flashlight in hopes of stumbling upon the deer. I heard what sounded like something running and the dogs chasing after, but I wasn't sure. I walked to the area where they were and I found blood! Heavy blood. She had opened back up and the trail was heavy. I thought about backing out, but with the dogs having given chase, I figured my best bet would be to push her til she died or we lost her again.
The trail was heavy and leading right to the creek at the back of the property. I knew she would likely head there, and the blood confirmed it. I was concerned that once she hit the creek I would lose the trail in the water. Fortunately, she turned on the sandy bank and I could tell the direction she ran. I shined the light down the creek about 50 yards and saw the reflection of both dogs' eyes, and noted they were just standing instead of moving. I figured they were guarding their catch. Sure enough, when I walked up the doe was laying at their feet. I congratulated the pups and then grabbed a leg and started dragging the doe back down the creek. At that point I felt a leg tense up and realized she wasn't dead. I quickly dispatched her with my Skeletool and then dragged her along the creek to a spot where I could most "easily" drag her up the steep bank. There was nothing easy to it! It was a chore, but I eventually got her up the bank and back to the house to skin, quarter and put on ice!
After inspection, the arrow hit right behind the shoulder, but strangely it exited right between both shoulders in the middle of her back (just left of the spine). She must have rolled REALLY hard!
Even though it's a doe, I'm pretty excited about this one! Video to come.
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