I started hunting with an xbow about 8 yrs ago after a wreck left my neck and shoulder jacked up. I had pretty much accepted that my bow hunting days were behind me. Until this year. Before archery season opened I realized I hadn't been having the pain I had been accustomed to when doing regular work and chores around the house. So I got the bow out and took a few shots. It felt pretty good. My problem was never so much drawing as it was holding for any length of time. This time I was able to hold for awhile without much pain or quivering and shaking. I decided it was time to get back to hunting with it.
Last week I set up a ladder stand along a draw and started hand throwing corn n soy bean in the area. It's about 75 - 80 yds SE of a feeder that we rifle hunt during gun season.
Its a nice set for hunting a NW wind and today was the day. I looked at the forecast yesterday and it showed a NW wind at 3 to 7 mph this afternoon. Perfect. I made plans to get off work and be on the stand no later than 5 pm.
I'm running late and get to my parking spot at the lease around 4:45 and check the forecast again. Dang, now the hourly is showing current NW wind but shifting to SE in the next hour. Then back to NW a few hours later. I pull out the milkweed and set a few adrift. It's still blowing from the NW. I think, hmmm, maybe forecast is wrong. I'll stick with my plan to hunt the new spot. I grab my gear and head in.
I climb up in the stand but have to put a few screw in hangers in the tree to hang my bow and my pack. Get that done and get bow and pack hung. Take quiver off the bow and put it in a fork between the tree and ladderstand behind me. I sit down and pull out my rangefinder and take a few ranges. Then I feel a breeze against the right side of my face. Crap! Wind has shifted. I get out my milkweed, drop a few and sure enough its coming out of the SE right into the hand throw area. I watch the milkweed though and as it leaves the stand it starts to fall but only drops a few feet then starts rising again and goes up and over the trees ahead. I drop a few more and the same thing happens. I'm thinking I may be ok.
About that time I see movement. Crap here come a couple of does. Now two more, then two more. I have six does in front of me and I'm sitting here with milkweed in one hand, rangefinder in the other, bow hanging in the tree without an arrow knocked, quiver behind me, no face mask on, no gloves on and my release is in my pocket.
Four of the does are just calmly eating and the other two are scent checking and looking in every direction at every single thing that moves or makes any noise at all. I begin ever so slowly moving an inch at a time to try and get my gloves and face mask out and on. Then I start trying to get an arrow out of the quiver thats below and behind me. Every time I move an inch a doe looks my way and I have to stop and wait. Finally I get an arrow out, get my bow down and the arrow knocked and get my release on. Getting all this done took about 30 minutes but finally I'm all set. Now I can relax.
The does now keep looking very intently toward the feeder thats 75 or so yds to the NW. I'm thinking maybe there's a buck over there or maybe its pigs. Either way maybe it'll be something to shoot at. Remember, I haven't shot anything with a bow in several years and I'm really itching to shoot something. I wait awhile and nothing shows up and the does have settled back down. They begin to trickle out one at a time until there's two left. One is a younger doe and the other is the alpha that is always wandering around, scent checking and inspecting everything. You know the one. The one that always seems to bust you. I tell myself, if the other one leaves and I get a shot at her, I'm taking it. I really wasn't planning to shoot a doe tonight, but I'm off work tomorrow and like I said, I was itching to shoot something.
The young doe starts to walk in the direction of the feeder and out of sight. Now its just me and the alpha doe. She's quartering toward me and feeding but only puts her head down long enough to grab a kernel then looks up and all around while she eats it. I wait and wait and finally she quarters away but still won't keep her head down and still has it turned in my direction. Suddenly something catches her attention and she looks toward the feeder with her head up and alert. I raise my bow and draw. I wait. She's standing over the top of a small oak sprout that I previously ranged at 25 yds. I set my 20 yd pin in the crease. She calms and begins to lower her head and I touch the release. Shot looks good. Real good. She turns left and runs about 5yds and out of site behind some thick stuff. I don't hear her crash and I don't see any movement. Shot looked good. Really good. But I'm still not 100% sure. I wait a few minutes. I get out my binoculars and take a look. Oh yeah. Blood everywhere. I wait a few more minutes and decide to go look at the blood. As I walk up I see my arrow. Oh no, is that rumen? It looks brown and nasty. But then I see the blood everywhere. There's no way that much blood came from a gut shot. The blood is sprayed everywhere. I look closer at the arrow and realize it's covered in dirt that she kicked up when she took off. I look ahead and see a heavy trail of blood. I follow the blood straight to her about 30 yds away.
