I got a little bit of a late start Saturday AM as my son had some car trouble around midnight and so it was a little harder getting out of bed.
I had put some corn out at the spot where I shot my second buck and had pictures on the cameras but I hadn't pulled the card to check them. I sat there 2 times in the evening and saw zip, so I figured they were there in the MA or middle of the night, so I decided to give it a try Saturday. I got to the spot around 5:45 and put on my ghille suit jacket, cocked the bow and got all ready at the truck. The walk in is only a few hundred yards and I wanted to be as quiet as possible. I didn't walk 50 yards from the ruck whene I see the green eyes of 3 deer crossing my path. Well, darn. Maybe that's who has been hitting the feeder. Oh well, they were in a place I could have not shot anyway so whatever.......I didn't even stop walking. I got in, setup my stool and put on the head cover. It must have been about 6:00. Sunrise was 6:47 so in a short time things were just starting to get light. I made sure the reticle was turned on real low on the scope. The setup was such that the corn was in fron of me at about 25 yds. To my right was a small ravine and a creek bottom. To my left was some rolling hills and hardwoods. I really had no idea where they would come from as they could (and do) come from about anywhere. Now, my hearing is BAD,,,,,but it was really dry. After a few minutes, I thought I heard something to my right. Sure enough I look over and I see a deer by the creek bottom working towards me. I'm out of buck tags here, so I can only shoot does. It's a doe. Then it looks at me. Wait is that small horns? No, it ears. Just a doe. Mind you it's about 6:25....ten minutes into legal shooting. Now I see other black blobs moving around further away but coming my direction....so there are 3...no make that 4..... I'm not sure. But the first one, which I think is the biggest, is now broadside at 20 yds directly to my right. They are coming in really close, and I am on the ground. The wind is good, but I am worried they will come too close for me to wait until they get in front of me. So I slowly start to move the bow for a lefty shot. I have it 1/2 way up when she sees me and turns to look at me. She looks quartering to, so I aim in front of the near shoulder and let fly. The Nufletch gives me a good picture, but the shot looks behind the shoulder to me. Hmmm....All heck breaks loose and they fly down the ravine and cross the creek. I hear a couple splashes, then nothing, then a distant snort. I check...It's 6:27. I settle back down and text my wife to say I hit one yadda yadda. After abot 10 minutes I stand up and see the NuFletch shining in the pre dawn woods. Awesome. I want to give the deer at least 30 mins, but figure I can go check the arrow and see if I need to wait longer. It's covered in bright red blood. Awesome!! Maybe the shot was better than I thought! So I go pack up a bit and get my blood light and start to look. Nuthin. I go back to where I was sitting, check the path they ran again and go look. Nuthin. OK. I cross the creek, Nuthin......I figure since she was quartering something may be blocking the exit wound so that explains the lack of blood, and the arrow was covered in bright red blood so the hit was good, so she can't be too far. But I still need something. I look some more and look some more trying to find anything. The creek is about 35yds from where the shot was so there should be something. Then I just stop, and pray. I said "God, if I'm going to find this deer You need to help me." And no lie, I look down and there is blood. WOO HOO! Thank YOU!!. It's not a lot just a fine spray, but enough to track her with. **************At this point I'd like to take a commercial break and talk about the Primos Bloodhuner Light. Awesome. I won't say I wouldn't have found her without it, but it really really helped. I found every little drop and there were many 1/8" drops I was following. *****************
So I inch along this blood trail for about another 50 yards or so and then it seems to stop. I look a bit and just can't find the next tiny spec. So I mark the spot and decide to just push forward a bit in the same direction. I go about 20 yards to where I can see a bit further and there she is!! Turns out the hit was right through the shoulder and the exit was just behind the ribs but in front of the hip. And yep...guts sticking out the exit. All told she went about 150yds. I thanked the Lord again (and also for the nearby creek so I could clean her out well), cleaned her out and drug her back to the truck. It was 8:11. And for a nice change the weather was only in the 40's so I could hang her up and skin her and then leave her hang for awhile to cool her before I cut it up.
