It's been an emotional week following the death of my father last Tuesday, after a 10 month battle with malignant melanoma. We were blessed with an outpouring of love and support from so many family and friends.
After I got home yesterday, I decided to grab my bow and head out back for a little solitude in the woods. I don't have a blind set up, but I sat on a stool about 20 yards back in the woods under a small group of saplings near where I have my feeder running.
I don't have a game camera so I didn't really have any expectations of what, if anything, might be coming in. I sat here, in front of the saplings, last Sunday evening but was immediately picked off by a wary, mature doe.
Before the feeder went off, I spotted a buck moving toward me in the brush. Rather than walking to the clearing, he opted for the trail on which I was hiding. About 6 yards from me, he realized something was out of place and we had a stare-down for several seconds before he nervously trotted off. After a few more glances my way, he walked around me, still unsure if I posed danger!
After the feeder sounded, I heard grunting back off behind me, and then saw a deer walking in to my set. It was a buck. I hadn't anticipated shooting a buck here - my primary objective for this property is to shoot a doe during the archery only season - but this was a mature(ish) buck with four points on his right side (and a couple of kickers) and an unbranched antler on his left, making him both legal for the AR county and "eligible" as a proper freezer filler! I quickly made the decision to shoot if presented an opportunity. He presented, I delivered!
I made what felt and appeared to be a good shot through the lungs.
I gave him about 20 minutes before I decided to go inspect the arrow, which had zipped through and buried in the ground next to the feeder. Good blood covered the entire arrow and vanes. I quickly took up the trail and followed good blood for about fifty yards before it started petering out. I marked the last spot and decided to retreat to the house for an extra flashlight and to review the video.
The video indicated that I hit him a little high and back of where I had intended, and he seemed to be quartering toward me just a little more than I had wanted, but I was confident that it was a lethal effort. I ate dinner that my wife had prepared and then we returned to take up the trail. I found a few more spots of blood beyond where I had originally stopped, but I eventually decided to walk in the direction he was heading to see if I could find anything more prevalent. Ultimately, I blindly walked up on him dead in the tall grass!
The "Moseley Buck"
It was quite a relief. It was only about an hour and a half after the shot, but some critter had already pierced the deer's paunch and made a smelly mess for me to work around for the field dressing chore!
I haven't had a chance to properly hunt yet this season, but I'm happy to have punched a tag and filled the freezer early in the season! Video to come!
After I got home yesterday, I decided to grab my bow and head out back for a little solitude in the woods. I don't have a blind set up, but I sat on a stool about 20 yards back in the woods under a small group of saplings near where I have my feeder running.
I don't have a game camera so I didn't really have any expectations of what, if anything, might be coming in. I sat here, in front of the saplings, last Sunday evening but was immediately picked off by a wary, mature doe.
Before the feeder went off, I spotted a buck moving toward me in the brush. Rather than walking to the clearing, he opted for the trail on which I was hiding. About 6 yards from me, he realized something was out of place and we had a stare-down for several seconds before he nervously trotted off. After a few more glances my way, he walked around me, still unsure if I posed danger!
After the feeder sounded, I heard grunting back off behind me, and then saw a deer walking in to my set. It was a buck. I hadn't anticipated shooting a buck here - my primary objective for this property is to shoot a doe during the archery only season - but this was a mature(ish) buck with four points on his right side (and a couple of kickers) and an unbranched antler on his left, making him both legal for the AR county and "eligible" as a proper freezer filler! I quickly made the decision to shoot if presented an opportunity. He presented, I delivered!
I made what felt and appeared to be a good shot through the lungs.
I gave him about 20 minutes before I decided to go inspect the arrow, which had zipped through and buried in the ground next to the feeder. Good blood covered the entire arrow and vanes. I quickly took up the trail and followed good blood for about fifty yards before it started petering out. I marked the last spot and decided to retreat to the house for an extra flashlight and to review the video.
The video indicated that I hit him a little high and back of where I had intended, and he seemed to be quartering toward me just a little more than I had wanted, but I was confident that it was a lethal effort. I ate dinner that my wife had prepared and then we returned to take up the trail. I found a few more spots of blood beyond where I had originally stopped, but I eventually decided to walk in the direction he was heading to see if I could find anything more prevalent. Ultimately, I blindly walked up on him dead in the tall grass!
The "Moseley Buck"
It was quite a relief. It was only about an hour and a half after the shot, but some critter had already pierced the deer's paunch and made a smelly mess for me to work around for the field dressing chore!
I haven't had a chance to properly hunt yet this season, but I'm happy to have punched a tag and filled the freezer early in the season! Video to come!
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