Its been 8 years and It feels good to be back.
Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk
Last week I set up a ladder stand along a draw and started hand throwing corn n soy bean in the area. It's about 75 - 80 yds SE of a feeder that we rifle hunt during gun season.
Its a nice set for hunting a NW wind and today was the day. I looked at the forecast yesterday and it showed a NW wind at 3 to 7 mph this afternoon. Perfect. I made plans to get off work and be on the stand no later than 5 pm.
I'm running late and get to my parking spot at the lease around 4:45 and check the forecast again. Dang, now the hourly is showing current NW wind but shifting to SE in the next hour. Then back to NW a few hours later. I pull out the milkweed and set a few adrift. It's still blowing from the NW. I think, hmmm, maybe forecast is wrong. I'll stick with my plan to hunt the new spot. I grab my gear and head in.
I climb up in the stand but have to put a few screw in hangers in the tree to hang my bow and my pack. Get that done and get bow and pack hung. Take quiver off the bow and put it in a fork between the tree and ladderstand behind me. I sit down and pull out my rangefinder and take a few ranges. Then I feel a breeze against the right side of my face. Crap! Wind has shifted. I get out my milkweed, drop a few and sure enough its coming out of the SE right into the hand throw area. I watch the milkweed though and as it leaves the stand it starts to fall but only drops a few feet then starts rising again and goes up and over the trees ahead. I drop a few more and the same thing happens. I'm thinking I may be ok.
About that time I see movement. Crap here come a couple of does. Now two more, then two more. I have six does in front of me and I'm sitting here with milkweed in one hand, rangefinder in the other, bow hanging in the tree without an arrow knocked, quiver behind me, no face mask on, no gloves on and my release is in my pocket.
Four of the does are just calmly eating and the other two are scent checking and looking in every direction at every single thing that moves or makes any noise at all. I begin ever so slowly moving an inch at a time to try and get my gloves and face mask out and on. Then I start trying to get an arrow out of the quiver thats below and behind me. Every time I move an inch a doe looks my way and I have to stop and wait. Finally I get an arrow out, get my bow down and the arrow knocked and get my release on. Getting all this done took about 30 minutes but finally I'm all set. Now I can relax.
The does now keep looking very intently toward the feeder thats 75 or so yds to the NW. I'm thinking maybe there's a buck over there or maybe its pigs. Either way maybe it'll be something to shoot at. Remember, I haven't shot anything with a bow in several years and I'm really itching to shoot something. I wait awhile and nothing shows up and the does have settled back down. They begin to trickle out one at a time until there's two left. One is a younger doe and the other is the alpha that is always wandering around, scent checking and inspecting everything. You know the one. The one that always seems to bust you. I tell myself, if the other one leaves and I get a shot at her, I'm taking it. I really wasn't planning to shoot a doe tonight, but I'm off work tomorrow and like I said, I was itching to shoot something.
The young doe starts to walk in the direction of the feeder and out of sight. Now its just me and the alpha doe. She's quartering toward me and feeding but only puts her head down long enough to grab a kernel then looks up and all around while she eats it. I wait and wait and finally she quarters away but still won't keep her head down and still has it turned in my direction. Suddenly something catches her attention and she looks toward the feeder with her head up and alert. I raise my bow and draw. I wait. She's standing over the top of a small oak sprout that I previously ranged at 25 yds. I set my 20 yd pin in the crease. She calms and begins to lower her head and I touch the release. Shot looks good. Real good. She turns left and runs about 5yds and out of site behind some thick stuff. I don't hear her crash and I don't see any movement. Shot looked good. Really good. But I'm still not 100% sure. I wait a few minutes. I get out my binoculars and take a look. Oh yeah. Blood everywhere. I wait a few more minutes and decide to go look at the blood. As I walk up I see my arrow. Oh no, is that rumen? It looks brown and nasty. But then I see the blood everywhere. There's no way that much blood came from a gut shot. The blood is sprayed everywhere. I look closer at the arrow and realize it's covered in dirt that she kicked up when she took off. I look ahead and see a heavy trail of blood. I follow the blood straight to her about 30 yds away.
Its been 8 years and It feels good to be back.
Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk
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